Did we really need more proof that cats rule the Internet?
Apparently. So here goes:
Yesterday, a new card game appeared on Kickstarter, requesting a moderate $10,000. In exchange, backers receive a card game all about exploding kittens.
Twenty minutes later, it had the $10k. Less than 12 hours later, the project had more than $1 million in backing. By the 24-hour mark, it had exceeded $2 million.
The game is actually called Exploding Kittens, and I, for one, am ridiculously excited about it. The premise seems to be a bit like Bang! meets Killer Bunnies, but a bit simpler:
Draw a card. If you draw a kitten card, it explodes and you’re out of the game… unless you can defuse the kitten. For that, you need a Defuse card, featuring your standard cat-defusers, such as laser pointers.
Exploding Kittens Card Game
- Number of players: 2-5
- Play time: 10-20 Minutes
The Details
Exploding Kittens is designed by Michael Inman of The Oatmeal, Elan Lee (former chief design officer for Xbox), and Shane Small (a game designer who has done work for Xbox and Marvel, among others).
As the Kickstarter page explains, it’s not quite as dark as it sounds (OK, maybe a little dark). You don’t make the kittens explode, and they don’t make themselves explode a la “The Book of Bunny Suicides”… they just do what kittens do: get into trouble. And then BOOM.
So how bad will this set back your wallet?
- For $20, you get the kid-friendly version of the game.
- For $35, you get the extra “NSFW” deck (that’s Not Safe For Work, if you were wondering) with cards too horrible to put in the standard deck.
There’s 29 days left to back the project, but all the higher tiers with limited quantities are sold out, and while we know more stretch goals are forth-coming, we don’t actually know what they’ll be. So far the only stretch goal posted is an expansion of the NSFW deck.
As for me, I deliberated for all of 30 seconds before clicking that little pledge button.