- Set-up
- About 3 min
- Reading
- Some
The quick verdict
Full verdict ↓Great for Big family get-togethers and Diwali card nights, when there are more than five players
Think twice if You already own the Original Edition and rarely play with more than five: the rules are the same
How we rate it
Learning curve. A turn is 'play cards if you want, then draw one', and every action card says what it does. Only the paw-print set-up is new, which keeps it at 1 on our scale with UNO.
Luck & skill. The draw decides a lot, but when you use a Skip or a Nope, and where you hide a defused kitten, can save you or sink a friend.
Interaction. Attacks, Favors, steals and Nopes all land on other players, and you can plant a kitten right where the next player will draw it.
Set-up. Take out the kittens and Defuses, keep the paw-print or no-paw-print cards that suit your group, deal, and shuffle the right number of kittens back in. The first time takes a few minutes with the rule sheet; after that it is quick.
Reading. Action cards carry a short line of English instructions plus a joke; the cat cards have only pictures. Children who read simple English manage after a round.
Learning curve: 1 = UNO or Connect 4; 3 = Catan; 5 = a heavy strategy game. These describe the experience, not an overall score.
Is Exploding Kittens: Party Pack right for you?
Great if
- Big family get-togethers and Diwali card nights, when there are more than five players
- Mixed ages from about 7 upwards, because a turn is just 'play cards if you want, then draw one'
- One box for small and large groups: the paw-print cards make a smaller deck for 2 or 3 players
- Groups who enjoy the Original Edition and want room for more players and a few new cards
Skip it if
- You already own the Original Edition and rarely play with more than five: the rules are the same
- Someone at your table hates being knocked out and watching the rest of the round
- You want a game where careful planning wins; the draw decides a lot
How Exploding Kittens: Party Pack plays
The Party Pack plays like the Original Edition, in a bigger box: 120 cards instead of 56, and 2 to 10 players instead of 2 to 5. It holds 9 Exploding Kittens and 10 Defuse cards, more copies of every action card, and four kinds of card the Original Edition box doesn't have: Targeted Attack, Alter the Future, Draw from the Bottom and the Feral Cat, which counts as any cat card.
- Time to teach: about 5 minutes.
- Reading and language: Each action card has a short English instruction and a joke; the cat cards have no instructions at all. Once the cards have been read out in the first round, players who are less comfortable in English keep up easily, and the rules are short enough to teach in Hindi or any other language.
Exploding Kittens - How to Play · Exploding Kittens · Official
Choose a video · Watch right here
If this creator doesn’t allow embedded playback, watch on YouTube ↗.
A turn, step by step
- 1Set up
Pick the paw-print cards (2-3 players), the cards without paw prints (4-7) or all of them (8-10). Deal a Defuse and seven cards each, then shuffle in one kitten fewer than players.
- 2Play
Play as many cards as you like, or none: skip, attack, peek at or rearrange the top of the deck, or steal with a matching pair.
- 3Draw
End your turn by drawing one card. An Exploding Kitten knocks you out unless you play a Defuse and hide it back in the deck.
- 4Win
The last player who hasn't exploded wins the round.
The full explanation: how a game of Exploding Kittens: Party Pack goes
Set-up depends on how many are playing. First take out the Exploding Kittens and the Defuses. With 2 or 3 players you use only the cards with a small paw print in the corner; with 4 to 7, only the cards without one; with 8 to 10, every card. Each player gets one Defuse and seven other cards, the spare Defuses for your group go back into the deck, and then you shuffle in one Exploding Kitten fewer than the number of players.
On your turn you may play as many cards as you like, or none, and then you must draw the top card of the deck. Skip ends your turn without drawing; Attack and Targeted Attack push extra turns onto someone else; See the Future lets you peek at the top three cards, and Alter the Future lets you rearrange them; Draw from the Bottom dodges the top card; Favor makes another player hand you a card; and Nope cancels almost any action, even on someone else's turn. Any two cards with the same name steal a random card from a player, and three of a kind let you name the card you want.
