When working with Toy Street, it always is interesting to look at the products for sale at our shop and compare to what was available to me as a child. Notice the change in trends and styles over time. There are the staples, of course, such as the hula hoop or the space hopper that will never leave.  However, there are also trends that come and go. Who remembers Zhu Zhu pets, Magnetix or the password journal? Some of my childhood favourites that just aren’t around anymore. On the other hand, some of my favourites have stuck around… Like Top Trumps and Sylvanian Families!

Top Trumps

Now, if I hadn’t crammed in enough nostalgia in the introduction it is time for more! In this blog, I want to tell you all about Top Trumps. This was my all-time favourite thing to play with as a child and they are still available, especially at Toy Street! 

Top Trumps first set off in the industry in 2000 and has come very far since. In the past 19 years, Top Trumps have managed to keep up with the trends while having a set of cards available for every individual’s taste. From STEM and The Big Bang Theory to Thomas and Friends and Ponies. There are 150 new designs but this doesn’t include the oldies you can get second-hand!

For those who are new to Top Trumps… How does a TT card work?

Each Trump card contains a list of numerical data, and the aim of the game is to compare these values to try to trump and win an opponent’s card.

Now only available from second-hand sources, my favourite pack to play was the High School Musical edition. I also loved my Moshi Monsters, Roald Dahl and Jaqueline Wilson set. I loved how Top Trumps manage to put my favourite films, games and books into a card game that never got boring. I remember going to car boots as a child and if I saw someone selling a pack of Top Trumps I was the happiest on the grounds! “Pleaaaase Mum!”

How To Play:

Any number of people can play Top Trumps, that’s what makes it the world’s coolest card game! Here are instructions on how to play Top Trumps.

To start the game, shuffle and deal all the cards face down. Each player holds their cards so that they can see the top card only.

The player to the dealer’s left starts by reading out a category from the top card (e.g. Height, value 5) The other players then read out the same category from their cards. The one with the best or highest value wins, and that player collects all the top cards, including their own, and moves them to the bottom of their pile. It is then their turn again to choose a category from the next card.

If two or more cards share the top value or data is not available for that particular subject then all the cards are placed in the middle and the same player chooses again from the next card. The winner of the hand takes the cards in the middle as well.

The person with all the cards at the end is the winner.