
- BGG rank
- BGG #23,617
- BGG rating
- 5.9
Wilson & Shep
- 2–5 players
- 10–20 min
- Complexity 1.0/5
- 2021

2011
Rules assistance for Help Me!
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 2 players

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Help Me! is a board game released in 2011 for 2–6 players, 10 minutes per game, and ages 7 and up. It was designed by Dong-Hwa Kim and its main mechanics are Tile Placement and Team-Based Game.
Polar bears, koalas, emperor penguins, cute little panda bears – they all need your help to survive, but alas only one species (and one player) can come out on top in Help Me! The game includes 30 animal tiles, with six different types of animals, each valued 1-5. To set up the game, randomly create a 5x6 grid of animal tiles. Each player secretly chooses one of the six animal character tiles to see which animal they want to save. On a turn, a player chooses any tile or stack of tiles and moves the tile/stack orthogonally onto an adjacent tile/stack. You can't move a tile to an empty space. When no more tiles/stacks can be moved, the game ends. Each player then reveals his animal character and takes all stacks that have that type of animal on top. The player scores one point for each tile he collects; in addition, if any of the type of animal are within a stack (not on top), the player scores points equal to the value of that buried animal tile. The rules include a team variant in which players combine their scores at the end of the game, but don't know which animals their teammates are trying to save. Watch for tears and other clues of sadness when particular animals disappear from the board...
Help Me! supports 2–6 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Help Me! is 10 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Help Me! for ages 7 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Help Me! has a complexity rating of 1.4 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Help Me! belongs to these categories: Animals, Party Game, and Abstract Strategy. Its main mechanics are Tile Placement and Team-Based Game. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Help Me! are: Dong-Hwa Kim. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Help Me! as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.