Hungry Hungry Hippo

Hungry Hungry Hippo -The marble chomping, hippo feeding game.

If you've never played a game of Hungry Hungry Hippo, where have you been? This is a game that was first released in 1978 by Hasbro and it's still popular today. I don't know if it's the bright colors, the fun hippos or the fact that you control the movement, but kids like it.  

The game itself is a little hard to describe, so let's take a look at it (below).

Everything is plastic. There is some simple assemble required initially to put the hippos together, then you snap them onto the base. The tray is a bit tilted so the marbles will roll to the middle. When you push down on the hippo's black tail, his head will tip up and lurch forward before falling back down. Any marbles that rolled under his head when he lifted it (any marbles that the hungry hippo ate) are now trapped under it and roll into a reservoir off to the right of the hippo. They're yours! It's not a matter of aiming, because you cannot control that, it's a matter timing - lift the head as marbles are rolling in your direction. The 20 marbles (19 orange, 1 yellow) are plastic and stored under a round cap in the base of the game when not in play. The contraption will be too big to fit into the box once it is assembled, but you can take the hippos off the board when you're done if you want and return the pieces to the box for storage.

So how do those marbles get into the middle of the game base to begin with? You either put them all there before the game starts or you release them one at a time. Do you see the black lever next to the base of the orange hippo (above)? Just ahead of that lever is a groove. Each person has one by their hippo and they hold five marbles. Load it with five marbles and the push on the black lever at the base of your hippo to release one marble at a time.

CAUTION: The marbles may look like candy to some. Always monitor for safety with pieces that some may be temped to put in their mouths.

Object:
Have the most marbles at the end of the game.

Set up:
Snap the game together according to the instructions. Either place all the marbles in the middle of the game base or each player places five marbles in the groove by his hippo (depending on which game you want to play).

Play:

• Game where the marbles are released all at once before the game starts.
• All players play at the same time, trying to gobble up as many marbles as possible. Keep pushing down on the hippo's tail to eat as many marbles as possible before they are all gobbled up and the game is over. 
• Game where the marbles are released one at a time from the grooves.
• Take turns releasing the marbles one at a time. After each marble is released, play until someone eats it. Then release another marble. Play this way until all marbles have been eaten.
• Game where the yellow marble means something.
• Release the marbles all at once. Players play simultaneously until someone eats the yellow marble and wins the game.

Try this:

• Let the individual build the game initially, using the 2D instructions to build the 3D game.
• Use different fingers to push down on the hippo's tail. It does take a bit of a push and I find myself using more than one finger.
• Pick a number, maybe 4 or 5, and then play until someone gets exactly that number of marbles in their reservoir. Be careful, eat too many and you lose. (Just the opposite of real life where if you eat too many you gain.)
• Ask the player to grab a few marbles in their hand and then bring them to the fingertips one at a time to place them into the groove before play. Fill all the groves this way.
• Take the hippos off the game for storage. Dump the marbles into the base one last time and then pick them up, one at a time, and squirrel them into your palm. How many can you hold? Return them to the cap for storage and go again until they are all put away.
• Try coordinating your hands so that you control two hippos that are side-by-side, playing them both at the same time.
• Play across from each other if only two people are playing. This way if you miss a marble it can shoot across to the other player and they go back and forth. If players sit side-by-side then marbles may end up pooling in the middle, out of reach to everyone since the hippo only reaches part way to the middle of the game base. 

If you are interested in purchasing this game or just want more information, click on the image below.

Rush Hour Traffic Jam Puzzle

Rush Hour Traffic Jam - A logic game that is an OT favorite.

Rush Hour Traffic Jam has long been a favorite of OTs for several reasons: 1) It practices skills like logic, problem solving, planning and spatial reasoning, 2) It has 40 challenges that increase in difficult as you go and 3) It appeals to many people in general (if people like it, they will want to play it). The goal is simply to move the other vehicles out of the way so that your red car can drive off the grid, as you see in the image above. Many times the puzzles look downright impossible to solve, so it is also very satisfying when you are successful.

The grey game grid is made of hard plastic and there is only one opening around the perimeter to drive through. There is a door in the side of the box that slides open so you can store the 40 challenge cards inside the grid. There is a slot at the top of the grid where you can stand your puzzle card if you want. O

There are 12 cars and 4 trucks. Cars each take up two spaces on the grid and trucks take up three. All vehicles are hollow plastic and each is a different color. Vehicles can only travel in the direction they are in after you set up the challenge and they also must stay on that same path.

There are 40 challenges in four different skill levels - beginner, intermediate, advanced and expert. The puzzle side of the card will show you which vehicles to use and exactly where to place them. The back of the card shows you the solution, move by move, by vehicle letter and then whether they move left or right and by how many spaces. Puzzle number one takes 8 moves to complete. Puzzle number 40 takes 51 moves to complete. Here is the first card from each level:

Front of card with set up.

 

Back of card with solution.

If you like this game and can't get enough, don't worry, it comes in several themes and I have blogged about them all. Check our Railroad Rush Hour, Safari Rush Hour and Rush Hour Junior. Railroad and Safari also have square pieces that can travel in any direction. Fun!

If you are interested in reading about other one-person logic puzzles, check out my post on What' is Your Therapy Box? Logic Puzzle Edition.
  
Object:
Clear the grid lock so that the red car can safely drive off the grid.

Set up:
Choose a challenge card and stand it in the slot on the game grid. Use the vehicles to set up the grid exactly like the image on the card.

Play:
Move the vehicles out of the way of the door to clear the path for the red car to drive off. The cards must stay on the grid on the path they are on, no lifting cars off the grid and moving them around. The strategy that has always worked for me is to ask myself "Who is blocking the door?" Then I proceed to move that vehicle out of the way. Usually someone is blocking them so I ask "Who is blocking them?". Keep asking this question until you get to a car you can move. Move it out of the way and then start moving the other cars so the car before it can move. Work backwards until you clear the door.

Try this:

• Make a game out of just setting up the vehicles, following the challenge cards, if the puzzles will be too difficult to complete. It's fun just setting up the traffic jams.
• Complete the first couple of moves to get the individual started and model how to play.
• Work backwards. Do all but the last move, then do all but the last two moves, then do all but the last three moves, etc. Allow the individual to complete the puzzle each time, getting more difficult as you go.
• Complete a challenge as the individual looks on. Talk out loud as you problem solve to help the person learn. Then ask him to complete the same challenge.
• Ask the question "Who is blocking the exit?" If you can move the car and open the exit, go from there. If you can't move it, then ask "Who is blocking that car?" (the car that is blocking the car that is blocking the exit). Keep asking the question until you can move a car and then work from backwards from there.
• Choose a challenge card and have the individual set up the board. Read the answer, step-by-step, from the back and have the individual follow your directions to complete the puzzle. For instance say move the blue truck two spaces to the left, move the dark green car up 2 spaces, etc. Keep moving until finish the challenge. You will need to call the cars by color instead of letter since letters are not printed on the cars. Good for working on left-right.
• Work on visual discrimination, visual closure, visualization, figure ground, spatial relations, manual dexterity, in-hand manipulation, logic, problem solving, planning, executive functioning skills, process skills, play and leisure exploration and participation

In the box: Game grid, 16 vehicles, 40 challenge cards

If you are interested in purchasing this game or just want more information, click on the image below.