Hungry Hungry Hippos
by Hasbro
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Our Price: $34.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $6.99 (click here) Category: Toy See more product details |
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Toys and Games Reviews of Hungry Hungry Hippos
Customer Review: I was not pleased
Summary: 2 Stars
As a parent and having played this game when I was a child and enjoying it very much then, I have to say that the way that Milton Bradley has modified their old fashioned games is pretty bad. I remember the game when I was a child, the marbles were larger and the hippos as well, however playing the game was much more easier. In this one we found a lot of incoveniences.Examples: The marbles are very small and light, not suitable for children under 4, they often jump OFF the game board to the floor and if you have wood or tiled floor you'd have to run to get them. The hippos would often detach from the main board while in game play, knowing children who are sometimes hyperactive this is a NO-NO. My children who are only 5 & 6 (they were 4 & 5 last christmas) would be so excited playing the game when some of the mentioned things happened and could not keep up with marbles all over the floor. In other words if a parent is not present the marbles will get lost under the surrounding furniture. I just got tired of running after them.
I also bought Operation also by Milton Bradley, don't even get me started there. Quite a dissapointment as well. With these modifications the fun of the games is gone. The marbles from Hungry Hippos are nowhere to be found and the game is sitting there doing nothing, next step is the trash.
Customer Review: Fun game...poor construction
Summary: 3 Stars
My son received this for Christmas,and while he loves it, it isn't made that great, hence the reason for 3 stars. Education wise...it is great for teaching counting, and who has more, and finding the difference "How many more do I have?" So there is some math hidden in the game. The product could be better if it were a one piece construction,like the one I had as a child in the 80's. You have to assemble before you play, and properly take it all apart to get it to fit in the box...hard for young kids to do.
The first thing I noticed was that 2 hippos would get stuck. Before the first use, the parent really needs to break the toy in for young kids. Otherwise it won't be much fun to stop several times midgame to fix the hippo, it is frustrating for my child to fix it on his own.
The second thing has to do with taking it apart. The pieces do not slide out easily, but you need force to take it apart. Some of the plastic that holds the hippo in the board have broken off during the first time we went to disassemble the game.
Bottom line..while the game is fun for kids...once it is assembled do not take it apart, and trash the box.. Keep the marbles in a baggie and tape it to the game. This is much easier for the kids to take it out when they want to play with it, and store it again.
Customer Review: They must be joking!!!! Cheap, cheap, cheap!!!
Summary: 1 Stars
This product used to be fun when I was a kid. I just bought it for my kids, and I am tremendously disappointed. Initially, I thought it was going to be okay. The instructions were decent, and it went together fairly easily. The first red flag was when I took the marbles out - they are plastic! Who ever heard of plastic marbles? Then, once we started to play, it became apparent how cheaply the game is made because the hippos kept getting stuck and had to be fiddled with to work again. That was when I first started considering returning it. The icing on the cake was when I tried to put it away. I think you may need the fingers of a child and the strength of a man to partially dissassemble the game to make it fit back in the box. It has small plastic tabs that were snapped into place to put it together, and then have to be pinched to be released to take it apart. The only problem is that it clearly wasn't made to be taken apart. I would love to see my husband trying to do this. He wouldn't be able to fit his fingers in, yet there is not way my daughter could do it either. Cheap, cheap, cheap.
I am becoming disappointed with Milton Bradley/Hasbro toys that I have bought in recent years, such as Mousetrap, Cootie, Don't Spill the Beans, etc.
Customer Review: Fun game but horrible design
Summary: 3 Stars
My kids love this game and play with it quite a bit. It is fun and easy to play for younger kids (3+) but the problem with it is in its design and construction. I totally agree with the other reviews. The plastic used in the toy is cheap and the design is also not great. The hippos' mouth gets stuck occasionally, and needs to be yanked a little to get them going again. However, my biggest problem with the toy is that once assembled (the hippos have to attached to the board initially), the size is too big to fit back in the box. And the hippos cannot be taken out each time as they require some force to click in their place and the kids wouldn't be able to set it up each time. As a result, the board is now lying outside the box! I make my kids put back the balls inside the box each time, but it's a silly to just have the big box around for the balls and the main board lying outside. Also, sometimes the balls get stuck inside the hippo and eventually can get lost. Overall, a very poor design and construction of a perfectly nice game. I paid a lot less than the $25 it usually lists at, so I don't mind very much but I would expect a lot better for its full price.Customer Review: Good concept, poor design
Summary: 2 Stars
We wanted a game our 3 year old daughter could play that was easy, fast and fun. Hungry Hippos is based on a simple concept- just push the lever on the back of the hippo and gather more marbles (plastic) than any one else. There's little real skill or problem solving involed, but that's what makes it fun, especially with a preschooler.
The parts have been re-engineered over the years. The game I remember from my childhood was a single assembly with glass marbles. This unit, after assembly, is really 5 pieces (4 hippos and the base) that slide together when you want to play, then come off for storage. The problem is that the detachable hippos come off too easily, even when the board is slid or bumped hard. Also, the lever mechanism that extends the hippos neck and opens the mouth is of very poor design and often hangs up, which infuriates our daugher.
For now I plan on permenantly attaching the hippos to the base with either screws or glue. Hopefully the mechanism will "wear in" with more use.
I'll keep my eye out for the older version of this game at local garage sales. If I find one, this new one will go in the trash.