How to Play Exploding Kittens and Which Edition to Buy (2026)

Saturday afternoon, four people around a table and a deck of cards in the middle. One person draws a card and breathes out. Another draws and breathes out. Suddenly the exploding kitten appears, the nine-year-old bursts out laughing and asks whether he gets to draw again. That is Exploding Kittens: Russian roulette with cats that lasts about as long as a coffee and asks for another game the moment it ends.

At Híper Ocio we have been selling games since 1923, and this is one of those that is better explained standing at the counter with the box open than by reading a twenty-page rulebook. That is why many people come in with two questions at once: how to play and, as soon as they get the taste for it, which of all the boxes to buy. On the shelf we have the original, one for adults, the big Recetas del Desastre box and even a board game. It is easy to go home with the wrong one.

So we will cover both things in the same article. First I will teach you to play in two minutes, as if you were standing in front of me with the box in your hand. Then I will tell you, depending on who you will be playing with, which one suits you and which one will disappoint you if you buy it without the base game.

What Exploding Kittens is and why a game lasts as long as a coffee

Exploding Kittens is a card game from Asmodee for 2 to 5 players, ages 7 and up, with games of about 15 minutes. A child understands the idea on their first turn: you keep drawing cards from the deck until somebody gets an Exploding Kitten. If you draw it and cannot defend yourself, it explodes and you are out. The last player still alive wins.

What hooks people is not that basic rule, which is almost pure chance, but everything you can do to delay your turn, make another player draw twice or peek at what is coming in the deck. That is where the mischief comes in, along with the laughter and the "how could you do that to me". That is why a game lasts so little and why everyone always asks for another. It is the perfect game to get out while the coffee is brewing, and for when the coffee is long gone and you are still playing.

It needs no board, no scoring with a pen and no strange rules to learn. With a deck, some room on the table and a wish to wind up the person next to you, you already have enough.

Setup: how to prepare the deck and deal the exploding kittens

Setting up a game takes less than a minute once you have done it. This is the order I follow in the shop when I teach it to someone:

1. Take the Exploding Kittens and the Defuse cards out of the deck and set them aside for now. They are the key cards and they go in last, not in any old way.
2. Shuffle the rest (the action cards and the ordinary cat cards) and deal 7 cards to each player.
3. Give each player 1 extra Defuse card, so everyone starts with at least one in hand. That is their safety net.
4. Any leftover Defuse cards go into the deck.
5. Now, put the Exploding Kittens into the deck: one fewer than the number of players. With four players, three kittens go in. That way almost everyone ends up exploding and a single survivor remains.
6. Shuffle the whole deck well and leave it face down in the centre. Next to it, leave a space for the discard pile.

That "one kitten fewer than players" is the detail people forget, and it is why sometimes the game never quite finishes. If you respect it, it always ends with a single player alive.

The turn step by step: draw, play cards and pass

Here is the essence of the game, and it is easier than it looks. On your turn you do two things, in this order:

1. Play as many action cards as you like (or none). You can chain them to set up your move: peek at the deck, make someone else draw, skip your draw, take a card from someone. There is no limit as long as you still have cards and the will to play them.
2. You end your turn by drawing a card from the deck. And this is the important part: your turn does not end when you stop playing cards, it ends when you draw. That draw is the moment of risk, because an Exploding Kitten can come out.

If you draw an ordinary cat or an action card, nothing happens: you keep it and it is the next player's turn. But if you draw an Exploding Kitten, you must show it and immediately play a Defuse card if you have one. With it you defuse the kitten and put it back into the deck wherever you like (on top, at the bottom, in the middle). That is where the mischief starts, because you can leave it right on top for the next player. If you have no Defuse, you explode and you are out. Draw, play and pass: everything else is a matter of the action cards, which is where the game gets really fun.

The cards that decide the game: Defuse, Nope, See the Future, Attack and Skip

You learn the basic rules in a minute. Winning or losing depends on using these cards well at the right moment. I will explain them with examples, which is how they sink in:

Defuse

Your lifesaver. It is the only card that gets you out of an Exploding Kitten. When you draw the kitten, you play the Defuse and put the kitten back into the deck as you please. Guard them like gold: whoever runs out of Defuse cards lives with their heart in their mouth every time they draw.

