I like board and card games, though I don't play them much. It's one of those things you always plan to indulge in, but rarely do.
But... this year I bought Exploding Kittens. It's (too) expensive but a lot of fun. I just found the rules a little confusing (at first).
Price
Oh, come on! Inflation is a thing, but 25 euros for a mostly empty box with just 56 playing cards? Get real! Fortunately, I bought mine using supermarket 'points', so I only paid 10 bucks, but seriously? 25 euros?!?
The 'Grab & Game' edition - if you can find it - is just 10 bucks and that's the better choice. Careful, there's also a 2 persons only version! You can also find the full version on Amazon for 15 euro. If you're looking for a Dutch version there's also a bundle of stuff on Bol.com, which might be the best deal right now.)
There are some interesting expansions and variations, as you can see here. Note that some might no longer be available, or might not be available in your language or region. The world is a weird place.
Concept
0. Avoid being blown up
1. When it's your turn you can play any of your cards
2. When you're done with your turn you take one card from the closed stack.
3. When you draw an Exploding Kitten card you're out of the game. Unless you have a Defuse card.
4. All the other cards can be used to skip your turn, make other players play twice, steal cards from other players, and things like that. Try to run other players out of Defuse cards and you're on your way to win!
Most card games focus on getting rid of your cards. Exploding Kittens is in some way the opposite, because you're better off when you have more cards.
Variant Rules
These are a few minor changes based on some variants I found on the Internet. They just reduce prep time and increase the luck factor a bit. Most games will play like usual, but you might run into an occaisional instant death, or its opposite the long game (happens rarely, and is fun in its own way).
There may be the odd situation where a player has no Defuse cards with the top of the closed stack being an Exploding Kitten card. But... to be honest, this game is most fun with at least three players, and the chance that happens is pretty small.
Stick to the offical rules if you have players that have trouble loosing 'unfairly'.
Offical Preparation
1. Take out all Defuse and Exploding Kitten cards
2. Give each player a Defuse card
3. With more than 3 players: add all Defuse cards to the deck
4. With 2 or 3 players: add only 2 Defuse cards to the deck
5. Shuffle the deck and deal each player 7 cards
Everyone has now 8 cards
6. Add Exploding Kittens cards to the deck
5 players - add 4
4 players - add 3
3 players - add 2
7. Shuffle the deck
Variant Preparation
1. Shuffle the whole deck, including the Defuse and Exploding Kitten cards
2. Deal each player 8 cards
3. If players have Exploding Kitten cards they have to return these to the dealer in exchange for another card.
Everyone should end up with 8 cards and no Exploding Kittens
4. Add all returned Exploding Kitten cards to the deck and shuffle once more.
That's easier and faster, and with the highter number of Exploding Kittens the game is a little faster - most of the time.
Rules
1. There are two stacks. One with the back side up (the 'closed' stack, from which you draw cards, aka the 'Draw Deck') and one with the face side up (the 'open' stack, where you place your cards).
2. When it's your turn you can play any of your cards
- You don't HAVE to play any of your cards
- You can play as many cards as you want (if those cards lets you)
- On the card you will find a small instrucution between { and }, telling you what the card does, and if it ends your turn or not
3. When you're done with your turn you take one card from the closed stack
- Some cards allow you to end your turn without drawing a card. Read the description on your card!
- Playing the game goes somewhat like this:
- First player: pass or play as many cards as you want / can, THEN draw a card to finish your turn
- Next player: pass or play as many cards as you want / can, THEN draw a card to finish your turn
- Next player... next player... etcetera...
4. When you draw an Exploding Kitten card you're out of the game unless you have a Defuse card
- If you have a Defuse card you place the Defuse card on the open (played) stack, then stick the Exploding Kitten somewhere in the closed deck. You decide where and how.
- If you don't have a Defuse card:
- Official Rules: If you don't have a Defuse card you're out of the game.
- Variant Rules: If you don't have a Defuse card you're out of the game. Place all your cards on the open (played) stack, and stick the Exploding Kitten somewhere in the closed deck. You decide where and how.
Cards
Exploding Kitten
- Things go boom. Pretty obvious by now. Defuse using a Defuse card.
Defuse
- Stop things from going boom.
Attack
- End your turn without drawing a card. The player after you must take TWO turns.
- If that player also holds an Attack card, he can play that card and the attack lands on the player after him.
- Attacks stack! Example:
1. Player 1 plays an attack card
2. Player 2 must take two turns, BUT he also plays an attack card. Now the attack passes on to player 3
3. Player 3 must take four turns, BUT he also plays an atack card. Now the attack passes on to plyaer 4
4. Player 4 must now take six turns!
Skip
- End one turn without drawing a card
- If you play this because you were the victim of an attack, it only counts as a single turn
Shuffle
- Shuffle the closed deck
See the future
- Official rule: peek at the top 3 cards of the closed deck. Great to spot if there's an Exploding Kitten coming up.
- Very weird: the English manual I downloaded said: peek at the top 2 cards. Maybe that's from an older version?
Cat cards
- These do nothing, unless they are part of a combo (see below)
Nope
- The Nope card is like a 'cancel' or 'undo' button. If you play it, you cancel the last played card or combo. It is as if the previous card was never played.
- You can play the Nope card at ANY time and cancel any action EXCEPT a Defuse or an Exploding Kitten.
- It doesn't have to be your turn! You can play it on someone else's turn if you like.
- Two Nope cards cancel each other out
Combos
- You can combine multiple cards into a combo
- The rules on the card don't count if they are part of a combo
- A combo is seen as a single card, and can be canceled by a single Nope
Combo: Pair of Cards
- You can play ANY pair of cards (two identical Cat cards, two Attack cards, whatever, as long as they are the same) and steal a card from another player.
- The player of your choice must give you a single card, but may decide him / herself which card
- You can play ANY combo of three identical cards and ask a player of your choice for a specific card.
- If that player has that card, he / she must give that card to you.
- For example, you could use a Three of a Kind, and ask another player for his / her Defuse card...
- If the player doesn't have that specific card he / she doesn't have to give you anything
Combo: Five Different Cards
- Some booklets included with the game do not include this rule. I have no idea why.
- If you play five different cards at once, you may take one card from the open (already played) stack at will.
Top 3 Christmas Songs
(If I had been desperate enough I could have borrowed from https://top10s.nl/ but that would be cheating!)
1. Kay Star - The Man with the Bag
From way before my time, but this is my favorite. Big band, over the top, well sung, and not that popular. Love it!
2. Bianca Ryan - Why couldn't it be Christmas Every Day?
This has been my fav for a long time, but once I discovered Kay Star it lost the first spot. (I think this song never gathered much steam world wide - though it is very popular in the Netherlands - and I was surprised to find out how young the singer was at the time.)
3. Andy Williams - It's the Most Wonderfull Time of the Year
3. Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song
Okay. I have cheated. These classics are so great, I just couldn't chose a single one.
Runners-up
Too many to mention! I dislike Wham's Last Christmas (sorry), I can handle Mariah Carey's belter All I want for Christmas, but there's so much more...
- Ariane Grande - Santa Tell Me
- One More Girl - Run Run Rudolph
- Miss Montreal's - Being Alone at Christmas
- Kylie Minogue's - Santa Baby
- The Eagles - Please Come Home for Christmas
- Frank Sinatra - Santa Claus is coming to Town
...
There's so much good stuff. There's simply not enough space in a top-3 for all of 'm.
Okay. Enough peace. Let's blow up another kitten.
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