Hitster Bingo: the music bingo game with a disco timer
Hitster Bingo swaps the Hitster timeline for a bingo board. A disco ball picks a category, a song plays, everyone answers at once, and you cross off matching squares. Here's how it plays, how it differs from the other editions, and where to get it.
Prefer to skip the boards and cards?
Tunigma plays the guess the song and place the year game right on your phone, free, with thousands of tracks.
Hitster Bingo, also sold as Hitster Music Bingo, is a music party game from Jumbo, the same maker behind the hit song game Hitster. It shares the songs and the free app, but the game itself is bingo, not a timeline. Everyone answers together against a timer and marks squares on a bingo board, racing to complete a line. It's a good fit for bigger groups who want everyone playing at once.
What is Hitster Bingo?
Hitster Bingo takes the familiar Hitster idea of scanning a card and hearing a song, then wraps it in a game of bingo rather than a timeline. Every player has their own wipe-off board covered in colored squares, one color per question category. A disco ball timer sits in the middle of the table, and it decides both the category and the countdown for each round. There's no placing cards in order and no single active player: the whole table listens and answers the same song at the same time, then marks the board. It plays louder and faster than the classic game, and it scales well to a full room.
How Hitster Bingo plays
This is where Hitster Bingo parts ways with every other edition. A round runs through a short loop:
- Spin the disco ball. The disco ball timer lights up and picks the question category for the round, so nobody knows in advance what they'll be answering.
- Scan and play the song. Someone scans a music card with the free Hitster app and the track starts. The disco timer counts down, usually about 30 seconds.
- Everyone answers at once. The whole table works on the same song together. Depending on the category the ball landed on, you might name the decade, name the artist or band, give the exact year, or decide whether the track came out before or after 2000.
- Cross off a square. When the timer runs out, or once everyone has locked in early, anyone who got it right marks off a square in that category's color on their own board.
- Call bingo. Play keeps going, round after round, until someone completes a row or column that covers the four different categories. The first to do it is crowned the Hitster Bingo champion.
Each board has two sides, so you can pick an easier layout for a casual crowd or a tougher, more advanced one for serious music fans. Because everyone plays every song, there's no waiting for your turn, which is a big part of why it suits a party.
How it differs from the other Hitster editions
If you know the classic game, the important thing to understand is that Hitster Bingo is not a timeline game. There's no shared row of songs and no placing a card before or after another by year. You keep your own board, answer set categories, and win by completing a line, which is closer to a music quiz played as bingo than to the original Hitster. For the classic timeline rules, tokens, and steals, see the guide on how to play Hitster, and for the wider range of boxes there's the Hitster editions overview. Here's how the main formats compare:
| Feature | Hitster Bingo | Original Hitster | Hitster Flying Mic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core mechanic | Mark squares on a bingo board | Build a timeline by release year | Build a timeline by release year |
| The twist | Disco timer picks a category, all play at once | Steady, one-at-a-time turns | Grab the flying mic, then take a challenge |
| Win condition | Complete a row or column of four categories | First to place 10 songs | First team to place 8 songs |
| Players | 2 to 10 | 2 to 10 | 2 to 10 |
| Best for | Big groups, everyone playing together | Classic music quiz nights | Fast, active parties |
For a closer look at the newest physical edition, there's a full rundown on the Hitster Flying Mic page.
Who it's for
Hitster Bingo is built for groups. Because everyone answers every song at the same time and marks their own board, nobody sits out waiting for a turn, which keeps a big table lively. It suits parties, family game nights, and date nights, and the two board sides let you match the difficulty to the room. The 16 and up age rating and the shout-it-out bingo finish make it more of a party centerpiece than a quiet quiz. If your group already owns other Hitster boxes, the music cards from those work here too, so you can widen the song pool.
What's in the box
- Songs: around 225 hits on music cards, and you can add cards from other Hitster editions.
- The disco ball timer with colored lights (it takes 3 AAA batteries, not included).
- Bingo boards: six wipe-off boards, each with an easy side and an advanced side, plus pens.
- App: the free Hitster app scans the cards and plays each song.
- Players: 2 to 10.
- Age: 16 and up.
- Play time: about 30 minutes.
- Publisher: Jumbo.
Where to buy
Hitster Bingo is out now and stocked fairly widely, though which language editions reach your country depends on where you live. To check what's available for your region, start with the official Hitster website. In the United States it carries a suggested price of around $30, and in the United Kingdom it runs around £28:
- United States: Amazon.com (around $29.97), plus Walmart and Target.
- United Kingdom: Amazon.co.uk and The Online Toy Store (£27.99).
Prices shift with retailer and region, so compare a couple of the listings above before buying.
Prefer a music timeline game?
Hitster Bingo is a bingo game, so if it's the guess the song and place the year timeline style you're really after, that's a different thing. Tunigma is a digital timeline game, not a bingo game: you hear a song and slot it into the right spot on a timeline by the year it came out, the same guess the song and guess the year idea as the classic Hitster. It plays the songs itself, with no cards to scan and no Spotify, Apple Music, or other streaming app or subscription, and it's a free download. There's a fuller look on the Hitster alternative page, plus a wider rundown of the best Hitster alternatives. If it's actually a bingo evening you want to run, the guide on how to run a music bingo night covers that instead.
Coming soon
Frequently asked questions
Is Hitster Bingo a timeline game?
No. Hitster Bingo is a bingo game, not a timeline game. You don't place songs in order by year. Instead you answer set categories against a timer and mark squares on your own board, racing to complete a line.
How is Hitster Bingo different from the original Hitster?
The original Hitster is a timeline game where you build a shared row of songs by release year, one player at a time. Hitster Bingo is a different mechanic: a disco ball picks a category, everyone answers the same song at once, and you cross off squares until someone completes a line.
What is the disco ball for?
The disco ball is a light-up timer. Each round it chooses the question category, such as the decade, the artist, the exact year, or before or after 2000, and counts down the time you have to answer. It takes 3 AAA batteries, not included.
How do you win Hitster Bingo?
You win by being the first to complete a full row or column on your board that covers all four different categories. When you do, you call bingo and are crowned the Hitster Bingo champion.
How many people can play?
Hitster Bingo is for 2 to 10 players, ages 16 and up, with games of about 30 minutes. Because everyone answers every song, it works well for a bigger table.
Do you need Spotify to play?
The Hitster app is free. As with the other Hitster editions, it plays each song through the app, which typically links to a music streaming service, so you'll likely need a streaming account to hear full tracks.
Can Hitster Bingo combine with other editions?
Yes. It comes with its own set of around 225 songs, and you can add the music cards from other Hitster boxes to widen the song pool.
Is Hitster Bingo the same as Hitster Flying Mic?
No, they're separate variants. Hitster Bingo swaps the timeline for a bingo board, while Flying Mic keeps the timeline and adds a flying microphone you race to grab.
Hitster is a trademark of its respective owner. Tunigma is not affiliated with or endorsed by Hitster.