HUNGRY HUNGRY HIPPO GAME AND FACTS

Hungry Hungry Hippos Game is a frantic, colorful gameplay that appeals to kids ages 4 and up. This popular theme is a recognizable favorite! The player whose hippos munches the most – wins! By Hasbro.

The characters named Henry, Harry, Homer and Happy Hippo are hungry! They eat marbles and they’ll gobble them up. But who is the hungriest? Feed them all the marbles at the same time and see which hippo munches the most!

Each player has a plastic hippo. The hippos are arranged around a plastic arena. When you push the tail, it will reach its head onto the playing field – attemping to trap one or more marbles, which is pulled back to a private player marble gutte. The hungry hungry hippo marbles are sometimes sent bouncing around the playing field instead of getting eaten.

The marbles are released onto the playing area; players attempt to get their hippos to eat as many marbles as possible. The game is playable by two to four players and is recommended by the manufacturer for children ages 3-6.

INTERESTING FACTS

The hungry hungry hippo game has become a part of American pop culture. Homer Simpson has mentioned this game twice on the cartoon The Simpsons, and it is referenced in a third episode, in which an apparently similar game, ‘Ravenous Ravenous Rhinos’ was featured. It was also mentioned in the film Donnie Darko. It is not uncommon to see it played by nostalgic adults or by parents with their children.

OBJECT OF HUNGRY HUNGRY HIPPO GAME

The players use the lever on the back of a player’s hippopotamus to capture as many of the twenty white marbles on the playing field as possible. Play ends when all marbles have been “eaten” by the hippos. The player with the most marbles wins.

The lightweight plastic playing field shakes during play, particularly when children are pounding on the levers with their hands to make their hippos capture marbles. This introduces a strong random element to the game. Winning is a matter of luck and not of skill.

The names of the hungry hippos are found on the stickers next to each hippo on the playing field. Similar children’s games popular in the U.S. include Don’t Break the Ice, Don’t Spill the Beans, and Ants in the Pants. Hungry Hungry Hippos is the only hippo game of these with lasting pop culture status.