Everyone loves some friendly competition, whether it be potting balls in pool or snooker, an intense session of Mario Kart, or besting someone in a game of cribbage (we all do that right?).
One childhood game I loved was Top Trumps, where you pit cards against each other relating to your favourite franchises, sports, vehicles or whatever else. The deck that caught my eye recently was Top Trumps Musicals, part of the Limited Editions collection, which launched in late 2025. We love a musical at Rhombus Rota, so we had to check this out. This isn’t a sponsored post or anything, just something we’re interested in!
In terms of what you pay for, you get a nice plastic case and 33 cards: the 30 cards you play with and three extras to promote the game. One of these extras is a rules card, and to quickly go over the rules in case you’ve not played since you were a kid:
- Of the 30 card deck, each player has 15 cards each
- They take it in turns to choose a statistic to focus on, and whoever has the most favourable one gets to keep their opponent’s card
- The person with all the cards at the end is the winner
I think we can all attest that this can go on for a while, but when you’re dealing with your favourite franchises, this isn’t an issue!
As well as a rules card, the deck gives an explanation of what types of Top Trumps decks are available, as well as a Story card that gives some backstory to other well known fans of the topic. In this case, we learned more about the amazing Mickey-Jo of MickeyJoTheatre! As a regular watcher of his YouTube channel, this made me smile to see this. I’m not sure if this story card is included in every deck or not.
On to the cards themselves, the print quality is good and the care material is durable enough to last a long while. We have 30 in total, that feature some of the most prominent musicals, from a variety of eras. Without spoiling all the inclusions, there is the likes of The Sound of Music which is definitely a classic, all the way up to & Juliet which is arguably already a modern classic. Staples to musical theatre culture such as Les Misérables and The Phantom of the Opera also get featured here. It’s a great selection overall, though there are some notable absences. We like Gypsy, but I would’ve loved to see SIX in this slot which has been a hit globally. In general, the cards feel more Broadway focused in shows selected.
In terms of stats, cards feature the following:
- Debut year
- Tony awards
- Popularity
- Number of performances
- Top Trumps Rating
These feel right and pretty standard for Top Trumps. They also feature a neat fact file on each musical, such as where they originated, their performance history around the world, and detail on the creatives involved. These are fun snippets and I learned something new from these I’d say!
The cards also include a highlight section, showcasing a memorable song from the performance. I think a lot of these made sense, though some had me raising an eyebrow as to the song chosen as the highlight. But I can see this causing some fun debates among friends! I can also see a fun additional game, guessing what the song the card chose as a highlight from the show.
Top Trumps Musicals are available at Amazon for £10ish, though may cost more or less elsewhere. Overall, this is a fantastic game and item for musical fans. I enjoyed discovering which shows would be featured and what didn’t make the cut. While I would have made different decisions there probably, everyone will have a show they love featured. The details on the cards are a great read and for any shows people haven’t seen yet, these will act as a great motivator to go watch them. This game will be a lot of fun to play on car or train rides as you head for some theatre magic!
Chris.
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