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Don’t worry. The kittens don’t actually explode in this game…so long as you can defuse them, that is! Exploding Kittens is a fun and social card game published by The Oatmeal in 2015. The object of the game is to avoid or defuse Exploding Kitten cards to keep them from blowing you up. If you’re the last player standing, you win the game. In this article, we’ll walk you through the rules of the game so that you can come out the other side in one piece and emerge victorious with your cats unscathed.
Steps
Setting Up
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1Take out all the cards. Divide them into piles of the Exploding Kittens, the Defuse, and the rest of the cards. There should be 4 Exploding Kittens and 6 Defuses.
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2Use the pile of cards that are not the Defuse nor the Exploding Kittens and give each person 4 cards. The game is meant for up to 5 people (or 10 for the party edition).
- In the party edition, play with only the cards without the pawprint for 2-3 players, with the pawprint for 4-7 players, and with all cards for 8-10 players.
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3Give each person 1 Defuse.
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4Use the following bullets to decide how many Exploding Kittens to put in your deck:
- Put 1 Exploding Kitten in the pile with the rest of the cards if you are playing with 2 people.
- Put 2 Exploding Kittens in the pile with the rest of the cards if you're playing with 3 people.
- Put 3 Exploding Kittens in the pile with the rest of the cards if you are playing with 4 people.
- Put 4 Exploding Kittens in the pile with the rest of the cards if you are playing with 5 people.
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5Put the Defuse back in the big deck. Only put 2 in the deck if you are playing with 2 people.
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6Put the deck face down in a pile.
Playing the Game
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1Use these piles during gameplay. When it is your turn you can play as many cards as you want, placing them in a pile next to the deck. When you end your turn, you draw a card.
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2Know what the cards mean as you draw them:
- The Exploding Kitten card makes you eliminated immediately unless you use a defuse card. When you use a Defuse card you get to put the Exploding Kitten anywhere in the deck.
- The Favor card means the person who played the card picks any opponent to give them a card of the opponent's choice.
- The Nope card can be used any time during the game to stop any action except against an Exploding Kitten or a Defuse card. It is even possible to "nope" a "nope".
- The Attack card forces the next player to go twice, and you don't need to draw a card at the end of your turn.
- The "Double slap" and "Triple slap" cards forces anyone playing to take two or three turns in a row.
- The Skip card lets you skip your turn without drawing a card.
- The Shuffle card lets you shuffle the deck.
- The "See the Future" card allows you to see the next three cards in the deck.
- The "Alter the Future" card allows you to rearrange the next three cards in the deck.
- The "Draw from the Bottom" card allows you to end your turn by drawing from the bottom of the deck instead of the top.
- Cat cards aren't useful by themselves but can be used in Special Combos or Pairs.
- The "Feral Cat" allows you to use the card as any cat card.
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3Play pairs/special combos:
- If you get doubles (Two of a Kind) of the same card that has no instructions on it you can play them, allowing you to draw a random card from your opponent of choice.
- If you have triples (Three of a Kind) of a card with no instructions you get to ask any opponent for any card. If they do not have the card you ask for you get nothing. If they do you get to keep that card.
- If you have five different cat cards, then dive into the discard pile and grab any card you want.
- In Advanced Play, any two or three cards with matching icons in their corners can be played as pairs, rather than only instruction-less cards. And if you have five cards with different icons in the corners (with or without instructions) then you can look through the Discard Pile and grab any card you want.
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4Play until someone wins. The game is won when all but one players have "exploded", or drawn an Exploding Kittens card. The last player left is declared the winner. Have fun!
Community Q&A
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QuestionShould there always be two piles of cards?
Community AnswerYes, a pile to draw from and a discard pile. -
QuestionWhat about the see the future cards?
Community AnswerSee the future cards are what the name suggests: you can peek at the top three cards (but NO REARRANGING THEM). After you've played that card, you still have to draw to end your turn, unless you play a skip or an attack. -
QuestionWhen eliminated by the exploding kitten card how is it returned to the deck?Community AnswerWhen a player draws an exploding kitten without holding a defuse card, that player is eliminated from the game. All of their cards, including the exploding kitten are discarded.
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About This Article
Exploding Kittens is a fun card game for 2-5 players. The goal of the game is to avoid drawing an Exploding Kitten card from the deck. If a player draws an Exploding Kitten card, they’re out, unless they have a Defuse card that they can play to save themselves. Whoever is the last player left in the game wins. To start the game, remove all of the Exploding Kitten and Defuse cards from the deck. Then, give each player one Defuse card. Shuffle the remaining Defuse cards and the Exploding Kitten cards back into the deck so there’s one less Exploding Kitten card than there are players. Deal 4 cards to each player, and place the rest of the cards face-down in the middle of the table. Now choose one player to go first. On your turn, you can play one or more cards from your hand if you’d like. When you play a card, place it face-up next to the draw pile, and follow the instructions on the card. For example, if you play a See the Future card, you can look at the top 3 cards on the draw pile. Make sure to read the instructions on the cards in your hand carefully - certain cards allow you to play out of turn or to skip your turn. Some cards don’t have instructions on them. These cards can be collected and then played as a pair, three-of-a-kind, or five-of-a-kind. If you play a pair of cards, you can steal a card at random from a player of your choice. If you play a three-of-a-kind, you can tell a player of your choice what type of card you want from them. If they don’t have the card you ask for, you get nothing. Finally, if you play a five-of-a-kind, you can go through the discard pile and take any card you’d like. When you’re finished playing cards from your hand, or if you don’t want to play any cards, end your turn by drawing a card from the draw pile. After your turn, play continues with the player to your left going next. If a player draws an Exploding Kitten card, they’re out of the game, unless they have a Defuse card in their hand. If a player has a Defuse card, they can play it face-up, then put the Exploding Kitten card back into the deck face-down. They can place the Exploding Kitten card anywhere in the deck, including on top. Continue playing until only one player is left in the game. Whoever’s the last player standing wins! For tips on how to use strategies, like playing pairs and special combos, read on!
