LET’S PLAY
Board Game Night: Exploding Kittens
Exploding Kittens®
The Official Game
Exploding Kittens is a tense, playful take on Russian roulette—except instead of bullets, cartoon cats rigged with dynamite bring your demise.
Since its start as a Kickstarter project in 2015, this easy-to-learn card game has become a party favorite for its fast pace and twisted sense of humor. And it’s just as much fun in app form. Here’s why you should inject your next family game night with a little harmless danger.
The basics: The rules are shockingly simple: Players take turns drawing cards from a central deck, and whoever gets an exploding cat loses!
But it’s not purely a game of chance. To avoid exploding, players collect and deploy various action cards. Some can peek at upcoming cards, while others skip turns. You might even pick a card that can defuse bombs to give you another life—or nine, if you're lucky.
And it’s all accompanied by hilarious illustrations by Matthew Inman, the game’s cocreator and the author of the droll webcomic The Oatmeal.
Best for: Groups of three or more, though the app comes with a few different options. A solo mode lets you take on bots without any social pressure. You can also challenge strangers in the wilds of online multiplayer.
But by far the best way to play Exploding Kittens is with friends, preferably in the same room.
Why it’s awesome: Exploding Kittens’ kinetic sound effects and animations bring the card game to digital life. Pick a bomb card, for example, and the screen fills with a cluster of dynamite, a yelping cat, and a sizzling fuse. Players can interact using a hilarious soundboard of emotes, like gloating or crying in fear. It makes the game feel alive—even when your opponents are on the other side of the world.
The real thrill is the game’s gradually rising tension. A little meter tells you the odds that you’ll pick an explosive card. As a match nears its climax and the number of cards in the deck dwindles, the needle tips into the red zone. Stressful? Sure! But the incredible relief of successfully dodging a bomb? Cat’s entertainment!