Bop It

Gameplay

Bop It is a hand-held audio game that prompts players to follow a series of commands that get quicker and quicker as the game goes on. While the original version of the game features just three commands—Bop It!; Pull It!; and Twist It!—newer versions have spinnable wheels, flickable switches, and even prompts for players to Shout It!

The game begins with a simple command, like Bop It!, after which the player must press the button on the game, labeled Bop It. If the player successfully does so in a timely manner, the next command is issued. As the game goes on, the time in between commands, and thus the time to perform the correct action, decreases, making the game increasingly harder. If the player executes the wrong action—like twisting instead of pulling—the amount of point scored (1 point per correct action) is announced and the game restarts. The original version has a maximum of 100 points, after which a victory song is played.

History

The original Bop It was released in 1996 and was designed by Dan Klitsner, founder and creative director of toy inventing and licensing firm KID Group LLC. At the time of the game’s invention, Dan was working as a freelance industrial designer, and was working on TV remote controls when it occurred to him that perhaps there’s a reason kids love to steal TV remotes… He designed a remote-like object that would engage kids of all ages, now known as Bop It. Klitsner licensed the game to Hasbro, and was further developed by a number of designers, including Bob Welch. While the very first iteration of Bop It featured Bob Welch’s voice, Buddy Rubino is credited with the voice of Bop It since 2008.

Variations

Since the game’s inception, there have been numerous iterations and spin offs. In 1998, just two years after the original game was released, Bop It Extreme was brought to market, featuring additional commands and action pieces: Flick It!, which had players flicking a green lever, and Spin It!, for which players spun a red wheel. It also featured four different game modes—Box Bop, Beat Bop, Vox Bop Solo, and Beat Bop Solo. The maximum score was also increased to 250, and new victory songs were added.

Other variations include:

• Bop It Extreme 2: the shapes of the action pieces were altered, volume controls were added, and a new One on One mode was added.
• Bratz Bop It: Bratz themed Bop It!
• Bop It Blast: 500 became the new maximum score, and different high scores were allowed for different modes. A new Light Bop mode was added, as was a female voice
• Bop It Download: this version has three modes: Solo, Pass It, and One on One, and has 15 levels of difficulty. The maximum score was increased to 1,000, and players could download a program on a Windows computer to download new content.
• Bop It! (different from the original, Bop It): this version introduced Shout It!, and has three difficulty levels. A multi-player game called Party was also introduced, where all the commands are replaced with body parts like foot, hip, and arm.
• Bop-It! Bounce: a ball and a small hand-held trampoline are introduced. Six different games, including three games that emphasize the speed or number of bounces and three games that emphasize the player’s ability to control the height of the bounces, were added:
  • Max Bounce: players attempt to achieve the most bounces in 30 seconds
  • Infinite Bounce: players attempt to achieve the most bounces with no time limit
  • Hang Time: players attempt to bounce the ball the highest
  • Right Height: players have to listen to verbal cues to bounce the ball at the exact right height
  • Little-Middle-Big: players have to listen to verbal cues calling for bounces of big, middle, or little height
  • Free Form: Bop It produces different tones as the ball bounces to different heights

Even more variations:

• Bop It! XT
• Bop-It! Smash
• Bop It! Tetris
• Bop It! Beats
• Bop It! Micro Series
• Bop It! New Moves
• Bop It! Maker
• Zing It
• Top It
• Torx
• Groove It

Reception & Awards

Since its inception, over 30 million Bop It games have been sold worldwide, and is still very commonly found in households today. Bop It has won numerous British Association of Toy Retailers (BATR) Awards over the years, and Dan Klitsner won the 1997 Duracell Toy Award for Bop It. Bop It Extreme 2 was awarded the Electronic Game of the Year in the UK in 2003 and 2005.

Bop It: A Love Story is a short film released in 2015. It’s a satire on romantic comedies revolving around a couple that’s been growing apart for years and are just about to call it quits when they rediscover their favorite childhood game, which might just be enough to save their relationship.

For more about Dan Klitsner and Bop It! check out Dan's POP Profile.