Rhino Hero is the extremely popular prequel to Rhino Hero Super Battle. Created by the innovative HABA company, this game is the modern-day Jenga with a far better theme and lots more interactivity, making it a fantastic first step into the new-era of “board gaming.” 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! ANYWHO! Similar to nearly every dexterity game on the market, Super Battle asks players to build a tower/skyscraper by placing walls and floors. You get to play as one of the four heroic heroes: Rhino Hero (Obviously), Giraffe Boy, Big E. and Batguin. 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.

There are some minor instructions and restrictions which should be adhered to when placing the walls as detailed in the rulebook. But as had become the norm with games from HABA, I’m man enough to admit when I’m wrong (see Dragon Tower). Yes, Rhino Hero: Super Battle adds some new rules, but they do not hamper or slow down the game in the slightest. Everything still flows smoothly and I actually love a lot of new things in this version. Take the superhero medal if you are higher up the skyscraper than any other player at the end of the turn. I will say that the box is a tad generous with the age 5 rating. That’s probably a little early, although you know your kids better than anyone. We tried it with a 6-year-old and he was able to play, but still required a bit of help from us.Final Score: 5 Stars – Takes everything we love about the original Rhino Hero and adds in more variety and excitement. This also ensures that before too long you can’t nudge one card without nudgnig all of them because it’s inevitable that you’ll have to make use of other roofs to support new roofs. Many roofs need a long and a short wall and you can’t have roofs placed at a slope. Before too much time has passed your whole edifice has the internal interconnectivity of a haphazard hive constructed by bees doped up on LSD.

The rules to Super Battle are so deceptively simple that even your pet dog will understand them, although dogs don’t have thumbs so probably best not to play this with your dog…or any animal really. Each turn, you choose a floor card from your hand that determines which and how many wall cards you will use (short or tall) to support the floor card. The walls are placed on the tower (either on the base level or on previously played floors) with the floor on top of them. If the floor shows a monkey, you have to hang a spider monkey from the floor card. For me, this is one of my ‘lazy games’– when I know we’ve got people coming around and I’m not feeling at my most sociable, or when there’s a bit of a wait on the dinner and I’ve got an irritable teen and an interfering Nana, I’ll look to Rhino Hero to entertain them (and me) for a short space of time. The game can be made more difficult by having the game board show less than 10 build points. At the start of the game arrange the three base pieces however you want. If only the red starting points are shown then there are only 5 points and you have chosen the most difficult starting setup... and/or by only allowing only one hand to be used for building. And it's even more difficult if players are only allowed to use their less dominant hand! No but seriously my son loves to do the “single tall wall with a floor on top” move that immediately starts teetering precariouslyRhino Hero: Super Battle takes a game that was decent and makes it superb. Playing this game is a blast, and I recommend it for kids and adults alike.

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. Sure to be a favorite for all ages, this game plays differently every time. Includes more challenging variations for advanced gamers.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. Then, if the floor card shows a spider-monkey icon, the player takes a spider-monkey token and hangs it off the floor they just placed.

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. HABA have long been experts in creating exciting, fun, learning games for children. Rhino Hero first and foremost teaches children basic hand management and dexterity skills and patience. But it does more than that, because it’s one of the most perfect party games out there for adults, too. If ever there was an ice-breaker in a box, Rhino Hero would be it. Super Battle emulates the perfect crescendo; a smooth and circumspect event but as the skyscraper grows, the tension begins to build until the grand finale of everything toppling over and exploding like a firework of urban landscape. Rhino Hero is joined by three other action heroes and hanging spider monkeys. Includes 2 dice for hero battles when they land on the same floor.

Anyway. Super Battle is the ONLY dexterity game I own and pops out whenever we have friends, family or muggles round and the reaction has always been the same. The house fills with laughter and cheer which no other game in my personal collection manages to achieve. Final Thoughts on Rhino Hero: Super Battle Whilst all these intoxicatingly bright colours are a feast for the eyes, it has ignited some of the more interesting debates I have had in my life. Endeavouring to convince people to play what essentially looks like a children’s TV show is more problematic than I thought. 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.