Hitster Celebration: the premium timeline game built on party hits
Hitster Celebration is a premium edition of the Hitster music party game, filled with the feel-good, celebration-ready hits that light up birthdays, holidays, and big nights in. Here's what makes the theme tick, how it plays, and where to get it.
Prefer to skip the box and cards?
Tunigma lets you cue up feel-good hits by decade, genre, and country and plays them itself, free on your phone.
Hitster Celebration is a premium edition of Hitster, the music timeline party game from Jumbo. It keeps the same guess the song and place the year mechanic as the rest of the range, then dresses it up with higher-end components and a song pool built for good times: the feel-good, celebration-ready hits that fill a room at a birthday, a holiday, or a big night in. It plays as a complete game on its own, yet its cards drop straight into your existing Hitster decks when you want more, and it's sold mainly across Germany and the Netherlands.
What is Hitster Celebration?
At its core it's still Hitster: you listen to a song, then place it on a shared timeline in the right spot by the year it came out, building a run of correctly ordered tracks. Celebration stands out for two reasons. The first is the presentation, since it is billed as a premium, exclusive edition with higher-quality cards and wooden tokens in place of the standard cardboard chips. The second is the music, a pool that leans into fan favorites and recent hits chosen to keep the mood upbeat.
The theme: songs made for a celebration
Where the original Hitster casts a wide net across the biggest hits of the last century, Celebration narrows the mood. The deck is put together as a party edition, gathering the kind of feel-good tracks that suit a moment worth marking: a birthday, a holiday, New Year's Eve, or any evening built around a good time. Jumbo describes it as combining the songs Hitster fans love most with current hits, so it blends familiar crowd-pleasers with newer additions.
The pool spans the decades, so no single generation has it to itself. In spirit the theme tends to gather a familiar kind of song:
- Feel-good crowd-pleasers: the upbeat, widely loved hits that get a room moving without anyone having to be talked into it.
- Celebration staples: the tracks that turn up at birthdays, weddings, and holidays, the ones a whole table already knows.
- Fan favorites: songs picked out as the ones Hitster players reach for most, so the deck skews toward the tried and true.
- Recent hits: newer additions that keep the pool current and give younger players their own moments of recognition.
Because the picks are chosen for good cheer over difficulty, the game plays warmly while keeping the familiar rules. Play fills up with recognition and the odd sing-along, and the premium components give it a bit of occasion, which suits a box aimed at celebrations. If your group treats music as the centerpiece of a good night, this is the edition built with them in mind.
How it plays
Celebration follows the standard Hitster timeline rules, so a party hit is placed like any other card: hear it, judge where its release year fits, and grow your run. The premium components and feel-good deck do not change the flow, they just give the table a bit more occasion. For the full rundown of tokens, steals, and the harder modes, see the guide on how to play Hitster.
How it differs from the Original and other editions
Every main Hitster edition shares the same timeline rules, so the difference is always the song pool, the components, and the mood they create. Celebration pairs a premium presentation with a feel-good party deck, while Guilty Pleasures swaps in cheesy sing-along hits and the original keeps its all-round mix. Here's how the three compare:
| Feature | Hitster Celebration | Hitster Original | Hitster Guilty Pleasures |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core idea | Build a timeline by release year | Build a timeline by release year | Build a timeline by release year |
| Song theme | Feel-good party and celebration hits | A broad spread of the biggest hits | Cheesy, catchy guilty pleasures |
| Components | Premium cards and wooden tokens | Standard cards and cardboard tokens | Standard cards and cardboard tokens |
| Mood at the table | Warm, upbeat, celebratory | Classic all-round quiz | Nostalgic, silly, sing-along |
| Best for | Birthdays, holidays, big nights in | A first Hitster box for any crowd | Groups who love a cheesy chorus |
Because each box is standalone and most can be combined, you can shuffle Celebration into your other decks for a longer, more varied game. There's a wider look at the full lineup on the Hitster editions page, along with dedicated rundowns of Hitster Guilty Pleasures and the newer Hitster Flying Mic.