Draw an Exploding Kitten and you are out, unless you play a Defuse and secretly tuck the kitten back into the deck wherever you like, perhaps right on top for the next player. There is always one kitten fewer than players, so the round ends when only one person is left, and that player wins.
It is a noisy, laughing game, with groans every time someone draws. With eight or more players the first person knocked out waits a while, so keep turns moving and play several short rounds. The Party Pack is a complete game on its own: you don't need the Original Edition to play it.
What's in the box
- 9Exploding Kitten cards
you always use one fewer than the number of players - 10Defuse cards
3 with a paw print, 7 without - 9Nope cards
- 10Skip cards
- 5Attack cards
- 5Targeted Attack cards
you choose who takes the two turns - 6Favor cards
- 6Shuffle cards
- 6See the Future cards
peek at the top 3 cards - 6Alter the Future cards
peek at the top 3 cards and rearrange them - 7Draw from the Bottom cards
- 35Cat cards
five kinds, seven of each; useless alone, but a matching pair steals a card - 6Feral Cat cards
wild: counts as any cat card - 1Rule sheet
Box: 0.35 kg. Handy to know for gifting and travel.
Card counts are from the licensor's current Party Pack rule sheet (2025, 120 cards), which also shows how many of each card carry a paw print. Bored Game Company's page doesn't list the contents, so we have assumed its licensed box has the same mix; some older Party Pack printings had Double Slap, Triple Slap or Reverse cards instead of a few of these. For comparison, the Original Edition has 56 cards, including 4 Exploding Kittens and 6 Defuses, and none of the Targeted Attack, Alter the Future, Draw from the Bottom or Feral Cat cards.
Where to buy
How to make sure you get a genuine copyEditions and the details worth checking.
What reviewers and players say
Reviews of the Party Pack itself are few; most coverage is of Exploding Kittens in general. Casual Game Revolution's reviewer called it a fast, funny game that adds a little extra thought to this style of card game, liked how quickly it teaches and how well it works at parties and with people who don't usually play games, and warned that bigger groups mean more waiting. Wargamer's rules guide recommends the Party Pack when you want up to ten players. The usual Exploding Kittens complaints apply: the draw decides a lot, and players knocked out early must wait.
What people love
- Room for up to 10 players, so the whole family or class can join one game
- Quick to teach, so first-timers and grandparents can play from the first round
- Suspense as the deck shrinks, and the pleasure of a well-timed Nope or Skip
- The paw-print system means the same box still works well for 2 or 3
Common complaints
- With many players there is a lot of waiting, especially for whoever explodes first
- Luck of the draw decides much of the game
- The cartoon humour won't suit everyone
5 research sources
- Review Collect Cats, Defuse Bombs, or Blow Up in Exploding Kittens: Party Pack Edition (Naomi Laeuchli, October 2022) · Casual Game Revolution
- Reference Exploding Kittens rules guide (Mollie Russell, updated January 2024) · Wargamer
- Reference Exploding Kittens: Party Pack Edition (licensor product page) · Exploding Kittens
- Reference Exploding Kittens: Party Pack rule sheet (2025) · Exploding Kittens
- Reference Exploding Kittens: Party Pack Original Licensed Edition (Bored Game Company product page) · Bored Game Company
Summarised in our own words from the sources above. We don't use Amazon reviews or ratings.
More like Exploding Kittens: Party Pack
Which game is the best fit?
Our picks if Exploding Kittens: Party Pack isn't quite right.
Swipe to compare every game
| Compare the games.The details that make a difference. |
YOU’RE VIEWING
Exploding Kittens: Party Pack
|
ANOTHER WAY TO PLAY
Exploding Kittens
|
ANOTHER WAY TO PLAY
UNO
|
ANOTHER WAY TO PLAY
Flip 7
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Why consider it | This game The kitten-dodging card game, scaled up for up to 10 players | A different fit The same game in the 56-card Original Edition box, for 2 to 5 players | A different fit Another quick card game that copes with big family groups of up to 10 | A different fit Push-your-luck card fun for big groups, where nobody is knocked out of the game |
| