Top It
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The Top It was a kendama-style audio game related to the Bop It line developed by Parker Bros. (under Hasbro). The audio game was released on Feburary 18 2000.[1] It was designed and developed by KID Group in the direction of Dan Klistner who also invented Bop It. Like the Bop It games, the Top It also issues commands which a player must respond to with the appropriate action. Top it has thee commands. The game was announced at the New York Toy Fair in 2000.[2] "Top it!" (requiring the player to catch the ball in the red top cup), "Flop it!" (requiring the player to catch the ball in one of the purple side cups), and "Flip it!" (requiring the player to catch the ball in the purple side cup on the other side). The command structure has slightly fewer variations than any other Hasbro game, since the "Flip it!" command can only be issued if the "Flop it!" command directly precedes it, however this benefit is counterbalanced by the difficulty in differentiating between the sounds of the highly similar commands ("Flop it!" and "Top it!" are often misheard).[3] The game has been discontinued by Hasbro due to the Bop It line of games becoming more popular.
Game Modes
Top It
The 'Top It' game mode features three levels of play. The first level only uses the 'flop it' command. If the player is successful, a victory tune will play and will move on to the next level which features a mixture of 'flip it' and 'flop it'. After completing the second level, another victory tune plays, and will advance to the third level which uses all three commands at random..[4]
Top It Challenge
In the 'Top It Challenge' mode, the computer uses all three commands at random. After 15 points, a memory sequence of three commands is created by the electronic voice and on hearing "go", the player has to repeat the sequence. A victory tune is played on completing the challenge. The number of commands before the challenge is shortened to 10 commands, and will eventually decrease to five. The highest score is 999 points but the game continues after that score.[4]
Top It Pass It
The "Top It Pass It" mode is identical to the Bop It Pass It mode.[4]
References