Today here comes – finally – a post about my current favorite game and our favorite music game for every game night and every party: Hitsters! Guessing the songs and sorting them by time is so much fun, works with a wide variety of people and has a lot of “Another round!” – Potential. In fact, thanks to our recommendation, the game has already caught on with some of our loved ones and I also get so many enthusiastic responses from you to my stories about it. So it’s high time to delve deeper into the Hitster universe and gather all the information! And here you would have thought: While researching, I even discovered a rule of the game that I didn’t know before – and several new Hitster versions that we can still look forward to this year!
The QR code on one of the cards is scanned and the first notes of a well-known hit sound. What was the name of that song? And when is he from? Now it’s time to sort it correctly on the timeline… and if you know the title and artist, you can earn extra points. This ensures a good mood and some catchy tunes. We prefer to play in teams and always have new constellations – of course at least one Hitster game comes with us on every vacation!
Why is Hitster so popular?
I think music is so much more than what comes out of the speakers. It makes me dance and sing along, sometimes even cry… but above all I associate it so strongly with certain moments when these songs were playing. I know what music accompanied my first heartbreak (the soundtrack to Sommersturm with “Blonde on Blonde” by Nada Surf – one of my favorite bands to this day!). What a festival summer with your best friends and the feeling of freedom and endless possibilities sounds like (“I Don’t Care As Long As You Sing” by the Beatsteaks). Which songs we sang at karaoke in Sven’s old shared apartment (definitely Adele at some point). What was going on at proms, at weddings and at funerals. How nice is it to exchange ideas about it? Hearing an almost forgotten song and immediately sending a “Just thought of you” message?
At Hitster I like getting to know my fellow players even better through the pieces of music. Who associates something similar with the song? What was going on in her life when the song came out? Really exciting, funny and always surprising… and definitely a nice conversation starter.
Hitster game instructions – this is how the game works:
Reminiscing is all well and good – but now I would like to win too 😀
Gameplay
At the beginning, all players receive a music card to start their timeline and 2 Hitster tokens. Now the QR code of a new music card is scanned with the Hitster app and whose turn it is must now place this new song on their timeline. After you have made your decision, the card can be turned over – and if it is positioned correctly, it can remain where it is. The whole thing is then repeated in turn until someone has correctly placed 10 cards and won.
Here’s how Hitster tokens can be won and used:
Earn Hitster Tokens: If it’s your turn and you get the song title AND the artist correct before turning over the card, you’ll earn a Hitster Token – even if the card is placed incorrectly.
But you are not allowed to own more than 5 tokens at the same time! Here’s how you can use them:
- If it’s someone else’s turn and has placed their music card, but you think it’s wrong: shout “Hitster” and place your token in the correct place on their timeline. If you are right, the card is yours and you can place it in your timeline.
- You can give up 3 Hitster tokens at any time and use them to buy a music card. You can simply place these in your timeline without having to guess anything. (Great move also near the end of the game!)
- This rule was new to me: If it’s your turn and you don’t recognize the song at all/don’t want to play it, you can pay a token and scan the next music card.
We prefer to play in teams. Together it often works even better and it’s just funny what clues and snippets of lyrics are used to guess the songs! It’s also really good to put the teams together across generations and thus cover a lot more music knowledge.
What versions and extensions are there?
We, Family + Friends, have already introduced a number of versions and extensions. Let me introduce you to what there are:
Hitster original
with over 300 songs from the last 100 years. The classic and perfect introduction, always works! {RRP €24.99}
Hitster guilty pleasures
a new round – with songs that nobody supposedly knows and yet everyone can sing along to. Personally, I’m not particularly convinced by the concept of guilty pleasure. There’s no guilt in my pleasure. Why should I be ashamed of my taste in music? I think the song selection is really good! {RRP €26.99}
Hitster hit party
Perfect for all Schlager fans! I don’t count myself among them and therefore find it really difficult… I had the impression that it wasn’t too easy for the pop fans around me either. {RRP €26.99}
Hitster Summer Party
with the biggest summer hits of the last decades. Definitely makes you want to dance! We also didn’t find this version particularly easy because there are also a lot of one-hit wonders and international hits. {RRP €26.99}
Hitster Bingo
Again, a completely different gameplay principle for even more variety! My highlight is the disco ball as a dice, which is used to select the next category. Then you need to know, for example, the exact year of publication, whether the title was released before or after 2000 or just the name of the artist. All players write down their answer on their bingo card and, if they were correct, can mark a box in the corresponding color. Until someone fills up a bingo line!
The game can also be played with the music cards from the different editions. {RRP €36.99}
Expansion packs/extensions
(No tokens are included here, but they are a bit cheaper)
Movies + TV soundtracks
With songs from films and series {RRP €12.99}
Bayern 1 Radio
over 150 cards with the biggest radio hits of the last decades {RRP €12.99}
New Hitster Game 2025 – what is the latest variant?
Hitster rock
Brand new: Hitster Rock! I personally celebrate this so much, because I’ve been hoping for this for a long time: a Hitster edition especially for rock fans, yeah! I’m really having the most fun right now.
{RRP €26.99. I don’t know why it isn’t available on Amazon yet – but Hitster Rock is currently available directly from Thalia!}
Hitster Celebration
A special edition with big holiday hits for Christmas and New Year’s Eve – for an unforgettable party. New to this exclusive edition: high-quality wooden cards and tiles!
I’m excited and have already pre-ordered. I can also imagine it being a great gift.
Release date August 15, 2025 – can be pre-ordered here
Hitster Christmas (expansion)
Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find that much about it yet… but an expansion pack with 150 Christmas songs will be released this year.
Well, are you already in Hitster fever? Which version do you like best?
Last updated on 2026-01-18 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
