No wonder everyone loves Hitster
7/6/2026
Translation: Elicia Payne
Pictures: Stefanie Lechthaler
For two years, everyone would tell me Hitster’s fun, nostalgic and an absolute blast. And in my mind, I’d roll my eyes. Until I was recently swept off my feet by it, too.
Disclaimer: Warning, this music game review may contain traces of – wait for it – music! Can you guess the songs before you click the link?
«Okay, okay, calm down,» I thought to myself when my mate raved about the game Hitster. He said I absolutely have to try it out. But he wasn’t the only one. All of a sudden, everyone was talking about this game. «Yeah, I know, it’s sooo good,» «It’s super nostalgic», «Oh I see, it’s for the whole family», I repeated to myself. The person across from me saw me nod and smile. Internally, I wanted to shake my head.
I’m still not playing Hitster. All that elation probably triggered some resistance in me. Until three weeks ago. That’s when I was converted. And now… I’m one of them!
Feel it. You have to feel the music.
At first, I thought Hitster was some kind of snippet guessing game. Like the popular radio game, that airs on the SRF’s Musikwelle station. Whoever correctly matches short song snippets with their titles and artists is the winner. Definitely not for me. While I’m good at remembering song lyrics, I have a hard time remembering the song titles and the artists. It goes in one ear and out the other. Cage The Elephant – In One Ear.
Ever since I’ve been hooked on Hitster during the holidays, I’ve realised that it’s not that big of an issue. What matters is a good sense of music. And a little bit of luck.
The rules
In Hitster, you can either play solo against other players or compete in teams. To start, draw a card from the deck for yourself or for the team. Turn it over so that the year is visible. This is the start of the timeline.
The team or person with the most recent year starts and draws a card from any pile. The person DJing and, ideally, connected to the sound system then scans the QR code using the Hitster app. This plays the song via Spotify.
The song starts. The round of predictions begins.
As soon as the song ends, the person whose turn it is must decide: was the song released before or after the year shown on the timeline in front of them? If they guess correctly, they’ll keep the card and place it in the right spot on the timeline. If the guess is wrong, they put the card in the discard pile and wait for the next round. The first person to place ten cards in the correct order on the timeline wins.
Tokens for that extra groove
There are other Hitster variations to add more excitement to the game. This involves using small cardboard pieces called tokens. For example, players receive a token if they correctly identify the year, title and artist. Once they’ve collected three tokens, they can exchange them for a card.
Generations come together for Hitster!
When I was on holiday playing Hitster for the first time, I took it easy in the first round of guessing. I wanted to get my bearings. «It’ll probably just be one round anyway», I thought to myself. But then I made the right guess and my team won.
From then on, I was on fire.
I was confident I had a complete grasp of the different genres, I could identify the nuances of different eras, and I spouted confident statements like, «No, listen to the keyboard. That song must be from the 80s.» And we won again.
Too bad, it was just beginner’s luck. I ended up losing the next round. But the fun continued. The young’uns sing along to Now That’s What I Call Music! hits, while older folks sway to 70s ballads. Sometimes someone gets up and dances. Time and again, opponents blurt out their guesses out of excitement, even though it’s not their turn. And everyone’s always involved, laughing as they play because music brings people together.
In a nutshell
The music game that brings generations together
Hitster is a simple and entertaining trivia game for music lovers. The best part? It even works when you don’t know all the names of bands or artists by heart. You don’t need to know the song titles either. The game brings generations together because there’s something for everyone. A Spotify account isn’t mandatory, but it helps. You’ll need the Hitster app, though. Without it, there’s nothing to listen to – and therefore nothing to play. That said, you don’t have to create an account to do it.
Pro
- Loads of songs from various genres and decades
- Something for everyone
- Entertaining
- Exciting and nostalgic
- Works without the Spotify app
Contra
- Spotify Premium is recommended
- Hitster app required
Header image: Stefanie Lechthaler
Painting the walls just before handing over the flat? Making your own kimchi? Soldering a broken raclette oven? There's nothing you can't do yourself. Well, perhaps sometimes, but I'll definitely give it a try.
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