Exploding Kittens Complete Guide: Card Party Game

Exploding Kittens is a highly strategic kitty-powered Russian roulette card game where players draw cards hoping to avoid the Exploding Kitten. With clever use of defuse cards, attack chains, and nope cards, players manipulate the deck to survive. Created by Elan Lee, Shane Small, and Matthew Inman (The Oatmeal), it raised $8.7 million on Kickstarter, making it the most-backed game in Kickstarter history.

Game Components

What's in the Box

• 56 cards (base game) including:
  • 4 Exploding Kitten cards
  • 6 Defuse cards
  • Various action cards (Attack, Skip, Favor, Nope, See the Future, Shuffle, etc.)
• Illustrated by Matthew Inman (The Oatmeal)
• Designed for 2-5 players (best with 3-5)
• Typical game duration 15-20 minutes

How to Play

Setup

1. Remove all Exploding Kittens (4) and Defuse cards (6) from the deck.
2. Deal 1 Defuse card to each player — this is your lifeline.
3. Deal 4 additional cards to each player from the remaining deck.
4. Insert the Exploding Kittens back into the deck:
   • 2 players: 2 kittens (1 fewer than players)
   • 3 players: 2 kittens
   • 4 players: 3 kittens
   • 5 players: 4 kittens
5. Insert enough extra Defuse cards so the total deck has exactly 6 Defuse cards.
6. The remaining Defuse cards go into the deck — never add more Exploding Kittens.

Taking a Turn

1. Play cards (optional): Play any number of cards from your hand by placing them in the discard pile and resolving their effects.
2. Draw a card (mandatory): End your turn by drawing the top card from the draw pile.
   • If it is a regular card, add it to your hand.
   • If it is an Exploding Kitten, you explode (see below).

Card Types and Effects

Exploding (Drawing an Exploding Kitten)

1. If you draw an Exploding Kitten, you must play a Defuse card immediately.
2. If you have a Defuse:
   • Play it, then secretly place the Exploding Kitten back into the draw pile at any position.
   • Strategic placement is key — you control who might draw it next.
3. If you do NOT have a Defuse:
   • You are eliminated from the game.
   • Your remaining hand cards are discarded.

Winning

The last player still alive wins. Everyone else has exploded.

Strategy Tips

1. Strategic Kitten Placement

• When you defuse a kitten, you choose where to put it back — this is the most powerful decision in the game.
• Place it just below the top card if the next player has no Defuse (check by counting).
• Place it deep in the deck if you want to survive longer.
• Place it exactly 2 cards down after playing an Attack (the attacked player draws twice).

2. Attack Chain Strategy

• Playing an Attack forces the next player to take 2 turns (draw 2 cards).
• If the attacked player also plays an Attack, the remaining turns pass to the next player (now 2+2=4 turns!).
• Chain Attacks to overload a single player with draws.
• Count Exploding Kittens — if most are in the deck, attacking is risky for the victim.

3. Nope Timing

• Nope cards can cancel any action — save them for critical moments.
• Best targets: Attack cards played against you, See the Future (denies information), Shuffle (when you just set up the deck).
• Nope can be counter-Nope'd — odd number of Nopes = action cancelled.
• Do not waste Nopes on minor plays.

4. Count Cards

• Track how many Exploding Kittens have been drawn (eliminated players) vs. remaining.
• Track Defuse cards — if you have seen 5 of 6, there is only 1 left in the deck.
• If all kittens are accounted for (drawn or defused), the remaining deck is safe.

5. Card Combos

• See the Future + Attack: Peek, then Attack when you know the top cards are safe for you but dangerous for the next player.
• Shuffle + Skip: Shuffle the deck, then Skip your draw — someone else faces whatever you shuffled.
• Pair of Cats + Favor: Steal a card, then use paired cats to steal again.

Game Variations

Exploding Kittens: NSFW Edition

• Adult-themed version with mature illustrations
• Same gameplay mechanics as the base game
• Not suitable for children

Exploding Kittens: Unstable Unicorns

• A spin-off with unicorn theme by the same publisher
• Different mechanics (collecting unicorns vs. avoiding explosions)
• Same whimsical art style

Exploding Kittens: Barking Kittens (Expansion)

• Adds Barking Kittens that let you steal from another player's hand
• More action cards and combos
• Requires the base game

Exploding Kittens: Streaking Kittens (Expansion)

• Adds a Streaking Kitten that lets you secretly hold an Exploding Kitten without dying
• Changes the entire dynamic of the game
• Requires the base game

Game History

Origins

• Created by Elan Lee (Xbox designer), Shane Small (Xbox), and Matthew Inman (The Oatmeal cartoonist)
• Launched on Kickstarter in January 2015
• Raised $8.7 million from 219,382 backers — most-backed game in Kickstarter history at the time
• Delivered to backers in July 2015

Commercial Success

• Over 10 million copies sold worldwide
• Available in 20+ languages
• Mobile app version available on iOS and Android
• Named Party Game of the Year by multiple publications
• Illustrated entirely by Matthew Inman (The Oatmeal)

Statistics

• Designed for 2-5 players (best with 3-5)
• 56 cards in the base game
• 4 Exploding Kittens
• 6 Defuse cards (1 per player + extras in deck)
• 4 Attack + 4 Skip + 4 Favor + 4 Shuffle
• 5 See the Future + 5 Nope
• Various cat cards for pair combos
• Over 10 million copies sold
• Raised $8.7M on Kickstarter
• Typical game duration 15-20 minutes
• Suitable for ages 7 and up (NSFW: 18+)
• Illustrated by The Oatmeal
• Designed by Elan Lee, Shane Small, Matthew Inman

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