How to Play Exploding Kittens
Exploding Kittens takes about fifteen minutes and teaches in two. The deck is stuffed with Exploding Kitten cards; draw one and you explode — unless you can play a Defuse to secretly slip it back into the deck.
Everything else in the deck is a way to avoid drawing, force someone else to draw, or peek at what’s coming.
Last reviewed 2026-07-27
What's in the box
- 56 cards
- Exploding Kitten and Defuse cards
- Action cards: Attack, Skip, Favor, Shuffle, See the Future, Nope
- Collectible Cat cards used in matching pairs
Setup
- Remove all Exploding Kittens and Defuse cards from the deck.
- Give each player 1 Defuse card.
- Shuffle the rest and deal 7 cards to each player, so everyone has a hand of 8.
- Put the leftover Defuses back into the deck, then insert one fewer Exploding Kitten than there are players. Shuffle and place the deck in the middle.
How to play — the rules
Ending your turn by drawing
On your turn you may play as many action cards as you like — or none at all. You then end your turn by drawing the top card of the deck into your hand. Drawing is what passes play to the next person.
If the card you draw is an Exploding Kitten, you must immediately play a Defuse or you explode and are eliminated.
Defusing the bomb
Playing a Defuse cancels the explosion. You then secretly place that Exploding Kitten back into the draw pile anywhere you want — top, bottom, or middle — to trap the next unlucky player.
You only have so many Defuses, so where you hide the bomb is a real decision.
Action cards
- Attack — end your turn without drawing; the next player must take two turns.
- Skip — end your turn immediately without drawing a card.
- Favor — a player of your choice must hand you one card (they pick which).
- Shuffle — reshuffle the draw pile, scrambling anyone who peeked.
- See the Future — privately look at the top three cards of the deck.
- Nope — cancel any action another player just played; it can even be played out of turn and Noped in return.
Cat cards
The collectible Cat cards have no power on their own. Play two matching Cat cards as a pair to steal a random card from another player’s hand.
A turn, step by step
- Play any number of action cards (or none) to set up your position.
- End your turn by drawing a card from the deck.
- If it’s an Exploding Kitten, play a Defuse or you’re out.
- If you defused, secretly reinsert the bomb anywhere in the deck.
How to win
Players are eliminated one by one as they draw Exploding Kittens they can’t defuse.
The last player left un-exploded wins the round. That’s the entire win condition — survival.
Strategy tips
- Use See the Future often. Knowing a bomb is on top turns Skip and Attack into lifesavers.
- Hoard Defuses and Skips for when you know an Exploding Kitten is coming.
- When you defuse, remember where you hid the bomb — then Attack to force that player to draw it.
- Hold a Nope to cancel a nasty Attack or Favor at the perfect moment.
- Save cat pairs to steal a Defuse from whoever looks safest.
Frequently asked questions
How do you end your turn in Exploding Kittens?
You end your turn by drawing a card from the deck. Playing action cards is optional; drawing is what actually passes play — unless you use Skip or Attack to avoid drawing.
What happens when you draw an Exploding Kitten?
You explode and are eliminated unless you immediately play a Defuse card, which lets you secretly place the Exploding Kitten back into the deck wherever you like.
What does the Nope card do?
It cancels the action a player just took. Nope can be played at any time, even when it’s not your turn, and another player can Nope your Nope to reinstate the original action.
How does the Attack card work?
You end your turn without drawing, and the next player must take two turns in a row. If they play their own Attack, the turns can stack onto the following player.
House-rule ideas
- Streaming mode: use the alternate “imploding”-style rule of a face-up bomb for higher tension (or add the expansion).
- Sudden death: remove one Defuse from the deck for faster, deadlier rounds.
- Open Favor: let the giver be forced to hand over their best card for a meaner game.
Buy Exploding Kittens
Exploding Kittens Card Game (Original Edition)
The base game for 2–5 players — the kitty-powered game of chicken.
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