Card games are one of the most popular activities enjoyed by people of all ages, ranging from infantile toddlers to geriatric grandpas. Countless kinds of these card games exist, ranging from strategic, high-stakes contests like poker to single-player classics like solitaire. However, cards alone are often not enough to satiate a board gamer’s thirst for chaos. This is where Exploding Kittens™ comes in, enhancing blank cards with wacky works of art, complete with adorable kittens, and of course, explosions.
With a Kickstarter campaign of over 20,000 financial back-ups, Exploding KittensTM was guaranteed to be a success, and it was, selling more than 10 million copies worldwide over 7 years. Many game reviewers have described this activity as a mix between the family-fracturing game of UNOTM and the desperate life-or-death situation of Russian Roulette. With its action-packed ‘thriller’ genre, Exploding KittensTM leaves players sitting at the edge of their seats for the majority of the game. Just like the box suggests, the game is filled with out-of-the-box artworks by Matthew Inman, including kittens, explosions, kittens, a healthy amount of deformed vegetable cats, and kittens! The game provides a motley assortment of cards, each with its own unique function. One can use two of their favorite palindromic Tacocats to pilfer cards from an adversary’s hand, or you can consume a delicious unicorn enchilada to look into the future. Along with the main set of cards, the game also comes with three expansion packs, increasing the number of bizarre cards a player can work with to obliterate their worst enemies or even betray their close comrades. There is no aspect of the game that induces boredom; as stated by a fellow player, ”Even reading its terms and conditions is fun” (James Gu, 10th).
Exploding Kittens™ is a 2-6 player game that operates on the same principle as Russian Roulette. The objective of the game is to avoid drawing the “Exploding Kittens” card, which can spell the end of one’s feline adventure. The winner of the game is the player who survives to the very end without being killed by a devastating explosion. Each player is issued seven random cards at the beginning of the game along with a “Defuse” card, which can protect them from one “Exploding Kitten,” essentially giving them an extra life. Then, players take turns drawing cards from the deck. During their turn, a player can use any card in their hand to attempt to get an edge over the other players or to avoid the dreaded exploding kittens. For example, a player can use a “See the Future” card to peek at the three cards on the top of the deck or use a “Skip” card to skip their turn if they think there is an exploding kitten on top. They can even use an “Attack” card if they desperately want to sabotage the next player in line by forcing them to take two turns instead of one. The further the game progresses, the more cards are drawn from the deck. The less cards that are in the deck, the more likely it is for a player to draw an exploding kitten. Once a player who is without a “Defuse” card draws an exploding kitten, they are dead and out of the game. This process continues until there is only one player remaining. Exploding Kittens™’s strategic aspects and chaotic nature have made it a popular party game, and a peer among titans such UNO™ and Monopoly™ in its ability to tear apart friendships.
The influence of this “catastrophic” game has also reached our very own BASIS Independent Fremont, striking fear in the hearts of several sophomores who participate in this activity during lunch, gambling their dignity and friendships for a chance at ephemeral glory. Many victims have shared their thoughts with us, often lamenting the misery brought upon them by Exploding Kittens™. One student says,”Getting cards is like getting new friends. The more you get, the more likely they're going to ruin your life” (Theodore Chen, 10th). Another regular player of Exploding Kittens™, the president of Student Panel herself, stated, ”They say you're successful once you have haters; if that's the case, then the fastest road to success is playing exploding kittens” (Allyson Wong, 10th).