On May 24, Hasbro announced Twister Air, an “app-enabled” title that only vaguely resembles its party board game parent. Gone are the spotted Twister mat, the spinning board, and the feats of flexibility. Twister Air more closely resembles a game like Just Dance, challenging players to “strike poses to music beats” using wrist and ankle bands that come with “limb tracking and colour recognition technology”.
Twister is a popular dexterity game that first launched in 1966. It might not be one of the best board games ever invented, but many who grew up with family board game nights will have plenty of Twister memories. One player manned the spinner, which commanded the rest to place a hand or foot on a certain colour spot on the mat. Cue extreme contortion and plenty of falling over.
Twister Air will release into retail on August 1, and it’s currently available for pre-order from Amazon for a price of $19.99 (£16.15). Its contents include eight of the augmented Twister Air bands and an adjustable stand to hold a tablet or smartphone.
You’ll also need to download the free Twister Air app to play. This comes with three game modes, including one that turns Twister into a solo board game. Hasbro says in its Wednesday press release it has also added in-app leaderboards and 16 songs to soundtrack your games. The toy company has even released an original song, ‘Twist in the Air’, that’ll be all over social media as well as in the game.
For more board game news, here are the latest Spiel des Jahres nominations. We can also recommend some great party card games for the day you can’t take any more Twister.