Exploding Kittens Card Game

In Exploding Kittens, the only thing that saves you is a defuse card, and the defuses involve laser pointers, belly rubs and catnip sandwiches. Everyone draws from the same deck, and whoever pulls an Exploding Kitten without a defuse is out. Action cards let you skip a turn, shuffle the deck or dodge the danger, and the last player standing wins.

The 56 cards are illustrated by The Oatmeal, so the deck is packed with characters like Tacocat, Rainbow-Ralphing Cat and the All-Seeing Goat Wizard. It plays 2 to 5 people, ages 7 and up, in about 15 minutes, and the box is small enough to toss in a bag for a road trip or a camping weekend. It began as one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns ever and has sold millions of copies since.

Give it to the cat person who hosts game night, or to a family that needs one game the kids and the grandparents can both pick up fast. It’s easy to learn, and the cat theme does a lot of the gifting work for you.

The catch: five players is the limit for this box, so a bigger crowd will be waiting their turn. The humor is cartoon silly too, which suits most tables but won’t win over someone who only wants a deep strategy game.