Exploding Kittens, a gaming and entertainment company, launched Exploding Kittens: The Board Game, the company’s first-ever board game.
It’s a celebration of the company’s 10th anniversary this year. Inspired by the original card game that started it all, this reimagined experience keeps the brand’s signature artwork and irreverent humor while introducing an all-new way to play.
“This year marks 10 years of Exploding Kittens, and we knew we wanted to celebrate by giving fans something big,” said Elan Lee, CEO of Exploding Kittens, in a statement. “When we asked players what they wanted most, 84% said a board game, more than any other idea we tested. We set out to build something that feels instantly familiar to long-time fans, but bold and surprising enough to earn a spot on the shelf next to the original.”
To date, Exploding Kittens is the No. 1 most-backed project in Kickstarter history and has sold over 60 million games. Started by former Xbox game designer Elan Lee and The Oatmeal’s founder Matthew Inman, Exploding Kittens and its family of games seek to reshape traditional game night into an entertaining person-to-person experience.
Today, there are over 60 games available for purchase, an animated Netflix series that launched in July 2024, an exclusive Exploding Kittens mobile game for Netflix subscribers, as well as an Exploding Kittens mobile app available on iOS, Android, and Nintendo Switch.
Exploding Kittens: The Board Game lets players race to the end of the track, using strategic action cards to sabotage opponents or escape disaster. The game starts simple: avoid Exploding Kitten spaces and be the first to reach the finish, but quickly escalates when players trigger a board flip from ‘calm mode’ to ‘chaos mode.’
In Chaos Mode, the board physically flips and every space transforms, allowing players to set traps, sabotage each other, or form temporary alliances. Easy to learn while unpredictable and endlessly competitive to play, the board game delivers a fast-paced experience that ensures no two games are the same.
“We didn’t want to just stretch out the original game—we wanted to break it and rebuild it in a way that still felt like Exploding Kittens,” said Matthew Inman, cofounder of Exploding Kittens, in a statement. “The tricky part was keeping it short, chaotic, and funny while making it stand out in the sea of classics. That’s where the pop-up board came from.”
The Exploding Kittens team spent years researching materials, inventing new paper gearing mechanisms, and building countless prototypes to bring this pop-up board to life. To make the gameplay feel like cohesive magic, the board game components are designed to be nearly invisible so it surprises and delights with every flip.
While the craftsmanship may have evolved, the sense of humor hasn’t aged a day. The game is packed with the same classic characters and signature artwork, making Exploding Kittens: The Board Game a love letter to fans both old and new.
Best for players ages 7 and up, Exploding Kittens: The Board Game can be enjoyed by two to six players and takes about 20 minutes to play. The game is available for $25 at ExplodingKittens.com, Amazon, Target and Walmart.com now, and will arrive in Walmart stores nationwide beginning October 4.