Believe it or not, the hungry hippos all have names! According to Hasbro, the green hippo is named Veggie Potamus, the yellow one is named Bottomless Potamus, the blue one is named Sweetie Potamus, and the orange one is named Hungry Hippo. Vintage versions of the game might have a purple or pink hippo instead of the blue one. In this version of the game, the purple hippo is named Lizzie, the pink hippo is Happy, the orange one is Henry, the green one is Homer, and the yellow one is Harry. [2] X Research source
You can press the lever repeatedly, or wait for the marble to roll toward your hippo—try out different strategies and see what works for you!
The marble will go into the well attached to the side of your hippo.
There will be 20 total rounds, since there are 20 total marbles.
To start the game fairly, ask the person with the nearest birthday to yell “go” before everyone presses their buttons.
You should have 19 red marbles along with 1 gold marble. Don’t worry—the color difference doesn’t mean anything unless you’re playing a special version of the game!
Each hippo has a small well attached to its side—this is where all the marbles go once the hippo “eats” them.
The golden marble can go in any random marble release tray. [14] X Research source
As a test, press the back lever a couple times. The hippo’s head should lift and drop as you pump the lever.
For instance, the green hippo’s head rests on the orange hippo’s tray, the orange hippo’s head rests on the yellow hippo’s tray, and so on.
