Hungry Hungry Hippos Launchers Board Game: Rules and Instructions for How to Play

Objective of Hungry Hungry Hippos Launchers

The objective of Hungry Hungry Hippos Launchers is to be the first player to shoot your five melon marbles into your hippo’s mouth.

Setup for Hungry Hungry Hippos Launchers

Insert four AA batteries into the bottom of the base unit.

Connect each hippo head to the base. Line up the connections on the bottom of the head with the spaces in the center of the base. Press down on the head to snap it into place. You can connect any of the hippo heads into each position.

Setup for Hungry Hungry Hippos Launchers

Take one of the launchers and line up the end with the narrow end of one of the ramps. Press down on the launcher in order to snap it into place.

Take the wider end of each ramp and line it up with the connector on the base near a hippo’s head. Press down on the ramp until it snaps into place.

Place five melon marbles inside each launcher crate.

To turn on the game slide the button on the side of the base to the right. There are three different positions for the button. From left to right the three positions are off, beginner game, and expert game.

Choosing A Difficulty — Here is a picture of the button which turns on the game unit. The game unit is currently off (the far left spot). If you push the button one position to the right you will get the beginner game. If you push it two spaces to the right, you will get the expert game.

The game begins as soon as the youngest player says “GO”.

Playing Hungry Hungry Hippos Launchers

As soon as you turn on the game unit each of the hippo’s mouths will open and close. The goal of the game is to shoot your melons into your hippo’s mouth when it is open. There are no turns in the game. You can shoot as many times as you want, and can shoot whenever you think you can make the shot.

To prepare to launch one of your marbles, you will take one of the marbles out of the launcher crate. You will place the marble on the indentation on the launcher pad.

Prepared to Launch Marble — This player is ready to launch a marble. All they have to do is push down on the launcher and let go.

Press down on the end of the launcher with one of your fingers. You should press down until it goes back as far as it can. To shoot the marble you will release your finger from the launcher. This will shoot the marble towards the hippo’s mouth.

Launching A Marble in Hungry Hungry Hippos Launchers — As the hippo’s mouth is open the green player should probably shoot their marble now.

Your goal is to shoot the marbles so they go into your hippo’s mouth and roll down the ramp into your scoring zone.

Launches Marble into Hippo — This player has successfully launched one of their marbles into the hippo’s mouth as it has rolled down the ramp.

If your shot misses you should try to pick it up as quickly as possible. Each player must retrieve their own missed marbles. You may only shoot your own marbles and cannot pick up another player’s marbles and shoot them.

Winning the Game

The first player to shoot all five of their melons into their hippo wins the game. You can tell how many shots you have made by looking at the marbles that have rolled into your ramp.

Winning Hungry Hungry Hippos Launchers — This player has successfully launched five marbles into their hippo’s mouth. They have won the game.

Playing Another Game

To remove the marbles from the ramp to play another game, push them to the left or right side of the ramp. This should pop them out of the ramp.

Removing Marbles from the Ramp — The current game has ended. In order to start another game you need to remove the marbles from the ramp. To remove the marbles you will push them out of the left or right side of the end of the ramp.

Storing the Game

When you are done with the game, you can disassemble the game unit in order to fit it back inside of the box. To remove each section, you will pull up on them and they should pop out.

Components for Hungry Hungry Hippos Launchers

Year: 2021 | Publisher: Hasbro | Designer: NA | Artist: NA

Genres: Action, Children’s, Dexterity, Electronic

Ages: 4+ | Number of Players: 2-4 | Length of Game: 1-5 minutes

Difficulty: Light | Strategy: Light | Luck: Moderate

Components: base, 4 hippos, 4 ramps, 4 launchers, 20 plastic melons, instructions

Where to Purchase: Amazon, eBay Any purchases made through these links (including other products) help keep Geeky Hobbies running. Thank you for your support.