15 Games Like Exploding Kittens For All The Buffs

Ladies & gents, its majesty (drum rolls in the background): Exploding Kittens!!! Wait, do the kittens explode? God forbid! It’s just a name… You may explode if you draw some specific cards. This party card game is all about your favorite things: kittens, unicorns, tacos, and even explosions! As a  family-friendly card game,  it is super trendy and loved by all ages. Yes, till now, it has sold over 10 million copies, which is huge!  

Hold on, that’s not our point, right? Let’s suppose we’re getting bored of Exploding Kittens, but we love the game and don’t want to go out of its range. What do we do? We pick one of the games on the upcoming list and have fun with it. All of the games you’ll see below will be pretty similar to Exploding Kittens, but not identical because that gets on our nerves… Each one is unique & has its way to bring fun! 

• Valuable information about Exploding Kittens;
• The games:

1. Throw Throw Burrito;
2. Coup;
3. Cards Against Humanity;
4. Sushi Go Party!;
5. Love Letter;
6. Jaipur;
7. Catch Phrase;
8. UNO;
9. Unstable Unicorns;
10. Happy Little Dinosaurs;
11. Skip-Bo;
12. Gubs;
13. Sparkly Kitty;
14. You’ve Got Crabs!;
15. Farting Frenchies;

• Wind up;

Valuable Information About Exploding Kittens

• Exploding Kittens was created by Elan Lee & Matt Inman, and published by The Oatmeal back in July of 2015.
• It also has an official website, www.explodingkittens.com, where you can get informed about the main game, expansions, editions, and way more stuff.
• When talking about the game genre, Exploding Kittens is a party card game, considered a medium-difficult level to play;
• Setting up this card game takes less than one minute, while the playing usually lasts between 10 to 20 minutes.
• The core game is made to be played by people who are 7 years and older. Usually, it works best if played by 2 to 5 players;
• There are 52 cards in the main game, which may be: annoy cards, attack cards, cat cards, nope, see the future, shuffle, skip, slap, and many more;
• Playing Exploding Kittens is simple once you’re all concentrated. Every player has 5 cards in their hand. The remaining cards take place in the middle of the table. When it’s your turn, you may either pass or play a card into the discard pile. After playing, you read the instructions on each card to know what you should do next. Be careful tho’. Once you draw an exploding kitten card, you explode (boom!).
• This amazing card game is very popular. This is also proven by Amazon ratings. Exploding Kittens to this day has 56,518 ratings, 4.7 out of 5 stars!
• Besides the main game, as we previously mentioned, there are dozens of extra packs. We may mention here the Party Pack, Imploding Kittens, the NSFW edition, Exploding Minions, and more.
• If we talk about skills, Exploding Kittens for sure helps us manage our patience, cold-hearted strategy along with concentration. Of course, the game relies on a lot of luck but combining luck with your skills will make you the winner.

1. Throw Throw Burrito

Get it on Amazon ($24.99) & Target ($24.99) | 2 to 6 players | Ages 7+

What do we do when we’re getting bored of life? We throw someone with a burrito… This party game is made of 120 cards & 2 foam burritos (you may also use some real burritos though). Before playing, make sure you clean off the place and remove your mom’s favorite dishes if they’re exposed, because you may cause any damage by throwing the burrito. Take turns drawing & playing your cards. If you have 3 cards of any kind, you’ll score points. 

While playing, you’ll also make sets of 3 battling cards. When that happens, yell the name of the battle, and declare the battle started. Based on the battle type (Brawl, War, or Duel), you’ll know how to throw that goddamn burrito… The winner of the game is chosen after 2 rounds. We know you’re dying to know more. Check the PDF for more information! 

Exploding Kittens VS. Throw Throw Burrito

From our POV, both the burrito and the exploding kitten have a similar meaning: you pay attention to it! Of course, when playing Throw Throw Burrito you’ll need a bigger space since you will also run and follow each other. 

2. Coup

Get it on Amazon ($14.99) & Target ($14.99) | 2 to 6 players | Ages 13+

A pretty specific game name, huh? A coup is a game that tells a story. Government, brighter future, absolute power… There are only 15 cards, but that’s more than enough! In the game, you’ll find 5 roles (indeed, 5 types of cards): Captain, Assassin, Ambassador, Duke, and finally, Contessa! Long story short, each player takes their time to choose one action only, which may be an income, coup, foreign aid, specific character action, and more. 

When that action is chosen, it may be challenged or counteracted. If none of that happens, the action succeeds. Once a player loses all their influence, they’re immediately removed from the game. The objective of the whole game is to eliminate your opponents’ influences and be the last survivor. 

