Exploding Kittens

EXPLODING KITTENS is a VIRAL CARD GAME (2015) designed by ELAN LEE (former Xbox live director), MATTHEW INMAN (creator of THE OATMEAL webcomic), + SHANE SMALL. Simple RUSSIAN ROULETTE-STYLE card game with EXPLOSIVE KITTENS + Nyan-Cat-style absurdist humor. 2-5 PLAYERS draw cards from central deck each turn; the deck contains EXPLODING KITTEN CARDS scattered throughout — whoever draws an Exploding Kitten is OUT of the game UNLESS they have a DEFUSE card (laser pointers, catnip sandwiches, belly rubs — hilarious defuse art). Last player standing wins. Set a KICKSTARTER RECORD in 2015: $8.7 MILLION USD RAISED — the MOST-BACKED CARD/BOARD GAME PROJECT on Kickstarter at that time (only later surpassed by mega-projects). Sold 12+ MILLION COPIES globally by 2023 — one of the best-selling card games of all time. Simple, fast, universally accessible. 15 MIN PER GAME. Multiple expansions: (a) Original (2015); (b) Party Pack (2016, up to 10 players); (c) Imploding Kittens (2016, expansion); (d) Streaking Kittens (2018); (e) Barking Kittens (2019); (f) NSFW Adult Edition; (g) Recipes for Disaster (2022, campaign scenarios). NETFLIX ANIMATED TV SERIES (2023) starring Tom Ellis, Lucy Liu, Sasheer Zamata based on the game. GAMEPLAY: Deck contains 56 cards (base game): Exploding Kittens, Defuses, plus action cards (Attack — end your turn without drawing + next player takes 2 turns; Skip — end turn without drawing; Favor — take a card from opponent; See The Future — peek at top 3 cards; Shuffle; Nope — cancel any action; various cat cards that combine for effects). Each turn: play any action cards + then DRAW 1 CARD from deck to end turn. If Exploding Kitten drawn, use Defuse to survive + place kitten anywhere in deck; if no Defuse, you're out. Last player standing wins. RECEPTION: Cultural phenomenon; 12M+ copies sold; NYT bestseller; multiple Kickstarter records; considered THE gateway party card game of the 2010s. Considered by hobby gamers as LIGHT + luck-heavy but PERFECT for non-gamer audiences.

Elimination game: last player standing wins.

Win condition · Last player NOT eliminated wins.

Central draw deck + discard pile. Each player has small hand of cards (starts with 5 + 1 Defuse).

• Exploding Kittens base deck (56 cards)

  $20 USD; complete game

• Party Pack (2016)

  $30; up to 10 players

• Imploding Kittens expansion (2016)

  $15; new card types

• Streaking Kittens (2018)

  $15

• Barking Kittens (2019)

  $15

• NSFW Adult Edition

  $20; not for kids

• Recipes for Disaster (2022)

  $25; campaign scenarios

• Save Defuse for last resort

  Only 1-2 Defuses per player; use wisely.

• Attack cards for offense

  Attack forces next player to take 2 turns = higher Kitten risk for them.

• See The Future = safe drawing

  Peek before drawing; skip risky.

• Skip for defense

  Skip = no draw = no Kitten risk this turn.

• Nope for opponent disruption

  Cancel their key cards at critical moment.

Exploding Kitten

Death card; requires Defuse to survive.

Defuse

Save card; neutralizes Kitten + places it back in deck.

Nope

Cancel opponent's action card.

Attack

End your turn without draw; next player takes 2 turns.

See The Future

Peek at top 3 cards of deck.

Cat combos

Play 2 or 3 matching cat cards for effect (draw, steal, discard).

• Kickstarter record 2015 ($8.7M)

  once · worldwide · since 2015

• 12M+ copies sold globally by 2023

  ongoing · worldwide · since 2015

• Netflix TV series 2023

  once · worldwide · since 2023

• 🇺🇸United States
• 🇬🇧United Kingdom
• 🇩🇪Germany
• 🇫🇷France
• 🇮🇹Italy
• 🇪🇸Spain
• 🇵🇱Poland
• 🇦🇺Australia
• 🇨🇦Canada
• 🇸🇪Sweden
• 🇳🇱Netherlands
• 🇯🇵Japan
• 🇧🇷Brazil
• 🇲🇽Mexico
• 🇮🇳India

• Exploding Kittens Inc. (self-published)

  Founded 2015 · Los Angeles, USA

• Exploding Kittens — official— EK Inc.
• BoardGameGeek — Exploding Kittens— BGG
• Wikipedia — Exploding Kittens— Wikipedia