Official Hungry Hungry Hippos Rules
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Components:
Game Base: The board with four hippos and the marble holding area in the center.
4 Hippos: Each player controls one hippo (typically colors are pink, orange, yellow, and green).
20 Marbles: Small white marbles that the hippos will try to eat.
Marble Release Handle: A mechanism to release all marbles into the playing area at the start of the game.
Objective:
The objective of the game is to be the player whose hippo collects the most marbles by the end of the game.
Setup:
Assemble the Game:
Place the game base on a flat surface.
Attach the hippos to their respective slots on the game base.
Ensure each hippo’s lever mechanism (mouth and neck) works properly.
Distribute Marbles:
Place all 20 marbles in the marble holding area in the center of the game base.
Assign Hippos:
Each player chooses a hippo and sits behind it.
Gameplay:
Starting the Game:
One player or an adult releases the marbles by pulling the marble release handle, spreading the marbles across the board.
Catch the Marbles:
Players rapidly press the lever on the back of their hippo to make it lunge forward and open its mouth to catch the marbles.
The hippos’ mouths will open and close as they lunge forward.
Players continue pressing the lever until all marbles are captured.
Collecting Marbles:
As the hippo catches marbles, they will move down the hippo’s throat and into the player’s collection area.
End of the Game:
The game ends when all the marbles have been captured by the hippos.
Winning the Game:
Once all the marbles have been captured, each player counts the number of marbles their hippo collected.
The player with the most marbles is declared the winner.
Special Rules:
Ties:
In case of a tie (two or more players have the same number of marbles), the tied players can play a tiebreaker round with a subset of the marbles.
Rules for Younger Players:
For younger children, you can reduce the number of marbles or play until a certain number of marbles have been captured.
Strategy Tips:
Rapid Pressing: The game is all about speed, so rapidly press the lever to maximize your hippo’s chances of catching marbles.
Timing: Watch the marbles' movement and try to time your presses to catch multiple marbles in one go.
Positioning: Slightly angle your hippo towards areas with more marbles to increase your chances of collecting them.
"Hungry Hungry Hippos" is a fun and frantic game that can be enjoyed by players of all ages. The simple rules and fast-paced gameplay make it a great choice for family game nights and parties.