Hitster rules

2 to 10 players · ages 16+ · 30 minutes · party game

A song from the app, and you say: before or after 1994? The Hitster rules fit on a beer mat, and yet the whole table ends up singing along.

Don't have the box yet? Hitster is in the shop.

Set up in one minute

1. Install the free Hitster app on one phone and link it to your streaming service, or choose "play without an account".

2. Whoever holds the phone is the DJ. The DJ scans the cards and plays along as normal.

3. Choose whether to play individually or in teams. Each player or team gets 2 Hitster tokens.

4. Everyone draws a music card and places it in front of them with the year face up. That is the start of your timeline.

5. The rest of the cards go in a pile in the middle, QR code face up. Whoever has the oldest song in front of them goes first; then play continues clockwise.

How to play a turn

In short: the DJ scans the top card and the song plays. You slide the card, face down, into the spot in your timeline where you think it belongs. Flip it over: if the year is right, it stays; if not, it goes.

1. The DJ takes the top card from the pile and scans the QR code. The song starts.

2. Listen. Without a paid account you hear a clip, which starts as soon as the phone is placed face down or after a short countdown.

3. Choose a spot in your timeline: before, after or in between. Place the card there with the QR code face up, so the year stays hidden.

4. Do you know the title and the artist? Say them out loud before the card is flipped. A correct guess earns a Hitster token, even if the card later turns out to be in the wrong place.

5. Flip the card over. If the year fits between its neighbours, the card stays in your timeline. If it is wrong, it goes on the discard pile.

6. It is the next player's turn.

Hitster tokens

Everyone starts with two tokens, and you can never have more than five. You earn one by correctly naming both the title and the artist on your own turn. There are three ways to spend them:

1 token, on your own turn: skip this song and the DJ scans a new card. 1 token, on someone else's turn: call out "Hitster!" and place your token where you think the card belongs. If the card is in the wrong place and you are right, it is yours. If you are wrong, you lose your token. 3 tokens, whenever you like: place the top card of the pile straight into the right spot in your timeline, without guessing.

If both spots are correct, for example with two songs from the same year, the player whose turn it is keeps the card.

When does the game end?

As soon as someone has ten cards correctly placed in their timeline, the game is over. In teams, the first team to reach ten wins.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need Spotify Premium?

No. Without a paid account, the app plays a clip of each song, which is enough to guess the year. With a paid account, you can choose in the settings to play the whole song from the start, or short previews.

Does Hitster also work with YouTube Music, Apple Music or Deezer?

Yes, but then you do not scan. One player looks up the song on the card in their own music app. That takes a little time each turn, so make that player the permanent DJ.

Can we mix cards from different Hitster boxes?

Yes. All Dutch editions have the same card size and the same app; Summer and Rock even say so on the box. Every card carries the symbol of its edition, so you can sort them out again afterwards. An R on a card means the song also appears in another edition: take that duplicate out. Because of music rights, foreign editions do not always work fully.

What if a song is from the same year as a card in my timeline?

Then it can go to the left or right of that card; both count as correct. Only players on Expert have to say the exact year out loud to keep the card.

How do Pro and Expert work?

On Pro, you must name both the title and the artist, or you do not get the card. You start with five tokens and do not earn any new ones. Expert also asks for the exact year, with three tokens to start. The level applies per player, so the music buff plays Pro and the rest play Original.

Tips for experienced players

• Always say the title and artist out loud, even if you are unsure about the year. You get the token anyway, and with three tokens you can later buy a guaranteed card.

• Save your "Hitster!" for timelines with eight or nine cards. That is where the years are close together and a card is more likely to be in the wrong place.

• Mixed group? Play cooperatively: everyone in one team with five tokens, and every mistake costs one. Ten cards before the tokens run out, and you all win together.

Another game for this table

With a big group, Flip 7 works just as well as Hitster. You flip cards until you dare to stop, and if you draw a number you already have, that round earns you nothing. If there are three to five of you, try Scout. In it, you are not allowed to rearrange the cards in your hand, and that is exactly what leads to plenty of laughter and grumbling.

Is Sinterklaas or Christmas just around the corner? In the top 10 Sinterklaas games and the top 10 Christmas games you will find games to play together or give as presents.

Do you play a house rule that is not listed here, or have you spotted a mistake? Let us know and we will update it.