Hasbro's Hungry Hungry Hippos Launchers (item E9707), the game our link goes toPhoto: Hasbro
What's in the box: the base, four hippos, ramps and launchersPhoto: Hasbro
Swallowed melons roll back down into your counterPhoto: Hasbro
The motorised hippos open and close by themselvesPhoto: Hasbro
The switch: Off, Beginner or ExpertPhoto: Hasbro

Family game

Hungry Hungry Hippos Launchers

Flick melons into a hungry hippo's moving mouth: first to five wins

2–4players · best with 3-4
1–5 minplaying time
4+recommended age
Learning curve
Very easy1 / 5
EasyDemanding
Luck & skill
Luck and skill
LuckSkill
Interaction
Low
Set-up
About 3 min
Reading
None

The quick verdict

Full verdict ↓

Great for Children from 4 who enjoy aiming and flicking, not just pressing a lever as fast as they can

Think twice if You'd rather not deal with batteries: it needs four AA batteries (not included) and a screwdriver to fit them

How we rate it

Learning curve. Flick melons until five land in your hippo. The only thing to learn is the press-and-slide launch, so it sits at 1 on our scale with UNO and Connect 4.

Luck & skill. There's no strategy, but aim and timing count for more than in the classic: you have to land a flicked melon in a mouth that keeps opening and closing. Bounces still decide a lot.

Interaction. Everyone shoots at their own hippo with their own melons, and taking another player's melons isn't allowed, so it's a race rather than a scramble.

Set-up. The first time, an adult fits the batteries with a screwdriver and snaps the hippos, ramps and launchers onto the base, which takes about five minutes. After that, put five melons in each launcher and switch on.

Reading. No words are needed to play; text appears only in the rules leaflet.

Learning curve: 1 = UNO or Connect 4; 3 = Catan; 5 = a heavy strategy game. These describe the experience, not an overall score.

Is Hungry Hungry Hippos Launchers right for you?

Great if

  • Children from 4 who enjoy aiming and flicking, not just pressing a lever as fast as they can
  • Groups of three or four, since all the launchers fire at the same time and no one waits around
  • Short, lively rounds at a family get-together or on a rainy school-holiday afternoon
  • A birthday gift for a young child who already has the classic Hungry Hungry Hippos

Skip it if

  • You'd rather not deal with batteries: it needs four AA batteries (not included) and a screwdriver to fit them
  • A toddler under 3 might get hold of the melons: Hasbro warns that they are small balls and a choking hazard
  • You want the classic lever-bashing game; that's the original Hungry Hungry Hippos, which needs no batteries

How Hungry Hungry Hippos Launchers plays

Set-up: an adult fits four AA batteries into the box under the base, which needs a Phillips (cross-head) screwdriver. Then snap the four hippos onto the base, slide a launcher onto the narrow end of each ramp, attach the ramps to the base and put five melons in each launcher's crate. Each player sits behind one hippo.

  • Time to teach: about 2 minutes.
  • Reading and language: Nothing to read during play: you flick melons and count the ones your hippo eats. Once an adult shows how the launcher works, it plays the same in Hindi, Tamil or any mix of languages. Only the rules leaflet has text.

A turn, step by step

  1. 1
    Switch

    Turn the base to Beginner or Expert; the hippos start opening and closing their mouths.

  2. 2
    Launch

    On 'GO', everyone at once flicks melons from their launcher at their own hippo's moving mouth.

  3. 3
    Win

    Swallowed melons roll into your counter. The first hippo to eat all five of your melons wins.

Read the official rulesHungry Hungry Hippos Launchers instructions (Hasbro item E9707) · English
The full explanation: how a game of Hungry Hungry Hippos Launchers goes

Slide the switch on the base from Off to Beginner or Expert, and the hippos start opening and closing their mouths by themselves. When the youngest player says 'GO', everyone races at once. Put a melon on your launcher pad, press the launching tab all the way down with a fingertip and slide your finger off the back: the melon flies up, and with luck lands in your hippo's open mouth.

A swallowed melon rolls back down your ramp into your counter, so everyone can see the score. Missed melons have to be fetched quickly, and you may try as many times as you need with each one, but only with your own melons: taking someone else's is not allowed.

The first player whose hippo eats all five of their melons wins. To play again, push the melons out of the counters along the base of each ramp. To pack away, lift the hippos, ramps and launchers off, keep the melons in the launchers and put everything back in the box.

Compared with the classic Hungry Hungry Hippos, nothing here is worked by a lever. The hippos are motorised, you aim melons into their moving mouths instead of making them chomp marbles, each player has their own five melons, and the winner is the first to five rather than whoever grabs the most.

