Exploding Kittens Review – Why I’m Finally Putting This Cat To Sleep

Laying all my cards on the table, Exploding Kittens just doesn’t do it for me. Sure, the Oatmeal’s art and humour are fantastic, but the game design itself feels sluggish and lacks the punch needed to stand out in today’s crowded board game scene.

That said, while Exploding Kittens isn’t my cup of tea, it can still be a great choice for those new to board gaming. Especially if you love the quirky exploding cats theme. Starting your board gaming journey is always easier with a game that resonates with you and your friends.

Looking for more options?

While Exploding Kittens is a popular choice, there are plenty of modern titles that keep the kids at the table. Check out our fully table-tested countdown of the 10 Best Family Board Games That Won’t Bore You to Tears.

How to play

Exploding Kittens is the board game version of hot potato (…or hot catato). It’s a game of last-player-standing where every turn you’ll play action cards, draw a card, and pray you don’t get blown up.

Each player begins a game of Exploding Kittens with a hand of cards, including one cat-bomb-defusal card. The rest of the cards vary: some let you force the next player to take multiple turns, others let you peek at the top of the deck, but most of the cards lack any abilities whatsoever.

Fortunately, you can get rid of these less useful cards by:

• Discarding two matching cards to steal a card from another player.
• Discarding three matching cards to take a specific card of your choice from another player.
• Discarding five unique cards to reclaim one from the discard pile.

During your turn, you can play as many cards or perform as many of these actions as you like. But when your turn ends, you must draw a card from the deck and hope the God of Cats and Explosions is on your side.

If you’re unlucky enough to draw an exploding kitten, you’ll need to play a defuse card to survive. No defuse card? You’re out of the game. If you do have one, you can discard it to place the cat bomb back into the deck, anywhere you want. Yes, anywhere. This is where the fun (and revenge) really starts.

But watch out for Nope cards! These sneaky interrupts can stop any action from taking place, whether it’s defusing a bomb or stealing a card. Thankfully, Nopes can be Noped themselves, allowing you to reverse the reversal and carry on with your plan.

Got all that? Great! The last player who hasn’t been blown to smithereens wins.

Why Exploding Kittens isn’t for gamers

Exploding Kittens feels like a ticking time bomb. Bomb cards are hidden throughout the deck, their locations unknown. As the deck dwindles and the chance of drawing a bomb grows, the tension builds. It’s like watching a fuse burn down, because you know someone will explode.

This inevitability shapes the gameplay. Early on, with no immediate risk, players hoard their cards. Only when a bomb feels unavoidable does the scramble begin, with everyone playing cards in a desperate bid to survive.

While this climactic moment adds excitement, it also exposes the game’s core weakness: the early stages are painfully slow. With minimal tension or threat, players simply draw cards in turn, which feels dull compared to modern board games (more on those later).

When the action finally ramps up, most ability cards have clear, optimal uses like when to play Attack or See the Future cards. Experienced gamers will quickly figure this out, and from there, the game becomes predictable. Success often hinges on the luck of the draw rather than any meaningful strategy, making the gameplay feel shallow rather than engaging.

Feeling lucky… Punk?

What makes the lack of interactivity even more frustrating is just how much of the game relies on luck, or maybe it’s the lack of ways to mitigate that luck that makes it so maddening. Except for the Nope cards, nearly every action (whether it’s stealing, drawing, or discarding) is based on random chance.

The back of the game box calls Exploding Kittens “a kitty-powered version of Russian Roulette,” and honestly, that’s spot on. Not only do I feel like taking a spin in the metaphorical chamber after playing, but like Russian Roulette, there’s not much actual game here. You shuffle in some cat-bombs, draw cards, and hope you don’t blow up. It’s random chance disguised as strategy.

The one bright spot is the Nope cards, and unfortunately, there aren’t enough of them to rely on in every game. These cards let you interrupt another player’s action, adding a rare moment of decision-making. Timing your Nope is a genuinely fun challenge, especially when it devolves into a Nope-counter-Nope standoff. But as enjoyable as these moments are, they can’t save the rest of the game from its lack of interactivity.

Once you realise there’s little you can actually do in Exploding Kittens, the initial tension fizzles out. The ticking time bomb loses its edge, and the game shifts from thrilling to dull. Without the risk of mistakes or the challenge of meaningful decisions, the fun evaporates, leaving you wondering if the cats had nine lives, but the gameplay had none.

Best alternatives to Exploding Kittens

Going back to the start of the review, it’s worth acknowledging that Exploding Kittens made a whopping $8.7 million on Kickstarter. Like Munchkin, it’s a massive success, and honestly, that’s incredibly impressive!

However, many seasoned board gamers tend to dislike it because it doesn’t quite capture the depth or excitement that modern board games can offer. So if you’re a fan of The Oatmeal’s comics and just want a light-hearted way to mess around with friends, Exploding Kittens is still a solid entry point into the world of board gaming.

But if you’re after something more than quirky cats and card chaos, here are some alternatives I’d recommend:

• Love Letter – A deduction-based card game with mechanics somewhat similar to Exploding Kittens, but with far more player agency and strategic decision-making.
• Red7 – Perfect for those who enjoy the “take that” aspect of games. Red7 distils the intensity of Exploding Kittens’ final moments into a streamlined and competitive experience.
• Cockroach Poker – If bluffing is your jam, Cockroach Poker and Cockroach Poker Royal are both laugh-out-loud funny and delightfully challenging in its unapologetic focus on deception.

The world of board games is vast and full of gems. Whether or not you agree with my take on Exploding Kittens, I hope you stick around and explore the hobby, because it’s a fantastic one!