Why You Can Trust CNET Exploding Kittens is having a site-wide 30% off sale, and it's more fun than it sounds
Save $6 on the original Exploding Kittens game, or save 30% on You've Got Crabs and other off-kilter tabletop games.
Right now is a good time to stock up on inexpensive games you can play with your family. Even though there are a lot of things you can do for free, we're not going anywhere anytime soon, and it's always good to have some variety in the game cabinet. One of my favorite easy-to-play games is Exploding Kittens, created in part by Matthew Inman of web comic The Oatmeal. And right now, the Exploding Kittens store is having a Stay at Home and Play Games sale, with everything Exploding Kittens-related 30% off if you use discount code STAYHOME at checkout.
If you don't know about the universe of Exploding Kitten, you owe it to yourself to learn. Here are a few of the highlights:
This is the game that started the whole Exploding Kittens ball rolling. A good family-friendly game for all ages, up to five players can compete to be the last person to hold an exploding kitten in this bizarre card game. A defining characteristic of the games in this store is their simplicity, and the rules for Exploding Kittens are no more complicated than Uno, but the cards have crazier graphics.
The Exploding Kittens store describes this game as "a game of deception, intrigue, friendship, tartar sauce and secrecy." What's especially cool about this game is that in a sense, the deck of fish-themed cards is a red herring (that's a pun). You've Got Crabs is not as much about playing a card game as it is about watching the other players and trying to trick your friends with visual cues. That's because to win, you and your partner need to develop a secret way to communicate your hand, and if you figure out your opponents' secret signals, you can clean up. Great for kids-vs.-parents and mom-and-daughter-against-dad-and-son, or any combo you prefer. The deck accommodates from 4 to 10 players.
A lot of the charm of games from Exploding Kittens is the bizarre artwork and surreal packaging. Bears vs. Babies demonstrates exactly this point with a furry box that you'll enjoy petting every time you take the game out of the closet, and the insane deck of cards that you use to create mix-and-match monsters from various body parts. Up to five people can play, and it's thoroughly family-friendly.
This article was published previously.
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