[Hungry Hungry Hippos], Review by Brett Options

[Brett]

[Hungry Hungry Hippos]
Review by Brett

Last Christmas I gave you my heart , and the very next day , you gave it away.
Our friend George Michael was obviously alluding to the subject of today’s review , The Hungry Hungry Hippo’s Board Game by Milton Bradley. During the course of this article I’m going to ask the tough questions that the other gaming sites are afraid to know the answers to :

Who are these Hippo’s?
What drives them?
And why are they so damn hungry?

This year for Christmas , my girlfriend’s parents decided that I was mature enough for the target audience of ages 3 to 6 and purchased me a Hungry Hungry Hippo’s board game as a present. After extensive testing over the last 4 days , I am now ready to report my findings to you , my loyal Brett forum readers.

Hungry Hungry Hippos (HHH from now on , to save my precious typing fingers) is a game for two to four players, the object of which is to feed your hippo by pressing a lever positioned on its arse to open its mouth and gobble the small plastic balls that populate the playing field.

Like chess , HHH is a game of open-ended possibilities. Whilst appearing simple , many variables can be introduced to the normal game play. These include but are not limited to :

• Shaking of the playfield by losing players , thus moving balls from your capture area to theirs.

• Eating of the balls by Brett because he thinks they are kool mints , thus resulting in a shortened game version , and a trip to the East Perth Hospital emergency room on Christmas Day.

• Jamming of the Pink Hippo , who my girlfriend used first , then it broke , but it wasn’t her fault , resulting in an unfair handicap for Pink Hippo Players.

HHH has been embraced by the modding community. From the early on its apparent that this is a game for the hardcore. Users have to install their own stick on eyes to their Hippo before play. Care needs to be taken not to give your Hippo “boggle eye syndrome” by not applying the eye stickers straight. This is probably why my pink hippo broke.

Self install issues aside , the quality of HHH is exemplary. The balls are all round , even after a trip through the intestines of first the hippos , then Brett. The playfield is a splendid orange that matches most bathrooms of the 1980’s , and 75% of my hippos still work fine after 4 days. The “Hippo Engine 3” is a robust 3D ball eating game engine , and has been licensed for use in other games such as “Ants in the Pants” and “Rampant Rampant Rhinos”.

In conclusion , I award HHH by Milton Bradley Games , The Brett Silver Seal of Excellence Award. Easily the best board game I received this Christmas.

[Yug]

I want photos of Brett in action playing the game

... and maybe going to the hospital

[AJ]

[Anna]

Haha, awesome!

*applause*

[MoonUnit]

oh dude, you dont CHOOSE the pink hippo

(nice )

[Oracle]

Haha, that was a funny write up.. but damn boy I totally disagree with your final results of HHH.

After owning HHH for a while I discovered that each ball had an inbuilt AI chip installed causing the balls to roll away and never to be found again over the years. Today, I have only 6 balls remaining.

Milton Bradley should have allowed for 3rd party balls to be used. Because of this, I will lower my mark of HHH to 2.5/5

Oh, and remind me never to get you monopoly for Christmas.

[Jessi]

After owning HHH for a while I discovered that each ball had an inbuilt AI chip installed causing the balls to roll away and never to be found again over the years. Today, I have only 6 balls remaining.

...you'd want the hand-held port, HHH Travel. It comes in a bubble so the balls cannot roll away and, instead, remain with the mothership. It has reduced multiplayer support, however, only allowing two combatants with no control over colours, but the general gameplay remains the same. It's worth checking out.

[Lord Halo Nerd]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
AHH The old East Perth Hosptial so many memories when my Dad got hurt when he was arresting someone