Exploding Kittens doesn’t have enough bang as a mobile game yet

Exploding Kittens kaboomed its way to the top of the paid-apps category in its first few days on the Apple iTunes App Store. That was an auspicious debut, coming after the tabletop-card version was a big hit last year. And it owes it all to a brilliant name and a concept of playing a Russian roulette card game with kittens that blow up.

But does it really live up to its billing? We’ve had a look at the iOS game now, as I have squared off in many matches against my 12-year-old kid. We’re still playing it during our free moments, but it’s not as explosively addictive as I would have hoped for a $1.99 release, which is a rarity in an app store full of free-to-play titles. The title is fun, but I expected more. It isn’t quite there yet.