I may spend most of my time with video games nowadays, but I’m the kind of guy who can appreciate a good card/party game every now and then. Spot It! Hip falls into that category despite my initial skepticism. Adding the words “hip” or “hipster” to anything doesn’t appeal to my personal taste, but the core Spot It! formula makes for a fun game with friends.
Spot It! Hip is a small tin can full of cards, each with various illustrations of things such as donuts, glasses or tacos. The idea of the game is to match similar objects with each other across numerous cards. For example, if I have a card with a spoon on it and another card placed in the center has that same spoon icon, I attempt to call out the name of the icon before anyone else.
The actual goal of the game beyond that basic premise varies. Spot It! Hip’s instructions list five different game options that each put their own unique spin on the game. One involves collecting cards after naming similar objects; another is about having the least amount of cards, and my personal favorite, “Hot Potato,” introduces a system in which the loser holds every single card in a giant stack by the end of the game.
The first few rounds are slow as everyone learns the intricacies of the game, but once the pace picks up it never goes back down. At its best, Spot It! Hip is a room full of people yelling things like “Cool Panda!” and “Mustache!” while frantically placing cards. I imagine it looks insane to an outsider, but trust me, it’s fun.
Spot It! has been around for a few years now, but Spot It! Hip specifically targets the college crowd. Personally, I didn’t gain any extra enjoyment from the game by encountering icons like “YOLO” and “Swag,” though I suppose it boils down to a case of subjective humor. The hipster label does little to benefit the game, but it doesn’t hurt it either.
At the very least, Spot It! Hip reminds us that simple card games with friends can be surprisingly fun. Simple card games with friends and a few drinks can be even better, but you didn’t hear that from me.