Exploding Kittens VS. Coup

In both games you fight to be the last survivor in the game: you either stay away from the exploding kitten or eliminate the other players’ influences. If we compare the gameplay, Coup also feels like making up a movie…. 

3. Cards Against Humanity

Get it on Amazon ($25.00) & Target ($25.00) | 4 to 20+ players | ages 17+

Haven’t you already understood that Cards Against Humanity is our go-to card game? What we love most about it, is how it makes people connect more, mostly by matching their jokes & sense of humor. This card game has a total of 600 cards, divided into white and black. The super-simple CAH rules made it even more enjoyable. The Card Czar reads a card, and y’all fight to give the funniest response. 

A pro tip: If you’re willing to win, make sure to make the card combination based on Card Czar’s sense of humor, because they’re the ones to judge. Ah, you horrible people… 

Exploding Kittens VS. Cards Against Humanity

If you’re funny, and you manage to make good combinations, you’re gonna do fine in both games. When talking about difficulty, Cards Against Humanity is way simpler to play, but the main game (and many others) can’t be played by kids. 

4. Sushi Go Party!

Get it on Amazon ($21.95) & Walmart ($20.66) | 2 to 8 players | Ages 8+ 

It’s sushi. And we’re hungry… This is not going to end well! Forget about food! Sushi Go, specifically, Sushi Go Party is a card game made of 181 cards. You’ll have the chance to keep cards, pass them to the next player, and make sushi combinations (just as in the main game). Something that’s brand new, is that you can also customize your game by choosing one dish out of 20 available on the menu. And you don’t gain weight! 

Anyway, the objective is to earn the most points, while making card combinations. Each card is super unique. You’ll have desserts, appetizers, rolls, and dozens more. There are details & instructions written on each card. 

Exploding Kittens VS. Sushi Go Party! 

When playing Exploding Kittens & Sushi Go Party, you get the most points if you make the right combinations. A big difference is that you may not get out of the Sushi Go game out of random (you won’t explode). It’s all about the points. 

5. Love Letter

Get it on Amazon ($11.99) & Target ($11.99) | 2 to 6 players | Ages 10+

Ah, we do be cry babies when we get these love letters… Emotions aside, talking about the game is really about trying to get someone’s heart. Besides other equipment, such as tokens, it has 27 cards. By the way, it comes with a very pretty royal-looking bag. We love to see it. What’s so great about it, is that the game is played in rounds. Each round represents one day, and at the end of each day, the Princess reads one player’s letter. 

It contains cards such as PrincessKing, Countess, Handmaid, Prince, Baron, Priest, and some others. The main goal of the game for each player is to get your letter into the Princess’s hands, of course, while diverting the other players’ letters. 

Exploding Kittens VS. Love Letter

Both games tend to get very competitive & both have many types of cards, which makes the games be on a similar level of fun. The stories in the games are so different from one another, but both require lots of creativity. 

6. Jaipur

Get it on Amazon ($24.99) | 2 players | Ages 10+

There’s one unexplainable thing about us and these royal-themed games… Firstly, let me tell you that Jaipur contains 55 cards, and 60 tokens you’ll use to play. A board game made for only two people, which will take the roles of the two most important traders of the city, trying to become Maharaja’s (a great king) personal trader. While playing, you’ll take goods from the market, trade them (one for one), take the camels, and do more buying actions. 

On the other hand, you’ll also sell stuff and gain tokens. Remember, whoever has more rupees (tokens) wins the round. The game goes on until you get bored, but whoever wins 2 rounds, is the winner of the game! One more time, it’s all-around money…

Exploding Kittens VS. Jaipur

Strategy is the key in whatever of these two games you choose to play. The tokens & all the special equipment may seem more fun to lots of people. However, it can only be played by 2 people, and not up to 5 (Exploding Kittens).

7. Catch Phrase

Get it on Amazon ($22.99) & Target ($23.99) | 4 or more players | Ages 12+

Straight to the point, no, Catch Phrase isn’t a card game. The main equipment is the game unit. It has two buttons on the front, one to show another word, and the other to pass. In total, the game contains more than 5,000 words, on different topics. To play, we’d recommend you all stand up and make a circle. You should play in teams. Idk why, but this game resembles Frisby…. 

Anyhow, play the button and see the word. Now, try to explain that game to your other teammate(s). If no one guesses for 15 seconds, the unit beeps. If they guess correctly, throw the unit to any other player on your team, and they do the same, repeatedly. 

