In “Hipp Hopp Hippo”, two to four players, ages five and up, have to help the curious monkeys across the river and collect as many bananas as possible there. Hippos have made themselves comfortable in the water and serve as a bridge for the monkeys. They drift comfortably through the water, but from time to time one dive and a monkey plops into the water.

The game can begin as soon as the game board has been set up and four hippopotamus cards have been placed in each of its five rows. These represent the running route for the monkeys, which however changes again and again in the course of the game. The players first roll the running die and move one of their monkeys forward onto the back of the hippopotamus according to the result of the die. Then the color die is rolled and a new hippopotamus card is pushed onto the game board. This brings movement into play and the running route changes. Sometimes a hippopotamus goes underground - and a monkey goes swimming. If a player manages to get one of his monkeys across the river without falling into the water, he may choose a banana box. It remains exciting until the end because the other players dont know how many bananas are in the captured box. The game ends as soon as a player has brought his last monkey figure to the finish. Then the secret of the boxes is revealed and each player counts the purchased bananas. Whoever could poke the most bananas wins the game with his gang of monkeys.