Asking the kids to pick a game off the shelves for family game night can be quite frustrating. They never agree on what game to play and argue over everything. But when they shout out we want to play Exploding Kittens, should you be worried? It sounds dangerous, and let’s be fair, rather brutal, mean and messy, not a game for anybody to be playing, let alone kids. Thankfully it is actually a card game, so no need to panic, and to put everybody’s mind at rest, no kittens, or any other animals, are injured whilst playing it (or making it, as far as I know).
We have played several games from Exploding Kittens and enjoy them, but we have never played the original card of the same name, until now.
Exploding Kittens highly strategic, kitty powered version of Russian Roulette in card form. The game is suitable for 2-5 players, aged 7+ and has a playing time of around 15 minutes. The aim is simple, avoid getting an Exploding Kitten and you won’t explode!
In the box:
- 56 Cards
- Instructions
The cards are made up of 4x Exploding Kitten cards, 6x Defuse cards, 4x Shuffle cards, 4x Bearded Cat cards, 4x Hairy Potato Cat cards, 4x Rainbow-Ralphing Cat cards, 4x Favour cards, 5x Nope cards, 4x Skip cards, 5x See the Future cards, 4x Attack cards, 4x Tacocat cards and 4x Cattermelon cards.
Exploding Kittens, is an hilarious card game that will keep you on the edge of your seat, trying not to explode presumably (not literally, obviously. Who would play a game where you might leave the room in pieces?). But if you love card games, kittens, explosions and lots of laughter then you will just LOVE the Exploding Kittens card game. It is a game that has kittens, goats, magical enchiladas, weaponised back hair and explosions! What an eclectic collection.
The goal of the game is to avoid drawing an exploding kitten card from the deck. If you do, you’re out of the game. Unless you have a defuse card that can save you from a purr-fect explosion. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Well, it is, and it isn’t. It is an easy game to learn and play but it would be pretty boring just trying to avoid picking up an explosion card, the deck is also filled with other cards that can help you avoid, move, or even steal the exploding kittens, as well as cards that can mess with your opponents in various ways. You never know what’s going to happen next, or who is going to explode, and that’s what makes this game so much fun. If you explode, you lose. If you don’t explode, you win!
Setting up the game is very easy. Open the box and extract the cards. Remove the four Exploding Kittens (4) and Defuse (6) cards remove the deck. Shuffle the deck and deal four cards to each player and give them 1 Defuse card each. They must not let the other players see their cards. Then insert the Exploding Kittens cards back into the pack – you must only put in one less than the number of players – if 4 people are playing, only add back in 3 cards. Add the extra Defuse cards back into the pack. Shuffle the deck again and place in the centre of the table within easy reach of all players, this is now the draw pile.
Pick a player to go first. You can use the criteria in the instructions (most impressive beard, most intimidating odour or shortest spleen) or you can just pick your own.
To play, the starting player flips over a card from the draw pile and places it face up on the discard pile. After following the instructions on the card, you can draw another card or end your turn by drawing a card and placing it in your hand (fingers crossed its not a exploding one). You can use the cards in your hand to defuse exploding cards or play a card to do different actions such as skip a card, attacking another player etc. Play continues until there is only one player left that hasn’t exploded.
Overall, laying our cards on the table, we have enjoyed playing Exploding Kittens. I don’t think that is as much fun as A Game of Cat & Mouth, also from Exploding Kittens, but then they are two completely different games. But Exploding Kittens is a great game. Simple to learn and play and suitable for all ages.
It is not just a game of luck of the draw, but one of strategy and bluffing. Knowing when to best play a card from your hand is key. You also must try and keep track of how many Exploding Kittens are left in the deck, and how likely you are to draw one. And a sense of humour is a must to enjoy the absurdity of the game.
Whilst playing, also pay close attention to the illustrations on the cards. Some are incredibly funny, with hilarious illustrations by The Oatmeal (a cartoonist) and have witty card names and descriptions.
It is an excellent game to play with friends and family on game nights as it never gets old and every round is different and unpredictable.
Exploding Kittens is an enjoyable card game that will have you cheering when your friends and family members explode. A fun game of a different kind of Russian Roulette.
A simple game that is explosive fun to play.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £19.99
For more information, visit www.explodingkittens.com. Available to buy from Amazon here.
