Hasbro Gaming Elefun & Friends Hungry Hungry Hippos Game

The ultimate, foolproof, 'pick up and play' game. It's easy to set up even without instructions and is actually a pretty practical, carry about game should you wish (you can fold and stick the hippos to the underside of the board, although good luck not losing the tiny balls!).Playing is easy and doesn't need explaining, it's good, clean mindless fun, although the golden ball doubling your tally is a great dynamic that I don't remember from the set I had in the 90's, but a good idea!Loses one star as I don't have much faith in the longevity of the hippos' heads (the bit that chomps down and its mechanism), they seem a bit flimsy to me and I don't know how many 'bites' they'll last for.

The media could not be loaded. Oh dear! Exactly a week before Christmas, having completed the shopping for her children, my daughter took her 5 years old son to see Father Christmas and, when asked what he'd like, he said (totally out of the blue) that he'd like Hungry Hippos. Needless to say, he hadn't mentioned it before, but TV advertising is powerful. So, a quick phone call to mum later that day (so Father Christmas didn't disappoint) .... and Hungry Hippos arrived at her door four days later.Hungry Hippos was a crazy, early 1980s, 'board' game for up to four players, which my own two kids loved. Apart from the colours and the names of the hippos, it hasn't changed much since the 80s, and it's still just as much fun. It was a game that relied more on luck than skill, and still does, in order to win. There are four plastic hippopotamuses at the edges of a square plastic playing tray, which dips slightly in the middle (to help contain the balls), and about 19 orange marble sized balls, with one white ball. These are the hippos' food. When the little lever at the back of the hippo's head is pressed, its head lifts up and shoots forward to grab the food, which falls into a little compartment adjoining each hippos right side. You can either play to get the most balls, or to get the white ball.Each hippo is a different colour, and each has a name - Veggie Potomus is green, Bottomless Potomus is yellow (odd name!), Sweetie Potomus is blue, and Hungry Hippo is orange. This game is fast paced fun for little people aged over three, but its quality has deteriorated dramatically in this cheap and cheerful, throw away, age. The game didn't look, or feel, very strong to me as it's only made from plastic. My grandson frantically bashed away on the hippo's head, shrieking with delight, trying to get the most food, and I didn't expect the game to last the day. I took my time - and actually grabbed the most food. Once he realised that frantic bashing didn't win, he toned it down somewhat.The game looks cheap, and feels cheap - and it was an added expense as it was not on the Christmas list. But, much to my surprise, it withstood many a battering on Christmas day, and is still going strong and providing hours of fun. Therefore, I am judging it on the pleasure it gives as opposed to it's quality, and if it only lasts a few months it will have served it's purposed and proved that Father Christmas exists.

much enjoyed (and noisy) game. Needs to be played on a flat surface as the hippos can become detached and are not easy to put back.

The children absolutely loved it but I don’t think it will last long as not very sturdy.

Great fun game. We love it. Only downside is you have to take the hippos off to put it back in the box. Whilst this isn't a huge thing it does mean that the 4 year old tries to do this & can't & he also can't attach them to play with it so it's not a case of pulling it out of the box & it's ready to play. However, it's a fun game so 4 stars for that & 1 star down for the boring practical storage!

My kid loves it! Spending hours playing with it, with us, or alone. Developping fine motor skills, and counting, eye-hand coordination... Great present.

Hungry hippos? Best game ever. Lots of fun, very competitive, with the only moan being that this version doesn't seem as well-made and sturdy as it once was, so it may not last that long. However this remains to be seen; what's important now is that my wife and I (both in our mid-forties) are tied at nine games all, and it's time for the decider. Unleash the hippos! Victory will be mine ...

My 4 year old loves this game. It does what it's says on the box. Only negative is that once it's put together it does not fit back in the box so you have to leave it out which means balls end up everywhere. I have a cheaper version of this game and this fits back in it's box.