May 3 2005

If you haven’t had a chance to play Topps new handheld head-to-head baseball game, “Hot Button,” you’re in the process of striking out.

This innovative hand-held game gives two consenting adults, children – or a mix of both – the opportunity to rip open a pack of baseball cards and actually do something with the cards other than carefully placing the stars in a top-loader and the commons in the trash bin. That’s right, folks – Hot Button gives you the chance to actually do something constructive with your Royce Clayton and Paul Wilson cards.

Now, those of us that have been around for a while have seen the Strat-O-Matics of the world, but I guarantee you that Hot Button is a lot more fun. I gave the game to my pre-teen nephews and they absolutely loved it. As a matter of fact, they couldn’t put it down the whole evening, including dinner, which didn’t go over well with their parents.

I even patiently waited my turn on the console, but was vehemently denied like Spud Webb attempting to dunk on Shaquille O’Neal. To put it bluntly, my nephews were mesmerized. Despite not being able to actually hold the game in my hands out of the package, my nephews gave me the low-down on how the game is played:

The object of the game is simple. Both teams select a starting lineup based on their collection of Hot Button trading cards. The hitting team places a hitters card in the game console while the fielding team places a pitchers card in the console. At that point, one player (or both depending on the size and maturity of the players) presses the “Hot Button” to see whether the hitter got a hit or got out. The outcome is based on the player cards, which contain scenarios based on their actual 2004 statistics. The rest of the game is just like baseball. You get three outs per inning and must score the most runs in a 9-inning game in order to win.

Available in stores such as Target, K-Mart and Toys-R-Us, sealed “booster” packs retail for $3.99. Just to add to the collectability of the cards, Topps has seeded parallel refractors every three packs. The starter unit which contains one electronic game console and two sets of 10 randomly assorted player cards retails for $19.99.

From what I’ve been hearing on “the streets,” kids have really taken kindly to this game. The subtle mix of electronic head-to-head baseball action, coupled with the collectibility of baseball cards really has scored Topps a winner here.