Can You Beat Bop It? Highest Score and World Records

Almost 20 years before Flappy Bird was driving kids (and adults) insane with frustration, we had a game called Bop It.

If you were fortunate enough to have played Bop It, then its signature sound effects and the game unit commands players had to follow are probably seared into your brain even now.

“Twist It! Pull It! Bop It!”

Whatever you say, Bop It. I’m just trying to beat my cousin’s high score.

Like most things 90s kids interacted with, Bop It was just another novel distraction we wasted far too much time trying to master. Like the Macarena…

But, what about the chosen few who did master it? Did the classic electronic game really end? What’s the highest score possible?

Let’s find out.

Does Bop It Ever End?

Thanks to the toy’s notorious difficulty, you could be forgiven for asking, “Can you beat Bop It?”

Well, yes. With enough free time, you can actually conquer Bop It!

The original Bop It game unit had a maximum possible score of 100 points, which means that if the player responds correctly 100 times in the Solo Bop game mode, they could consider themselves to have beaten the fast-paced electronic game.

However, later editions of Bop It would raise the stakes. In the early 2000s, Bop It! Extreme and Bop It! Extreme 2 would redesign the electronic game unit and increase the maximum score of 250 points for their solo mode. In 2005, Bop It! Blast would further increase the maximum score to an eye-watering 500 points.

2009’s reimagining of the toy has a solo classic game mode where, after scoring 100, it automatically unlocks a pass to the next level, going from Novice to Expert to Master.

What’s the World Record for Bop It?

Since the original iconic electronic Bop It only went up to 100 points, it’s still relatively achievable for most people. Because of that, there isn’t an official world record for this original version. However, there was an interesting case of creative liberties being taken with Bop It’s solo game scoring system in 2022 by a man named Kyle Reid.

On December 16th, 2022, Kyle committed to playing twenty-two rounds straight of the classic mode without making an error, which technically puts him in the books with 2,211 points on the original Bop It device. It’s not officially recognized, sure, and it did take him 38 days of his life to reach that point, but a wins a win!

You can watch Kyle’s journey to Bop It greatness here:

Thankfully, there are several cases of officially recognized Bop It high scores that don’t involve shenanigans.

Bop It! Smash

Released in 2012, Bop It! Smash is a unique variant of the game in which scoring relies on smashing the two buttons on either end of the game unit as a light passes between different zones. After beating four rounds, the game goes into a bonus round, where players can respond fast to score up to an extra 105 points.

However, it was possible to exploit a glitch in the game’s programming and score over 1000 points.

The current world record for Bop It! Smash is 1070 points and was achieved by Sam Locke in 2015. Locke also set the previous world records of 1005, 784, and 696.

While it does seem that he’s the only person shooting for this particular high score, it’s still pretty impressive!

Bop It! Tetris

The other version of the classic electronic game of Bop It we have a world record for is Bop It! Tetris. Like Bop It! Smash, this version of the game unit didn’t require players to respond to sound commands. Instead, it featured a unique video play feature that would display a puzzle on a screen that players had to figure out and respond correctly with the right actions.

Again, like Bop It! Smash, there was a bonus round after each stage known as Marathon Mode, where players could earn over 800 points.

What’s the world record for Marathon mode, you ask? It’s 866, set by none other than Sam Locke back in 2020. Just like he did with Bop It! Smash, Locke moved up with successive high scores over the years.

He’s a true, blue Bop It fan!

Bop It! Extreme

With its iconic steering wheel-like design, 1998’s Bop It! Extreme is the version of the classic game that perhaps we all remember best. Along with the original three “Pull It!,” “Twist It!,” and “Bop It!” commands, it also included new moves like “Flick It!” and “Spin It!”, quickly earning its role as a best-selling toy.

You could choose to play Vox Bop or Beat Bop game modes solo or with multiple players, although turning any Bop It into a multiplayer game is a surefire way to raise your blood pressure. Vox Bop shouts the commands at you, while with Beat Bop mode, you need to listen for audio cues (“Pull It!” is a slide-whistle, “Twist It!” is a cranking sound, etc.)

Unlike Smash and Tetris, Bop It! Extreme doesn’t have a way to go beyond its maximum of 250 points, so there’s no world record. However, there is this incredible video of a 10-year-old casually hitting the max and putting your Bop It! skills to shame:

How to improve your Bop It! game

Looking at those world records and feeling a little unaccomplished in your life? Well, it’s never too late to up your Bop It game and become, perhaps, as good as the legendary Sam Locke himself. Or Kyle Reid, though the jury is still out on the validity of his particular calculations.

Here’s how you can build up your Bop It skills:

1. Start with the lower difficulty levels and work your way up.
2. Take advantage of the volume settings to make sure you can hear the voice and color commands loud and clear.
3. Quit your job, stop talking to your friends, and leave your family so you can dedicate 100% of your time to mastering all the Bop It! Toys.

Okay, we’re just kidding with that last one… mostly. As long as we’re joking around, check out this hilarious spoof of Bop IT! by Studio C:

Peeps Asked!

How do you make Bop It! harder?

As if Bop It! needed to be any harder. Well, if you’re feeling truly masochistic, you could always play it blindfolded. Better yet, put on some sound-canceling headphones and play it purely on instinct.

Can you go past 100 on Bop It?

The original Bop It! only goes up to 100 commands. However, later editions of Bop It! have higher maximum scores and feature bonus rounds where you can go even higher.

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Lee Davey

Lee is curator of nostalgia and a long-time collector of loveable junk. An 80s baby, 90s kid, he knows he had it good when it came to Saturday morning cartoons. Spends his life trying to recapture the dopamine hit of playing Game Boy for the first time and believes Beanie Babies will make a fortuitous comeback. Obsessed with everything (and anything) retro, he is your trusted guide to a world of 90s toys, games and collectables.

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