HABA 302808 Rhino Hero – Super Battle

Product Information

It’s easy to see now how Rhino Hero appeals to everyone. Kids love the challenge, and almost thrive on having to move the rhino. Whereas adults, whether playing in the pub or once the little ones have gone to bed, will pull the most outrageous faces as they desperately attempt to concentrate, while the engrossed, watching crowd cheer their every move.

Set up begins with a trio of foundation tiles that make up the game floor. Players then choose a hero and are given three floor cards. Each of these cards acts as a “floor” tile that tells you how to place it on top of folded sections of card that make up the building’s walls. These come in short and tall varieties, with one tall wall section being twice the height of a short section. Players build the tower by placing these wall sections on either the foundation board or an existing floor card, then place their own floor card on top. Some cards have spider monkey symbols on them, which have you either place or move a small cardboard monkey chit up to your newly placed floor, where it must be placed hanging from the side. This can can be a delicate balancing act as you get higher up. Once a player has placed their floor card, they roll a die to see if they move up or down on the tower (results here range from -1 to 3 on a 6-sided die). If they end up on the same floor as another hero they “fight” by rolling off, with the loser getting shoved down. Whichever hero is currently at the top gets a medal to denote their status. This is about the limit of what he can manage without standing on his chair and putting a hand on the table

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Have you ever wanted to be a super hero? Have you ever wanted to be a super hero who is also an animal? Have you ever wanted to be a cape wearing super animal climbing a skyscraper? No, me neither but Rhino Hero: Super Battle gives you that opportunity nonetheless! Making it’s way onto shelves six-years after it’s hugely under-promising predecessor Rhino Hero; does Super Battle sit atop the tower of triumph? Building your way to success! Rhino Hero is about a heroic rhinoceros, clad in a cape and cowl, trying to scale a skyscraper! (If that hasn’t grabbed your attention, nothing will.) Technically this is a children’s game by hugely popular publisher HABA, but don’t let that put you off. While you can – and will – enjoy this with children of all ages (realistically aged five and up, for them to grasp the dexterity concept), it’s also guaranteed to be a smash hit with the adults, too!

Super Battle then makes everything bigger and more varied. Different cards, different heroes, and a system that incentivises the building of ever more intricate and interrelated structures. More important than this though, Super Battle adds a narrative arc to the game that manages to effectively elasticise the game experience. Rhino Hero could be very exciting to play as the game went on, and that excitement continued to mount until the thrilling finale. Super Battle gives you a more nuanced way to approach the ebb and flow of tension in play. It lets you bend and stretch the electricity of the fun without losing any of its charge.There are some minor instructions and restrictions which should be adhered to when placing the walls as detailed in the rulebook. To set up the game, players place three large tiles in a row on the table, to act as the base of the tower. Each player chooses a hero and receives a hand of three floor cards. On a turn, players will add either tall walls or short walls to a dictated by a floor piece that has already been played. You may also have to add a dastardly spider monkey to the construction! Then you will add your own floor piece for someone else to build on. I thought the original Rhino Hero was decent, but nothing to write home about. Rhino Hero: Super Battle, on the other hand, is fantastic. This game completely replaces the old one for me.

Then you roll the movement die and move your hero up or down the amount of floors shown on the die (-1 to 3). If you reach a level that already has another player, you battle by rolling opposing dice. The loser goes down a floor. Final Score: 5 Stars – Takes everything we love about the original Rhino Hero and adds in more variety and excitement. If the active player’s hero is now higher on the tower than anyone else’s, they claim the superhero medal token. This token will change hands throughout the game as players grapple to be king of the hill. Then, to conclude their turn, the active player draws a new floor card.There can be few games which provide as much tension and laughter to both children and adults as Rhino Hero Super Battle does. The rules are straightforward and present effective ways for children and adults to play on a level playing field… Rhino Hero Super Battle Set-Up Roll the light blue die. The number rolled indicates how many floors your superhero can be moved up the skyscraper.

A review copy of Rhino Hero: Super Battle was provided by HABA in exchange for a fair and honest review. The first player correctly places walls on the guidelines provided on the start tile. From here, they choose a roof tile from their own hand to give the next player their platform to test their steel. If this roof tile is plain, the next player goes ahead as before. However, if there is a symbol on the roof card, it may affect the next player’s turn. Younger players only can ignore the minus sign on the die. i.e -1 would be treated in the same way as one and they would move their superhero up one level.

The double-sided starting tile should then be placed: the side showing the two wall placement lines is your easier option, the side showing only one can be used for a more competitive family shootout or by those up for a challenge. I have two small negatives about Super Battle. First, it feels like a missed opportunity that this game does not integrate with the original, and second, the box is far larger than it needs to be. These issues aside, however, the production of this game is top-notch, and it’s great fun to play. The game box states that Rhino Hero Super Battle (designed by Scott Frisco and Steven Strumpf) is suitable for 5-99-year-olds. What’s amazing about this game is that not only are people of all ages capable of playing the game but the rules contain great ways of allowing younger players to stand a chance of winning against older players. These include: And then there are those stupid spider monkeys. The four included have to be dangled from a placed floor when required. You wouldn’t think that something so small and light could cause the tower to fall, but I’ve seen it happen. As you get higher up, things start balancing very precariously. And then that jerk monkey will swoop in and upset your perfect balance, causing a collapse… and I love it. This tiny little addition adds not only some great challenge to the game, but another area for strategy. I’ll sometimes place the monkeys right in tight areas, hoping my opponents will be the one that has to figure out how to get it out.