Hello Hello Kalmario!

Wait, this octopus only has six tentacles? Yep, and HABA's Hello Hello Kalmario! wastes no time proving that even a six-armed octopus can whip up a surprising amount of learning in just ten minutes. The center is a cheerful wooden head perched on a sturdy hexagon body tile, surrounded by six tentacles just begging to grow. Every child gets a tower of tentacle pieces—three purple, three orange—stacked neatly so that just one shows. The real secret sits on the back of the pieces, and no one's allowed to peek until the game says so.

A turn begins with a dramatic twist of Kalmario's head toward a new tentacle. The chosen tentacle tip flips, a connection appears, and suddenly everyone leans in. If that connection matches the color on top of the child's tower, the tentacle grows. If not, the tile goes right back where it came from. Sometimes the match is correct, but another tentacle hogs the space, and the child can't place his piece. The player who places his final tile first claims the win, and the game ends.

The components are all classic HABA: thick, durable cardboard tiles, bright art, and a wooden head that feels wonderful in small hands. Everything is manufactured in Germany to the highest safety standards. No reading is involved, so even the youngest players join without hesitation. The physical design gives nonstop fine-motor practice as tiles get flipped, aligned, and placed, and that wooden head gets rotated with serious intent.

But the real magic is how much learning sneaks in. Kids sharpen their visual discrimination by matching transitions instead of exact pictures. Working memory is constantly challenged as children recall earlier flips and aim the octopus toward tiles that might help them. Strategy appears almost instantly—children start making intentional choices rather than guessing. Every turn is a tiny puzzle, and solving it builds confidence.

Social lessons weave through the whole experience: waiting, watching, responding, and celebrating others. The short length makes it perfect for use between homeschool lessons or whenever energy needs a boost. It travels easily, sets up in seconds, and packs away without effort. Mixed-age groups work beautifully because the rules are simple, but the thinking can become more complex as kids get older.

Hello Hello Kalmario! teaches visual skills, strategy, memory, motor control, patience, storytelling, and quick decision-making with a brisk, bright ten‑minute sprint that keeps everyone coming back for more.