Exploding Kittens VS. Catch Phrase

In scratch, both games have to do with thinking fast & making the right combinations, to win. The only main difference is that Catch Phrase is mostly played in teams. 

8. UNO

Get it on Amazon ($6.49) & Target ($5.79) | 2 to 10 players | Ages 7+

Yey!!! Another card game under $10. It’s our call to go! This fabulous card game comes with 108 cards. Besides the number cards, from 0 to 9, there are also special cards, such as Wild, Skip, Reverse, Draw 2, Wild +4, and so on. The main point of the game is matching the cards, either by their number or color. So, to play a card from your hand, it should match the top card of the discard pile. Special cards, just as their name says, create special actions. 

Once you have only 1 card left in your hand, you should shout ‘UNO!’, or you won’t win. Next, you get points based on how many cards are left in your opponents’ hands. Ps. if you want to spice it up, consider playing Drunk UNO.

Exploding Kittens VS. UNO

Whatever game you play, you need to match the cards and try to get rid of your opponents, by winning, of course. Tbh, when playing UNO, your strategy can make the game more competitive, and luck doesn’t matter that much.  

9. Unstable Unicorns

Get it on Amazon ($19.97) & Target ($19.99) | 2 to 8 players | Ages 8+

I mean, aren’t we all unstable unicorns at some point? Outspoken, this card game has a total of 135 cards inside the box. But, what’s your goal when playing Unstable Unicorns? Well, you tend to collect 7 unicorns in your play area, that’s when you become stable! You’ll use magic, Upgrade, Instant, and Downgrade cards, to build your unicorn army and fight your opponents’ unicorns. Usually, all the cards have some instructions written on their bottom.

Keep in mind that there are 3 types of unicorns: baby, basic, and magical. You’ll use all three of them in your army. What makes this card game even more amazing, is that there are other editions: NSFW, Nightmares Expansion, For Kids, Adventures, and many more. 

Exploding Kittens VS. Unstable Unicorns

Exploding Kittens has the kittens, Unstable Unicorns has the unicorns. The idea behind them is similar. You have to collect cards and try to kick the other players out of the game. Also, in both games, there are instructions on each card. 

10. Happy Little Dinosaurs

Get it on Amazon ($20.00) & Target ($20.49) | 2 to 4 players | Ages 8+

We don’t all be happy little dinosaurs, huh? Once you open the pretty box, you’ll find 97 cards, which may be Disaster cards, Instant cards, Point cards, and so on. You’ll play disaster cards featuring any of the disasters. You’ll luckily play point cards, hoping to get points from them. The idea is that all the dinosaurs will battle some different challenges: falling into a pit of lava, being ghosted by the dino date, being attacked by any squirrels, or being eaten by the whales.  You’re gonna go through a lot… 

Whoever is the first player to earn 50 points, wins the game. On the other hand, if all the other players fail, and you’re the only dinosaur left in the game, no matter the points, you win. We know you can do this. You’ve faced many challenges, and here you are, still smiling… 

Exploding Kittens VS. Happy Little Dinosaurs

If you manage to be the only kitten or dinosaur in the game, and you’ve caused many disasters to your opponents, you’ll be the winner in any of these two games. The good thing is that in Happy Little DInosaurs you can win by points as well. 

11. Skip-Bo

Get it on Amazon ($8.99) & Target ($7.89) | 2 to 6 players | Ages 7+ 

Cheers to another game similar to UNO! Who says no to that? Skip-Bo is a game where everything is in order, even fun! There’s a total of 162 cards, divided into number cards from 1 to 12, and Wild cards, which may be played as any number as needed. Long story short, the objective of the game is to create sequential stacks of cards (Such as 4,5,6,…). As you assumed, yes, the cards have different colors. 

Colors have their meaning. They show tiers of value. 1 to 4 are indigo, 5 to 8 are green, and 9 to 12 are pink. If you’ve got wild cards, you’re lucky. Use them cleverly. What you always try to do, is match cards and play them into the build pile. The first player who runs out of cards, meaning they play all of their cards, wins this cool game. 

Exploding Kittens VS. Skip-Bo

While in Exploding Kittens you fight to be the last player in the game, in Skip-Bo, you always try to run out of cards first. Although, the idea of matching cards and working individually is the same in both these card games. 

12. Gubs

Get it on Amazon (£10.00) & Walmart ($11.98) | 2 to 6 players | Ages 10+

It’s finally time for our Gubs! This is a card game made with a total of 70 cards, and all of them are very different from one another. Based on what Gamewright says, Gubs is a game of wit and luck, so, you better work! In simple words, the whole game cycle is completed in 3 steps: draw (not always), play & discard cards. Keep in mind that there are also letter cards (G, U, B), which should first be removed from the deck. 

