And The Cards Came Tumbling Down - A Review of Rhino Hero

 What is this? A game for kids?!?

HABA is a pretty respected company here on BGG and known for making fairly decent games to play with kids to introduce them to board games and the rules that come with them. I personally have played a few of their games and really enjoyed them, so imagine my surprise when Rhino Hero popped up several times with older adults mentioning how much fun the game is to play, even as an adult.

I will admit that this intrigued me. HABA games tended to be simpler, especially as they were geared towards younger kids (aged 5 and up), so to have so many people speak highly of this game was something of an oddity.

I snagged a copy of the game (actually it was two copies as I picked one up almost a day after for free) from a local game shop and after reading the rules, I immediately understood what made this game stand out. I played multiple games with both my wife, daughter, friends and family and the general consensus was that the game was extremely fun to play. My daughter wasn't as big into it, but I'm certain that she'll like it a bit more when she can perform the actions.

What was it that made the game so fun to play? Well, look below dear reader, and you shall learn of what make Rhino Hero one of my favorite kids games that I've ever played.

Towering Over the Table

I'll start off by breaking down what's in the box, because it isn't much:

- 31 roof cards
- 28 wall cards
- 1 foundation card
- 1 Rhino Hero wooden figure
- Rulebook

It's a super simple setup, like most of the games that HABA creates, but the simplicity belies the fun that lies in this small box.

The rules too are simple: Players take turns placing walls on the base or roof card in the indicated diagram noted on the card, doing their best to place the wall cards as close to the diagram as possible. They then place one (or two if a card allows it) card on top of the walls and play passes to the next person.

It seems simple enough, but that's when the different roof effects come into play. They vary in effects from reversing the direction of play, skipping the next player's turn, or making the next player have to move the Rhino Hero up the tower of cards that are being made. As the tower grows higher and higher, so to does the level of instability. If any players knock over the tower, they trigger the endgame and the remaining players count how many cards they still have left in their hands with the lowest count winning the game.

The rulebook even has a contingency for the unlikely event that all wall cards are used and placed in the tower: everyone playing wins!

That's the entire game! It's a simple, yet effectively fun game that tasks players with a dexterity challenge that even as an adult, I've found to be extremely enjoyable.

What stands out to me the most is the simple premise and how effective designers Scott Frisco and Steven Strumpf have been with this easy to learn but difficult to master game mechanic. The cards are well designed and the walls cards have a crease to help with bending them into the necessary 90-degree angle for the wall creation. Additionally, the roof cards and base card are both on thicker cardstock and the icons on the corners of the roof cards have foil that make them stand out and feel more premium.

The game itself plays in 5-10 minutes, but ever single time I've played, I've wanted to play again. Is it simple? Yes. Do I want to play it immediately again after to see how big I can build the tower? Again yes.

I don't know why it's so much fun to play, but it's absolutely a game that I'd be open to play any time and every time, especially since it's so short and easy to teach.

Plus the game also integrates with Rhino Hero: Super Battle to make for a truly epic and sprawling cityscape on the table.

I'm a big fan of this game and easily award it a 94/100, both for ease of play and quickness with teaching and playing it. I do wish there were a few more actions that one could take, but the hilarious result of having a huge card tower topple on you when you try to move the Rhino Hero more than makes up for the lack of variability. Plus, the game is designed with kids in mind, so too much variability would be tough for them to learn how to play.

Final Thoughts

There you have it! A simple and quick review for a simple and quick game!

I had a few other thoughts about what I wanted to review today, but I'm putting them on hold for now as I didn't have enough time to take some snapshots of everything. I'll be continuing my regular Monday/Wednesday/Friday uploads and I think I'll be doing something a bit different on Monday, but we'll see where my brain takes me.

Give me your thoughts:Have you had the opportunity to play a game geared towards kids, but finding yourself enjoying the game more than you thought you would? What kids game do you feel would be a fun reintegration for adults if a few mechanics were updated? Do you play games with kids at all, or does your general group tend towards the more adult side of the age range?

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*Originally posted on BoardGameGeek on 28/8/2024*