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Gamehelphipposcrocodiles
Goal
Hippos & Crocodiles is a 2-player spatial abstract strategy game designed by Néstor Romeral Andrés. Players take turns placing polyomino animal pieces onto the grid. If you cannot place an animal on your turn, you lose immediately; the last player to legally place a piece wins!
Components
| Component | Icon | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Hippos |  |
8 brown hippo pieces (each occupies 10 squares: a 3×3 body plus 1 snout cell). |
| Crocodiles |  |
8 olive-green crocodile pieces (each occupies 10 squares: a central 6-square spine with two leg pairs extending to width 3). |
| Trunks |  |
Optional 3×1 wooden log obstacles that block placement. |
| Maps |     |
4 distinct aquatic terrains: Square (14×14, 196 cells), Rectangle (20×10, 200 cells), Lagoon (209 cells), and Pool (208 cells). |
Setup
- One player controls the
Hippos (8 pieces); the other controls the 
Crocodiles (8 pieces). - The game takes place on the chosen map (Square
, Rectangle 
, Lagoon 
, or Pool 
). - Pieces must remain entirely within grid boundaries and cannot overhang the map edge.
- Trunks (optional variant): If enabled, 4 log obstacles
(3×1 squares) are placed before the first animal (either placed alternately by players or placed randomly). No piece may overlap a trunk.
Your turn
On your turn, place one of your remaining animal pieces onto the board:
- Pick position: Tap any highlighted legal square on the board to preview your animal's pivot there.
- Rotate orientation: Turn your piece into any of the 4 cardinal directions (0°, 90°, 180°, 270°) by clicking the grey ↻ Rotate button in the action bar, pressing R on your keyboard, or tapping the preview piece directly.
- Confirm placement: Click the blue Confirm button to lock in your move. Animals cannot overlap existing animals, trunks , or the board edge.
Difficulty options
- Easy (default): All valid legal pivot cells are highlighted on the board for the current orientation.
- Hard: No highlights are shown. If no legal placements remain, click the red Surrender button to concede.
End of the game
- The game ends immediately when the active player cannot legally place any of their remaining animal pieces onto the board.
- That player loses, and the last player who successfully placed an animal wins the game!
Controls on BGA
- Placement: Tap or click a highlighted square to preview your piece.
- Rotation: Click ↻ Rotate in the action bar, press R (or Shift+R to reverse), or use keys W, A, S, D to point up, left, down, or right.
- Confirm / Cancel: Click blue Confirm to play the piece, or red Cancel to clear your staged preview.