The main objective of the game is to be the player who has the freest/Protected Gubs in play when the last letter (G) of the word GUB is drawn from the deck. So, when that letter is drawn, the player who has the highest total of these 2 specific cards, wins GUBS! Also, don’t worry, the instructions on all cards will help you out playing. 

Exploding Kittens VS. Gubs

If we compare these two, the game flow goes somehow the same, there are instructions in both games’ cards to play easier, and winning isn’t based on points but on cards. 

13. Sparkly Kitty

Get it on Walmart ($20.00) | 3 to 8 players | Ages 6+

We love everything that mentions kittens, or kitty, or whatever… Sparkle Kitty contains 163, which may be spell cards, wild, princess, dark magic enchantment, and special cards. The idea behind the game is all about a group of princesses, who once upon a time were locked by the evil queen: Sparkly Kitten. Do not forget that after shuffling the cards and all that, y’all draw one princess card each, and this is what princess you’ll represent. Long story short, your goal is to be the first to get rid of all your cards. 

As in every card game, each player takes their turn to play. When it’s your turn, you can do one of the three options: play a card into the spellbook (if it matches the color or the symbol), draw a Dark Magic Enchantment card next to your princess, or pass your turn and simply draw one card from the deck. There are also tower cards. When one player removes all of their tower cards, or all the decks become empty, the game ends, peacefully.

Exploding Kittens VS. Sparkle Kitty

Similar names? Check! What’s also similar is that there are different types of cards, and each card represents a different action. Also, when playing, both games feel like you’re kinda making up a story using cards. 

14. You’ve Got Crabs

Get it on Amazon ($19.99) & Target ($14.49) | 4 to 10 players | Ages 7+

I mean, don’t we all have crabs? For sure, ‘You’ve Got Crabs’ is one highly-strategic card game, which includes 78 cards in the box, along with some cute crab points. A good thing about it is that to play you’ll have to pick a partner and make up some secret codes only you two will get. All you gotta do (after pairing up with a player), is play & draw cards, trying to make matching sets. Wait. Don’t tell everyone what you’ve done. Use your secret code/message, to tell your partner only that you’ve made a matching set. 

And, how’s the matching set called in the game? It’s called CRABS! So, once your partner gets your message, they should yell: You’ve Got Crabs! Once you do so, you get one point. If your opponent catches the message before your partner does, and yells the same phrase, you lose a point. The duo with the most crabs wins the game. Just as simple as that, your crab! 

Exploding Kittens VS. You’ve Got Crabs

In both games, there are different types of card combinations you can make. In YGC, there isn’t a card that can get you out of the game, as there is an exploding kitten. Also, what sets these two games apart, is that the latter is played in pairs.

15. Farting Frenchies 

Get it on Amazon ($19.99) & Target ($24.99) | 2 to 4 players | Ages 7+

Who would’ve thought that this would be a thing? Look how creative the name is, oh, and the box as well! Now, this incredible card game that brings tons of laughs contains a total of 54 cards. Ah, if only you knew how many farty dogs there are… To play, you’re gonna have to pick up cards, place stinky cards next to your farty dog, diffuse or discard cards, play action cards, and many more… Will your Frenchie fart? Well, yes if you make him a collection of stinky cards! 

The point is that you can have more than one farty dog on your deck. This makes you have a farty army! In simple words, the goal is to have the most stinky cards, because this is how you have the stinkiest army and after the end card is played,  you win the game! The only time when garbage (Frenchie onion soup, last week’s garbage, half-eaten pizza) is useful! 

Exploding Kittens VS. Farting Frenchies

Well, this is cats vs. dogs… Both games have their way of playing, but, the main theme and the cards have similar roles. For example, in both games, there’s a card you could use to stop the kidnapping of your farty dog & from exploding. Do you get it? 

Windup Of What We’ve Said Today 

Not necessarily you’ll like every game on this list. That would be strange. The point is that every game has its style, and you’ll find a considerable number (or only one) that fits your preferences perfectly. This includes the number of players, age range, game style, content, and more details. 

We made sure to mention some basic rules for each game & also compare each one with Exploding Kittens, so you’ll know what’s the thing that sets them apart, and you can see the difference.

Even if you’re not bored of Exploding Kittens yet, or you’ll never be, we’d recommend you try any of the above-mentioned games, since they’re all so so fun & give some unique vibes. 

Watch out kitten! You were about to explode!