Rhino Hero

In Rhino Hero, you have to help Rhino Hero scale a tower, helping people and saving the day before the whole thing comes tumbling down. But the question is, who will topple the tower?

Rhino Hero is a dexterity game where you have to stack cards on top of each other to create a tower, with the person who knocks the teetering construction you have made losing. To do this, on your turn, you play one of five cards you start of with (this is for a four player game). You put the card on top of the the tower and place bent wall cards on the guidelines shown. The cards do not always follow the conventional wall pattern, and some will only require one wall (in my opinion, one of the hardest configurations). As everyone takes their turn, the tower will get taller, until eventually someone knocks it over. The winner is the the person with the least cards left when that happens.

This basic concept is made more interesting by some of the cards having symbols on them which make you do certain things, for example a card with an exclamation mark on it makes the next person miss a go. However, if you have the Rhino Hero symbol on the card, you must pick up the small wooden Rhino from wherever it was placed last -which could have been lower down on the tower- and place it on the symbol. This is trickier than it sounds, and can mean the difference between a pristine construction and a wobbling mess.

First thing to say is that this game is fun. Not just fun for little kids; fun for everyone. The heights you can get to is quite spectacular, and even adults will find themselves struggling towards the end. Although it does not have the complexity of any of the heavier style games, this works brilliantly to pass the time and the quick turns means you never get bored.

Having said that, one of the things that I did wish the game had more cards and wall bits. If you are playing with younger kids this will never matter, but I nearly used them all up when I was playing it by myself (a thing that is quite pleasurable). Also, more cards would mean you could play it with more people, as the player count only goes up to five, and if you wanted to play it at a party for example, you would have to leave some people out.

Final thing to mention, is that this game also tests your luck, as well as skill. If you have a hand of awkward Rhino Hero cards, your hopes of success would be beaten up, chucked out of a window and left in a gutter to cry it's silent tears, unless of course you are a master (not unlike myself). But overall, I would rate this game 8/10, and I think it is well worth the money for anyone.