See the Future

You secretly look at the top three cards of the deck, without changing their order. It seems like little and it is one of the best. A real example: it is your turn, you play See the Future and discover that the top card is an Exploding Kitten. Instead of drawing blind, you now know you must not draw yet, so you play a Skip or an Attack and get out of that round.

Skip

You end your turn without drawing. No kitten, nothing. It is the clean way out when you know, from See the Future or from sheer logic, that death is waiting for you on top.

Attack

You end your turn without drawing, but the next player has to take two turns in a row. It is aggressive and can be chained: you hand the problem to the person next to you. Be careful, because they can answer with another Attack and send it back to you doubled.

Nope

The most treacherous card and the one that gets the most laughs. It cancels another player's action as if it had never been played. A counter example: someone plays an Attack on you so you have to draw twice with the kitten lurking on top, you play a Nope and that Attack is cancelled. And if another player has another Nope, they can cancel your Nope, and so a lovely war of Nopes breaks out. It is the card that turns the game around in the last second.

There are more (Shuffle, to stir up the deck when you know a kitten is coming on top, and Steal and the cat cards played in pairs, to take cards from another player), but with these five you can already play and win. The rest you pick up as you go.

Typical mistakes in the first game (and how to avoid them)

I have watched plenty of first games from behind the counter. These are the stumbles that keep coming up:

• Putting in as many Exploding Kittens as there are players. It is one fewer. With five players, four kittens. With this mistake the game does not close properly.
• Forgetting to give each player a starting Defuse. Every player starts with one in hand. Without that initial deal, the first death comes too soon and leaves a bad taste.
• Thinking the turn ends when you play cards. It does not. The turn ends when you draw. You can play ten cards, but in the end you draw no matter what, unless you play Skip or Attack.
• Saving the Nope for later. The Nope is played in the heat of the moment, right when somebody does something that hurts you. If you hold it back too long, the game ends with the card still in your hand.
• Using See the Future at the start of the turn and then playing three more cards. Use it right before deciding whether to draw, because if you move the deck with other actions, what you saw no longer holds.
• Putting the defused kitten in the wrong place. When you defuse, you decide where it goes. If you put it right on top, the next player gets it. Use that mischief, that is what it is for.

Avoid these six and your first game goes smoothly and you will not put the deck down.

Base game, expansion or board game: the difference that prevents the wrong purchase

This is where most people go wrong, and it is the costliest mistake. Before I tell you which one to buy, keep this distinction in mind, because it saves you a disappointment:

• Base edition (complete card game): the original, the NSFW and Recetas del Desastre are complete games. They are played on their own and need nothing else. Any of the three will let you start today.
• Expansion (not played on its own): Streaking Kittens is a 15-card expansion. It adds a new card, the Streaking Kitten, but it absolutely needs a base copy to work. If you buy only the expansion thinking it is a game, you take home 15 cards you cannot use. It is the buying mistake I have had to clear up most often.
• Board game (not cards): "Voltea y Sabotea" and the Super Fan Edition are board games, with a transformable 3D board. They share the mischievous spirit and the cats, but they are a different experience. If you were expecting the quick card game and a board game arrives, it is not what you were looking for, and the other way round too.

In a counter-side sentence: if you want the classic card game, look at the original, the NSFW or Recetas del Desastre. If you want something with a board, look at the board versions. And do not buy an expansion without having the base game at home.

Which edition to buy depending on who you play with

There is no single "best" edition, there is a best one for your case. I will lay it out by situation, so you can see yourself in it and get it right first time:

If it is your first time or you will play as a family with children

Go for the original edition of Exploding Kittens. It is for ages 7 and up, 2 to 5 players, with funny drawings suitable for everyone, and it is the starting point everyone recommends, with good reason. It costs around €15-20, fits on any shelf and comes out of the box in a minute. To start, this one.

If only adults will play and you like cheeky humour

The NSFW edition has exactly the same rules as the original, for 2 to 5 players, but with racier illustrations and humour. It is not suitable for minors, so take care if there are children in the house. For a night with friends and plenty of laughs, it is the one your gut is asking for.