What's in the box

What's in the box: the base, four hippos, ramps and launchers · Photo: Hasbro
  • 1Base
    motorised, with an Off/Beginner/Expert switch; takes 4 AA batteries underneath (not included)
  • 4Hippos
    snap onto the base; their mouths open and close by themselves
  • 4Ramps
    swallowed melons roll back down into a counter at the end
  • 4Launchers
    each with a crate that holds five melons
  • 20Plastic melons
    small balls, five for each player
  • 1Game rules

Box: 33.3 × 26.7 × 8.1 cm, 0.97 kg. Handy to know for gifting and travel.

From Hasbro's contents list for item E9707 (consumer-care record and rules leaflet). Batteries are not included: you need four 1.5 V AA (LR6) batteries and a Phillips screwdriver. The classic game (item F8815) instead has one lever-worked game unit with four hippos, 20 marbles and a marble storage case, and needs no batteries.

Where to buy

Check price on Amazon.in
How to make sure you get a genuine copyEditions and the details worth checking.

About the editions

Hasbro sells the Launchers game in India: item E9707 has India pages on Hasbro's consumer-care and instructions sites. We found nothing to show it is made here. The listing behind our Amazon.in link names Hasbro India Toys, Mumbai, as importer, and Hasbro's rules leaflet for India is its US, Canada and Australia print. Our Amazon.in link goes to Hasbro's own item E9707.

Before you choose

  • Look for the Hasbro Gaming logo and the Hungry Hungry Hippos Launchers name on the box; Hasbro's item number is E9707.
  • Inside there should be a base, four hippos, four ramps, four launchers and 20 plastic melons, plus the rules.
  • The base takes four AA batteries, and its switch has Off, Beginner and Expert settings; the hippos' mouths open and close by motor.
  • Hasbro's barcode for E9707 is 630509948833, the same on Indian store listings.
  • Check for the ISI mark and a BIS licence number on the box; toys sold in India must carry them.

What reviewers and players say

We found no written reviews of the Launchers game itself. Geeky Hobbies' rules guide rates it light on difficulty and strategy, with moderate luck, and puts a game at one to five minutes. Reviewers of the classic Hungry Hungry Hippos agree it's a children's game first that grown-ups tire of quickly; Launchers keeps the everyone-at-once rush but swaps lever-bashing for aiming at a moving mouth, at the cost of four AA batteries and some assembly.

What people love

  • Everyone plays at once, with no turns and nothing to read
  • Games are short, one to five minutes by Geeky Hobbies' count
  • Each player's swallowed melons collect in their own counter, so the score is easy to see

Common complaints

  • Needs four AA batteries, not included, and a screwdriver to fit them
  • Missed melons bounce off and have to be chased, as Hasbro's rules point out
  • Reviewers of the classic hippo game say the fun wears off quickly for adults
Based on 5 reviews and discussions

Summarised in our own words from the sources above. We don't use Amazon reviews or ratings.

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Questions people ask about Hungry Hungry Hippos Launchers

What batteries does Hungry Hungry Hippos Launchers need?

Four 1.5 V AA batteries, which are not included. They go in a battery box under the base, and you need a Phillips (cross-head) screwdriver to open it. Hasbro recommends alkaline batteries.

What is the difference between Hungry Hungry Hippos Launchers and the regular game?

In the regular game you press a lever to make your hippo chomp marbles, and the hippo with the most marbles wins. In Launchers the hippos are motorised and open and close their mouths on their own, and you flick plastic melons into your hippo's mouth from a launcher. The first player whose hippo eats all five of their melons wins.

How do you win Hungry Hungry Hippos Launchers?

Be the first to land all five of your melons in your hippo's mouth. Each swallowed melon rolls down your ramp into a counter, so it's easy to see who is ahead. You may retry missed melons as often as you like, but only your own.

What age is Hungry Hungry Hippos Launchers for?

Hasbro rates it for ages 4 and up, for 2 to 4 players. An adult needs to assemble it and fit the batteries, and the melons are small balls, so keep them away from children under 3.

What do the Beginner and Expert settings do?

A switch on the base turns the game on in Beginner or Expert mode. Hasbro's rules don't say exactly what changes between them, so start younger children on Beginner and move up when they're landing their melons easily.

Game facts

Publisher
Hasbro (Hasbro Gaming)
In India
Hasbro India Toys Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai (importer on the Amazon.in listing; Hasbro also has India consumer-care and instructions pages for item E9707)
First published
2020
Players
2–4
Barcode
630509948833
Language
No reading – Nothing to read during play: you flick melons and count the ones your hippo eats. Once an adult shows how the launcher works, it plays the same in Hindi, Tamil or any mix of languages. Only the rules leaflet has text.
Box size and weight
33.3 × 26.7 × 8.1 cm, 0.97 kg
Sources & photo creditsThe references behind this guide.

Facts on this page come from the publisher, the Indian maker or distributor, and the sources below. Photos are credited under each one.