Whether you love Bop It Smash or hate it depends on whether you need something to keep the kids occupied or they’re playing it in the backseat of the car on a long road trip! Actually, there’s no reason that as an adult, you can’t play with it as well, that is if you don’t mind raising your head to realize you’ve just spent the last hour trying in vain to beat the kids’ high score.

Bop It Smash is the latest in the Bop It line of electronic doohickey toys from Hasbro. The Smash has lights that zip back and forth in different patterns and with different music, depending on your level of progress. The goal is to smash the two end-pieces at just the right moment to stop the light in the center. If you hit it right in the middle, you get 5 points; one place to either side, 1 point. Outside of that, you lose a life. And after three lives, that’s it, game over (though you do also earn back a life for a center stop).

The concept is pretty simple and the noise it makes can become irritating if you’re not the one playing. However, a graduated series of levels, intervening bonus rounds, persistent high-scores, and an energetic voice guide combine to make a fun and engaging challenge. (Also, to be clear, the sound volume is adjustable from “Blasting” to “Loud” to “Quiet”.)

Bop It Smash can be played solo, or multiplayer in either of two modes. In both, the device will tell you when to pass it to the next player. In one, you’re playing to the last survivor. In the other, for the high score.

Hasbro provided a complimentary copy of Bop It Smash for review.