Card game
Rhino Hero
Build a wobbly card skyscraper without toppling the rhino
- Set-up
- Under a minute
- Reading
- None
The quick verdict
Full verdict ↓Great for Children of 5 and up who love building towers and knocking them down
Think twice if You'll be playing on a bed, a floor mattress, a wobbly table or a moving train. The tower needs a flat, steady surface
How we rate it
Learning curve. A 1 on our scale, like Jenga: fold a wall, stand it on the marks, lay a roof. There are only five symbols to learn. HABA says 5 and up, and parents report four-year-olds playing with help.
Luck & skill. Steady hands matter most, but luck plays a real part too: which roof cards you're dealt, and the symbols other players use on you, such as an extra card, a skipped turn or the rhino moved up. Choosing which roof to play can also leave the next player a harder build.
Interaction. Everyone builds the same tower, and several roof symbols hit the next player directly: skip a turn, draw a card, or move the rhino up before building.
Set-up. Put the foundation card in the middle, easy side or expert side up. Deal five roof cards to each player (seven each with two) and keep the rest as a face-down pile. Keep the walls and the rhino figure handy. The first time, fold each wall card along its crease.
Reading. There's no reading during play, only symbols and printed marks. An adult reads the short English rules and explains the five symbols once.
Learning curve: 1 = UNO or Connect 4; 3 = Catan; 5 = a heavy strategy game. These describe the experience, not an overall score.
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Is Rhino Hero right for you?
Great if
- Children of 5 and up who love building towers and knocking them down
- Mixed-age family tables, where steady hands matter more than strategy, so a child can beat a grown-up
- A quick game before dinner or between other plans, since a round lasts 5 to 15 minutes
- Holidays and visits to relatives, as the box is only about 18 × 11 cm and weighs under 300 grams
Skip it if
- You'll be playing on a bed, a floor mattress, a wobbly table or a moving train. The tower needs a flat, steady surface
- Your child gets very upset when they knock something over. The player who makes the building fall loses
- You want the bigger, more competitive version with dice and several hero figures. That is Rhino Hero: Super Battle, a separate game
A place on the honours list
Good company to be in.
Recognition from beyond our table.
Kinderspiel des Jahres recommendation list (as Super Rhino!), 2012 (Recommended)
Major Fun Award, 2012 (Winner)
Mr. Dad Seal of Approval
PTPA Parent Tested, Parent Approved Award
How Rhino Hero plays
The game is a pack of cards plus a small Rhino Hero figure. There are 28 wall cards, which you fold so they stand up, and 31 roof cards. Each player starts with five roof cards (seven each if only two are playing), and the foundation card goes in the middle of the table. One side of the foundation is easier to build on, and the other is for experienced builders.
- Time to teach: about 3 minutes.
- Reading and language: Nothing needs reading during play. The special roof cards are marked with symbols rather than words, and the marks showing where the walls go are printed on each card. An adult reads the short English rules once and explains the five symbols.
How to play Rhino Hero by HABA Games · Zia Comics
Choose a video · Watch right here
If this creator doesn’t allow embedded playback, watch on YouTube ↗.
A turn, step by step
- 1Build
Look at the marks on the top roof card. Fold one or two wall cards, stand them on those marks, then lay one roof card from your hand on top. You may use both hands, but touch only the card you're placing.
- 2Symbols
Some roofs carry a symbol: reverse the direction, skip the next player, make them draw an extra roof card, or let you lay a second roof. The rhino symbol makes the next player lift the Rhino Hero figure up to the new floor before building.
- 3Win
The first player to use up all their roof cards wins. If the tower falls, whoever knocked it down loses, and the player with the fewest roof cards left wins. If every wall gets used without a collapse, everyone wins.
The full explanation: how a game of Rhino Hero goes
On your turn, look at the marks on the top roof card. They show where to stand one or two walls for the next floor. You bend the walls to the right angle, stand them on the marks, and lay one of your roof cards on top. The aim is to be the first player to get rid of all your roof cards.
