SNAP Review – Rhino Hero Junior

Look, up in the air – is it a bird? is it a plane? No, it’s a baby Rhino Hero and Spider Monkey!

Game

This is a SNAP review for Rhino Hero Junior, one of the HABA “My Very First Games”. Rhino Hero Junior was designed by Steven Strumpf and Scott Frisco, the same team who designed the original Rhino Hero. Up to four children ages 2 and up can play, in about 5 minutes.

Art

Like other HABA games for very young children, the pieces are chunky and inviting. Every set of walls has colorful characters on it. The characters all over the pieces give the tower some personality.

The colors are bright and easy to match and the numbers are large – and reinforced by bluebirds on each wall segment.

Mechanics

Rhino Hero Junior is all about matching and sequencing. Start with free play, looking at each floor and set of walls. Then move on to the 3 game modes described in the rulebook.

First, try a matching game, lining up the floors with matching colors together. Once all 6 floors are in order, find the set of walls that goes with each one.

Second, try a game with stacking. You need to start with the largest walls and end with the smallest ones. Don’t worry about what color the roof tile is… unless you want more of a stacking challenge!

In the third game variation, Baby Spider Monkey roof cards are added, turning this into a memory game. Keep looking for the next roof (floor) in order and placing them until Rhino Hero Junior can scale the whole building!

Expectations

This is a HABA game for very young children (it says it right on the box). I expected chunky pieces that are hard to mess up. It’s also a Rhino Hero game, so we expected stacking.

Surprises

Not really a surprise, but when I played this with a 2 1/2 year old friend, the most exciting part was knocking down the tower. We built, knocked down, rebuilt, and knocked down again at least a dozen times. I’d say that was a hit, especially for a kid who doesn’t know much about board games!

It’s fun to build, even for older kids. And even though there’s not really a “winner”, it’s still challenging – especially when you allow stacking out of order.

Recommended?

This game will develop matching, motor skills – and patience – along with helping children to identify numbers and sequencing.

Rhino Hero Junior will provide a foundation for kids to understand other board games and we highly recommend it.

I give it 5 out of 5 roof tiles.

Find it on Amazon or at your local store for toys & games.

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The Family Gamers received a copy of Rhino Hero Junior from HABA Games for this review.

This post contains affiliate links, which do not change your price, but help support The Family Gamers.

SNAP review music is Avalanche, provided courtesy of You Bred Raptors?