2011’s Rhino Hero was a cute little card game where players took it in turns to build a tower out of playing cards and move a little rhino-shaped counter up the tower until it fell over. Its sort of sequel, Rhino Hero Super Battle, takes this idea and turn into a more fun, more dynamic game that may well be a classic.
Rhino Hero is, of course, a rhino with a mask and a cape. In this competitive game, he’s joined by some super cute animal heroes – Giraffe Boy, Big E. and Batguin. Big E is an elephant, and Batguin is a penguin dressed as a bat. Of course he is.
This is a stacking and building game. Extra Long Cards are drawn that tell you what sort of walls you can use. There are two types: long and short. You use these walls to balance the extra long cards on the gameboard, making the “floor” of a skyscraper. As the game progresses, you build up on these floors. Some cards have a monkey symbol on them, meaning you need to balance an amazing spider monkey on the card once you’ve built a floor.
You then roll a special dice to see if your hero goes up a floor. If they land on a floor that’s already occupied, it’s super battle time. You both roll dice, whoever gets the highest wins, the loser goes down a floor. Or to put it another way, this is a game where you randomly build a house of cards with other people, and the game does everything it can to make you knock it down. You win if you’re in the lead when someone else knocks it down. If you knock it down and you’re in the lead, everyone else wins. It’s as charming as it is haphazard and messy.
When the game was first released it rapidly went out of print, and now it’s back on the shelves of your local game store. We can see why it’s so popular. This is a family game, but one that also works well for adults. Kids will be delighted that they can get the various counters into the most inconvenient places, whereas adults will resort to placing walls and floors in the strangest ways. The old adage about youth versus experience comes to life, and the entire family ends up having silly yet competitive fun.
Rhino Hero Super Battle’s main appeals are its bright colours, playful style and silly format. It’s a competitive game where anyone can knock the cards over, and everyone laughs over it. A classic. Probably.
RHINO HERO SUPER BATTLE / PUBLISHER: HABA / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