Many roof cards carry a symbol. One reverses the direction of play, one makes the next player miss a turn, one makes them draw an extra roof card, and the double roof lets you place a second roof straight away. The rhino symbol is the tense one: the next player must lift the Rhino Hero figure up to the new rhino mark before building, adding weight higher and higher up the tower.
If the building falls, whoever knocked it down loses, and the player with the fewest roof cards left wins. In the unlikely case that every wall gets used without a collapse, everyone wins together. You may use both hands, but you may only touch the card you are placing.
For a five-year-old the challenge is mostly physical: folding a wall neatly and lowering a card without jogging the tower. Because skill comes down to care and steady hands rather than planning, young children can genuinely compete with adults, and a round is short enough to play two or three times in a row.
What's in the box
- 31Roof cards
marks on each show where the next walls go; many carry a special symbol - 28Wall cards
folded along the middle so they stand up - 1Foundation card
two-sided: an easier side and an expert side - 1Rhino Hero figure
the small rhino figure that has to climb the tower - 1Rules leaflet
Box: 17.8 × 11.4 × 3.8 cm, 0.2 kg. Handy to know for gifting and travel.
From HABA USA's page for the US pack (item 4789, barcode 4010168047898), which matches HABA's rules PDF. HABA Germany's page for the European pack, 'Rhino Hero – The Original' (item 2013172001), lists the same parts with new art by Gus Batts. HABA USA lists the US pack as made in China. Rhino Hero: Super Battle is a different, bigger game with dice and several hero figures.
Where to buy
Paid link · We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
How to make sure you get a genuine copyEditions and the details worth checking.
What reviewers and players say
Rhino Hero is one of the most often recommended small dexterity games for families. Reviewers love the suspense as the card tower wobbles higher, the clever folding walls and the heavy rhino that has to climb it. A child with steady hands can beat an adult. On Reddit, parents describe it working from about age 4 up to teenagers and adults, and Tabletop Gaming's reviewer found the collapse is half the fun. It is small, quick and easy to carry. The downsides: the cards are thin, it needs a flat, steady table, and the 'skip' and 'draw' symbols, plus the rule that whoever topples the tower loses, can upset young or sensitive children.
What people love
- Real suspense as the tower climbs, and the crash when it falls is part of the fun
- It works across ages: four- and five-year-olds with help, and teenagers and adults on their own
- A small box and quick rounds of 5 to 15 minutes, easy to take on visits and holidays
- Clever folding wall cards, and a heavy little rhino that has to climb ever higher
Common complaints
- The cards are thin and the walls must be folded, so they wear with heavy use
- It needs a flat, steady table and is no fun for shaky hands
- The 'skip a turn' and 'draw a card' symbols, and losing for knocking the tower down, can upset young or sensitive children; some families play without the symbols or just build until it falls
Based on 8 reviews and discussions
- Review Super Rhino! review, in German (Mareike Schöbel, August 2011) · Reich der Spiele
- Review Rhino Hero (Alexandra Sonechkina, June 2021) · Tabletop Gaming (UK)
- Award Rhino Hero (Bernie DeKoven, February 2012) · Major Fun
- Award Super Rhino! · Spiel des Jahres
- Players Game of the Week: Rhino Hero (January 2018) · Reddit r/boardgames
- Players Rhino Hero vs Rhino Hero Super Battle (October 2018) · Reddit r/boardgames
- Video How to play Rhino Hero by HABA Games (Zia Comics, January 2020) · YouTube
- Award Rhino Hero Stacking Cards Game (awards listed on the product page) · HABA USA
Summarised in our own words from the sources above. We don't use Amazon reviews or ratings.
