Exploding cats are back (from never being gone) and this time on Netflix! You read it right, soon there will be a real animated series based on the very popular card game Exploding Kittens and this time there is a battle between good and evil. Therefore, the creators thought it was time for a new variant to promote this series in Exploding Kittens Good vs Evil.
Background
You probably know Exploding Kittens and have possibly (not entirely unthinkably) played one of its variants. Whether it was that version with zombies or barking cats or the one version you can’t play safely at work or with your grandmother.
Exploding Kittens originally came out in 2015 and its creators describe it as a kitty version of Russian Roulette. You know, that board game where you hold a gun to your head hoping not to blow it off.
In Exploding Kittens, the draw pile is the revolver and the Exploding Kitten is the bullet. As soon as you explode and you cannot undo the blast (anymore) you are out of the game. No 9 lives for these cats. The player who lands last on all fours wins the game. In other words, your goal is simple. Don’t explode.
Gameplay
A game of Exploding Kittens generally doesn’t take long, nor is the game design overly complicated or drawn out. Give each player a dismantle card, shuffle the cards, distribute cards to all players and shuffle the exploding cats back through the pile. In Good vs Evil, players also place a tableau with the God Cat and Devil Cat on the table that can be summoned during the game by the Armageddon card.
On your turn, you may play as many cards from your hand as you wish or you may pass. In either case, you draw a card from the discard pile at the end of your play turn, unless a card played indicates otherwise. Do you draw an exploding cat? KABOOM. You’re dead. Or well, you’re dead unless you can still dismantle. If you still have a dismantle card, you temporarily defuse the bomb again and place it back in the pile so problem returns later (hopefully during another player’s turn). No way to disarm? Then the bomb and all hand cards go to the discard pile and you are out of the game.
There are many types of cards, and Exploding Kittens is a classic example of a game where players bully each other. Good vs Evil includes cards where players force each other to give carts, take extra turns and also cards where the pile is looked at or shuffled. The unique feature of Good vs Evil is Armageddon. This card can only be played when Godkat is still in our midst. When a player plays this card they take the god and devil in hand and randomly distribute them between themselves and a single other player. This player has another chance to swap these closed cards. The player with God gets this card in hand (to be bet as almost any other card). The player with the devil? Three guesses? Indeed, that one explodes.
Verdict
Exploding Kittens is a popular game and Good vs Evil will appeal to fans of this game as well. It is a smooth card game that will provide funny moments at the table. This classic bullying game (or at least the concept of such a game with funny illustrations) has been imitated (less successfully) many times since 2015.
However, don’t take the concept too seriously. Exploding Kittens largely consists of silly fun and a lot of luck. It’s a game that lasts 20 minutes with some players eliminated fairly early on. So it is not a game to play all night and also not recommended for fans of heavy strategic games. Good vs Evil is no different. Like the regular game, it is for fans of smooth card games or party games for in between and fans of the funny illustrations.
But to be clear, we only recommend Russian Roulette with Exploding Kittens. So no bullets or guns to use. Cats are dangerous enough as it is!