If you want the "all-in-one" box, for beginner and expert alike

Recetas del Desastre is the most complete. It comes with 121 cards, a cone of shame, 13 "recipe" booklets and unlocks more than 12 different game modes. The good thing is that it works for someone who has never played (it has everything needed for the first game) and for the veteran (it includes the best cards from several expansions). It is at the high end, around €25-40, but it is the only box that grows with you and does not fall short. If you are torn between buying the base game and then adding expansions, this one settles it in one go.

If you are a big group or you play in pairs

This is where the Party Pack comes in, which extends play to up to 10 players, comes with 120 cards and includes a pairs mode and new mechanics. To be honest: right now we have it out of stock. If it is what you are after, write to us and we will tell you when it comes in or which alternative suits you. We are not going to link it as available if it is not.

If you already have the base game and want to extend it

The Streaking Kittens expansion (15 cards, with the Streaking Kitten that lets you hold an Exploding Kitten in your hand without exploding) is for you, as long as you already have a base copy. It is also out of stock right now, so the same advice: ask us about availability before counting on it.

If what you want is a board, not cards

Take a look at the Board Game "Voltea y Sabotea", with its transformable 3D board, or the Super Fan Edition for the real fans. They are a different experience, in the €25-40 range, for anyone who wants more tabletop and fewer quick cards.

30-second decision cheat sheet

• First time or with children: Original.
• Adults only, cheeky humour: NSFW.
• A single box that has it all: Recetas del Desastre.
• Big group (up to 10) or in pairs: Party Pack (check stock).
• I already have the base game and want more: Streaking Kittens (check stock, needs the base game).
• I want a board, not cards: Voltea y Sabotea or Super Fan Edition.

Why buy it at Híper Ocio

We are a family shop in Albox (Almería), founded in 1923 and now in its fourth generation, with Antonio Martínez Rosado at the helm. We are part of the Toy Planet chain and an official authorised Asmodee retailer, so what reaches you is the official product, not some odd copy from the internet. You can see everything in our board games collection.

What we offer, without frills:

• Free nationwide shipping from €49.99. A single deck of cards does not reach that figure, so the idea is to combine a couple of games or complete the order with something else from the shop.
• 3-year legal guarantee, the one that applies in Spain.
• 30 days for returns according to our returns policy.
• A real physical shop on Avenida 28 de Febrero in Albox, where we will show it to you with the box open if you drop by.
• And if it suits you better to split the payment, Klarna is available at checkout.

If you have any doubt about which edition suits you, write to us on WhatsApp at 623 04 44 20 and we will sort it out the way it has always been done here: on respectful terms.

Frequently asked questions

From what age can you play Exploding Kittens?

The original edition is for ages 7 and up. The NSFW, on the other hand, is for adults only because of its humour and illustrations, so it is not suitable for minors.

How many players can play?

The original edition, the NSFW and Recetas del Desastre are for 2 to 5 players. If you need more, the Party Pack extends play to up to 10 players and includes a pairs mode, although right now it is out of stock; ask us about availability.

Which one should I buy first if I have never played?

The original edition. It is the ideal starting point: simple rules, suitable from age 7 and at a reasonable price. Once you get the taste for it, you can move up to Recetas del Desastre or an expansion.

What is the difference between the original and Recetas del Desastre?

The original is the base card game, simple and direct. Recetas del Desastre is the "all-in-one" box: 121 cards, a cone of shame, 13 booklets and more than 12 game modes, designed for beginners and experts alike. It is more complete and more expensive, but it does not fall short.

Do I need the base game to play with Streaking Kittens?

Yes. Streaking Kittens is a 15-card expansion, not a game you can play on its own. It absolutely needs a base copy of Exploding Kittens in order to be used. Do not buy it alone thinking it is a complete game.

Does it make a good gift?

It is one of the best gifts for anyone looking for something quick and fun for the whole table. For family or children, the original; for a group of adults with cheeky humour, the NSFW; and if you want to impress with a box that has it all, Recetas del Desastre.