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Why consider it | This game Build a wobbly card skyscraper without toppling the rhino | A different fit HABA's other stacking game, for children from 4: pile wooden animals on a crocodile | A different fit Another stacking game where the player who topples the tower loses, rated 6 and up | A different fit Another quick, pocket-sized family game that rewards sharp reflexes over strategy |
| Players | 2–5 | 2–4 | 1–8 | 2–8 |
| Best with | 3-5 | 3-4 | 3-5 | 3-6 |
| Play time | 5–15 min | 10–15 min | 5–15 min | 15 min |
| Age | 5+ | 4+ | 6+ | 6+ |
| Rules | Easy | Easy | Easy | Easy |
| Indian edition | Imported | Imported | Available | Available |
| On this page | Explore Animal Upon Animal | Explore Jenga | Explore Dobble |
More from HABA
Another way into their collection.
More steady-hands games
Different games. A familiar kind of fun.
Jenga
Pull a block, stack it on top, don't topple the tower
Sizzle
Place magnets inside a loop without letting them snap together.
Topple
Roll, stack and score on a tower that tips and sways
Carrom
Flick the striker, pocket your colour, then capture and cover the queen
Mikado
Drop the sticks, then lift them one by one without a wobble
Also playable with two
For game nights with two players.
Sizzle
Place magnets inside a loop without letting them snap together.
Carrom
Flick the striker, pocket your colour, then capture and cover the queen
Mikado
Drop the sticks, then lift them one by one without a wobble
Sling Puck
Two players, ten pucks, one slot: clear your side first
Skip-Bo
Build shared piles from 1 to 12 and empty your Stockpile first
Also worth a look (not in our catalogue yet): Rhino Hero: Super Battle – HABA's bigger, more competitive follow-up with dice and several hero figures.
Questions people ask about Rhino Hero
What is the difference between Rhino Hero and Rhino Hero: Super Battle?
Rhino Hero is the original small card-stacking game for 2 to 5 players. Super Battle is a separate, larger and pricier game for 2 to 4 players, where several hero figures climb the tower and battle with dice. Both are sold on Amazon.in as imports. Start with the original unless you know your family wants something bigger and more competitive.
Is Rhino Hero suitable for a 4-year-old?
HABA rates it 5 and up, and the box warns that it is not for children under 3 because of small parts. The game is mostly about careful hands, so a four-year-old can help a parent build, but the rules and the fine finger control are pitched at 5 and up.
Where can I buy Rhino Hero in India?
It is imported, not made or distributed here. Our Check price on Amazon.in button goes to HABA's imported listing for the original game; check that HABA is named as the brand and that you aren't buying Super Battle by mistake.
Is Rhino Hero the same game as Super Rhino?
Yes. HABA first released it in Germany in 2011 as Super Rhino!, and it made the Kinderspiel des Jahres 2012 recommendation list under that name. It is sold in English as Rhino Hero, and HABA's current European pack is called Rhino Hero – The Original.
Game facts
- Designed by
- Steven Strumpf, Scott Frisco
- Publisher
- HABA, Germany
- First published
- 2011
- Players
- 2–5
- Barcode
- 4010168047898
- Language
- No reading – Nothing needs reading during play. The special roof cards are marked with symbols rather than words, and the marks showing where the walls go are printed on each card. An adult reads the short English rules once and explains the five symbols.
- Box size and weight
- 17.8 × 11.4 × 3.8 cm, 0.2 kg
- Awards
- Kinderspiel des Jahres recommendation list (as Super Rhino!), 2012 (Recommended); Major Fun Award, 2012 (Winner); Mr. Dad Seal of Approval; PTPA Parent Tested, Parent Approved Award
Sources & photo creditsThe references behind this guide.
Facts on this page come from the publisher, the Indian maker or distributor, and the sources below. Photos are credited under each one.
- Rhino Hero – The Original – HABA (publisher product page)
- Rhino Hero Stacking Cards Game – HABA USA
- Rhino Hero game instructions – HABA USA (PDF)
- Rhino Hero – Super Battle – HABA (publisher product page)
- Super Rhino! – Spiel des Jahres
- Kinderspiel des Jahres 2012 – Brettspielbox
- Super Rhino! review – Reich der Spiele
- Rhino Hero – Board Games India (could not be read)