Our favorite toddler game publisher is back with another installment in their stellar My Very First Games lineup! This time HABA is putting the toddler spin on their popular family dexterity game with Rhino Hero Junior! 

We let our bevy of toddlers loose on it to see not only how the game worked but how it physically held up against these pint sized gamers! 

How Do You Play?

There are a few ways to play Rhino Hero Junior. 

1. The first and most obvious: free play! Kids love building towers and knocking them down! (And by kids, I mean all of us really, why do you think Rhino Hero was a hit??)

2. Color matching – Here you can practice matching colors and beginning counting skills. You’ll match the colors on the roof cards and then use them to match with their coordinating floor. 

3. Build a Tower! Kids will work together to build the tower and place Rhino Hero Jr on the top without the tower falling down. 

4. Memory Game – This time you’ll place the roof card so that their numbers are hidden. Kids will work to build the tower by finding the correct roof cards in order 1-6. If they find the correct number, they build that floor, placing Rhino Hero Jr. on top. If they find the incorrect number, they put it back. When they turn over a card and find a spider monkey, they must move Spider Monkey up one floor. They win by having Rhino Hero Jr reach the top of the tower first. 

What Do We Think?

Rhino Hero Junior is an excellent edition in the My Very First Games line from HABA! Our kids have begged to play this every single day since we got it. So beyond what else I have to say of it below, please consider that a high endorsement from this household.

All our kids were drawn like magnets to this game. Not only was it a theme they were familiar with (we’re big fans of Rhino Hero in this house) but the colors and design of the game just pops! The tower gets up to a nice height when fully constructed which looks and feels impressive for the kids. 

I love that the floor cards are so sturdy so that little kids can build the tower while still being challenged. My biggest complaint with the original Rhino Hero game is that our younger kids always want to play it, but it requires such a delicate touch that they were always knocking it down. Obviously you’ll still want to be careful with them, they’re cardboard after all, but when our daughter was building the floors, she bent a piece the wrong way and it held steady and didn’t break. I was very impressed.

For me, Rhino Hero Junior is the absolute best version for kids under 6. Once they’ve graduated from this game, I’d recommend going directly to Rhino Hero Super Battle. I have a feeling that our original game will be mostly regulated to traveling excursions from now on. 

Rhino Hero Junior really connected with our three year old, Harry. He is a very rambunctious child who sometimes (read: always) struggles to sit still — for anything, but especially games. This game gave him the physical movement he so desperately needs. Building the tower was exciting and required him to focus and calm himself so that he could build successfully. This is the perfect choice for kids like him who may struggle sitting down and are still needing more play and less structure in their activities.

Educational

Beyond the physical design of the game, I also appreciate the educational elements. Here are the main educational points in this game that I love my kids get to work on: 

• Colors
• Numbers
• Sequencing
• Memory skills
• Fine motor skills

There are a wide range of ways numbers are represented in the game. Each tile has the number printed on it, while also having the same number of birds so the quantity is represented as well. 

You’ll work on building things in sequence. Not only in number but in size. Kids will work on ordering the floors from largest to smallest and back again. The game is tactile so they’ll be able to move and place the floors next to each other and visibly see and feel the difference.

Typically a dexterity game for this age isn’t really possible. HABA has changed that. I absolutely love how forgiving Rhino Hero Junior is — allowing even our 22 month old the chance to build a tower all on her own without knocking it over with her inexperienced movements. The bases are nice and wide, giving the tower a good center of gravity. Having to place the wooden characters on the floors along the way adds to the challenge but never made it so our youngest two couldn’t successfully complete the task. 

That is, unless they chose to knock it over on purpose. It is too tempting not to!

Summary

Rhino Hero Junior is the perfect first game for any child that loves to build and and play. There is a lot of variability built into the game itself, allowing parents to modify it to suit where their child is developmentally. The game will grow with them, so while they may start using it just as a free play activity, you can try out the different games as your child is ready for them. 

With sturdy, forgiving pieces Rhino Hero Junior should hold up to little hands and last your family quite a while. 

To bring home a copy of Rhino Hero Junior click here.

Find this and all our favorite games on our Amazon Storefront. 

A special thank you to our friends at HABA whom we worked with to capture images of Rhino Hero Junior. Our thoughts and opinions, as always, are our own.

Game Info:
Title: Rhino Hero Junior
1-4 Players ages 2+
Designer: 
Artist:
Publisher: HABA

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