Bop-It

I remember Bop It well during my childhood, not necessarily for the best. 

Not only was my brother better than me, but the screeching voice shouting out the demands is one I will never forget. However, there were not many toys that also doubled up as a good weapon if you wanted to fight you siblings and inflict some serious pain, so that was a bonus.

The first Bop-It original incarnation of this toy was released in 1996, with multiple variations released since, with new versions still being bought out over 20 years later.

The concept of Bop-It is simple. To play Bop-It, a series of demands are shouted out by the toy, and the player must correctly interact with the toy to continue. If you do the wrong command, or are too slow to perform the action, the game is over.

Once the game is over, your score is announced by the toy. The maximum score you could achieve was 100, in which the game would also end. A later version of the Bop-It Original was released in which the maximum score you could achieve was 200, with exactly the same design and gameplay.

Bop-It Original

The Original Bop-It, first introduced by Hasbro in 1996, was the start of the successful Bop-It series and was also the most basic.

There were 3 commands on the game; Bop-It, Twist-It and Pull-It.

With the latter two actions easy enough to understand, Bop it required you to press the central button, which was accessible from either side.

To start the game, press Bop-It to proceed. Upon pressing Bop-It, a random series of actions are called out. Perform the action correctly, and a sound effect is made, before moving on to the next command.

If you’ve played the game before, it’s relatively simple to understand. However, if your childhood escaped you completely, here’s a video of a kid playing and completing Bop-It original:

Like all good toys, Bop-It required 3 AA batteries to play. 

Whilst Bop-It original enjoyed incredible success in the UK and US, it has since been discontinued, and is only available to purchase second hand. You can click here to see what’s available!

Once you got the hang of Bop-It, it was incredibly simple to complete. However, this changed when just two years later, the first Bop-it Extreme was launched.

Bop-It Extreme

In 1998, Bop-It Extreme was released, and looked like the original version on steroids.

Whilst multiple variations of the Bop-It Extreme have appeared since, the original Bop-It Extreme looked like this:

Instead of the 3 original commands, there were now 5, with flick it and spin it also added into the repertoire.

To add more difficulty to the game, the maximum score that the player could achieve was 250. At 150, a victory celebration was played, with an additional celebration sound effect played for anybody reaching the maximum.

Not only did it gain two extra commands, there was also the upgrade from a single game mode to 4 – Vox Bop, Beat Bop, Vox Bop Solo and Beat Bop Solo.

Vox Bop Solo

This was the classic game mode. Listen to the commands, press the correct button.

Beat Bop Solo

Probably best described as the ‘inverse’ of the normal game. Instead of spoken commands, the sound of the command action was made. Admittedly, this was more difficult to master, but anyone who had seriously played the Vox Bop version could quickly pick this up without too much difficulty.

Vox Bop and Beat Bop

These were the multiplayer versions of the above games. Unlimited number of people could get involved; each player would have to complete the randomly called out actions alongside a musical beat.

As the number of completed ‘turns’ increased, so did the speed, putting the pressure on the next player.

More Recent versions of Bop-It

Obviously, our interest in Bop-It ends where it enters the noughties, but additional versions of Bop-It have been released. Not only have there been upgraded versions of the original and extreme already mentioned, they’ve even included reissues.

Due to the success of the game, there are LOADS of Bop-It variants that are still for sale in any good toy store, with Bop-It definitely going down as one of the BEST toys released in the 90s.

If you are going to re-visit your old Bop-It, just be prepared to go through phases of frustration when you can no longer get your old high score, or just annoyance at the stupid voice.

Bop-It FAQs

Do they still make Bop it?

Yes, Bop-It’s creators – Hasbro – released a new version of the game – Bop-It Classic – which features the original controls with the standard game modes!

What does Bop-It say when you lose?

There are multiple lines that Bop-It lets you know when you lose, they are listed below:

• “Oh, boy!”
• “Do it the same but, uh, better!”
• “Game over!”
• “Hey, you win! NOT.”
• Dude!
• “Bummer.”
• “Killer dude!”
• “Nice going!”
• “You’re out.”

What age is Bop-It for?

Bop-It is a fairly simple game, that can be played by anybody that can grasp the concept of the controls. Roughly, anybody aged 8 and upwards should be able to play!

Is Bop-It good for your brain?

Although not strictly a brain training game, Bop-It is incredibly useful for a few reasons.

Firstly it helps train your hand-eye coordination, by performing the action to the command. Secondly, it help promotes active listening so that you can advance on your auditory processing.

Other skills it helps promote include:

• Improved attention
• Motor Skills
• Ability to follow directions
• Thinking and reasoning skills

Who is the voice of bop it?

All Bop-It games are voiced by an American voice actor named Buddy Rubino, from Georgia but based in New York.

Can you change the language on Bop-It?

It is not possibly known if you can change language on Bop-It, although newer versions may allow for this. You need to buy the Bop-It relevant to your language, rather than an international version.

What batteries does Bop-It use?

Bop-It require 3 AAA batteries to play.

You will also need a Phillips screwdriver to remove and replace the battery cover.

How do you make Bop-It louder?

You can change the volume of Bop-It by twisting the yellow lever. There are 3 different volume levels to choose from.

Why is Bop-It so hard?

The gameplay of Bop-It is designed to be as challenging as possible. The randomness of the commands, factored in that you need to speed up as each game goes on, makes it incredibly difficult to focus. To get better at Bop-It, practice really does make perfect!