Who it's for
Celebration is built for a warm, easygoing crowd. It suits parties, family game nights, and any gathering that already has music at its heart, from a birthday to a holiday get-together. Because the songs are chosen to be widely loved, it levels the field between the resident music buff and everyone else, and the feel-good pool pulls in players who might sit out a stricter quiz. The premium cards and wooden tokens also make it a natural pick as a gift or a centerpiece box. If your group already has the original and wants a nicer set with a party-first flavor, this is an easy one to reach for.
What's in the box
- Songs: around 300 cards, over 300 celebration-ready hits with QR codes.
- Tokens: wooden tokens for claiming and stealing cards, a step up from the standard chips.
- App: the free Hitster app scans the cards and plays each song.
- Players: 2 to 10.
- Age: 16 and up.
- Play time: around 30 minutes.
- Publisher: Jumbo.
Component details vary between listings, so check the retailer's description for the exact card and token counts in your region.
Where to buy
As a premium box, Celebration has a narrower footprint than the mainstream editions, turning up mainly in German and Dutch shops, so shoppers elsewhere may come up short. Which language and version reach your door still varies by country, so the official Hitster website is the best first stop to see what ships to your region. A few verified listings to start from:
- Netherlands: the Dutch edition is listed at bol.com, with a recommended price around €34.99 and discounts seen closer to €28.
- Germany: the German edition is sold at Amazon.de and Kaufland, with listings seen from around €32.
Prices depend on the retailer and your region, so it's worth comparing a few listings before you buy.
Prefer to play digitally?
If it's the guess the song and place the year timeline game you're after, but you'd rather skip the box, the cards, and the setup, you can play the same style of game right on your phone. Tunigma 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. You pick the mood yourself, filtering by decade, genre, and country, so you can build your own run of feel-good party songs or anything else. There's a fuller look on the Hitster alternative page, a wider rundown of the best Hitster alternatives, and an overview of the boxed range on the Hitster editions page.
Coming soon
Frequently asked questions
What is Hitster Celebration?
It's a premium edition of the Hitster music timeline game, with higher-quality cards and wooden tokens and a song pool built for parties. The rules match the original: you hear a song and place it on your timeline by release year, but the deck leans into feel-good celebration hits.
How is it different from the original Hitster?
The rules are the same. What changes is the presentation and the song pool. Celebration comes with premium cards and wooden tokens, and its music leans toward fan favorites and current hits chosen to keep the mood upbeat, which gives the table a warmer, party-first feel.
How many cards and songs does it have?
The box holds around 300 cards, so over 300 songs, along with wooden tokens for claiming and stealing cards. Exact counts can vary between listings, so it's worth checking the retailer's description in your region.
How many people can play?
Two to ten players can join in, and the warm, party-first mood suits the fuller end of that range. The box is rated 16 and up, and a round runs about 30 minutes.
Can I combine it with other Hitster editions?
Yes. Celebration is a complete game in its own right, no base set required, and its premium deck also mixes into your other Hitster boxes whenever you want a longer session with a broader spread of songs.
Do you need the app or Spotify to play?
The scanning app itself is free, but it does not store the music. Each celebration track is played through a linked streaming service, so in practice you will want a streaming account signed in before the party starts.
Where can I buy it and how much does it cost?
Celebration is sold mainly in Germany and the Netherlands. Pricing depends on the retailer and your region: it's listed around €34.99 at bol.com in the Netherlands, with German listings seen from around €32. Compare the listings above for your area.
Is there a digital version of this kind of game?
The boxed game runs on cards and the Hitster app. For a fully digital timeline game with no cards to scan and no streaming subscription, Tunigma is a separate app that plays the songs itself and lets you build rounds by decade, genre, and country.
Hitster is a trademark of its respective owner. Tunigma is not affiliated with or endorsed by Hitster.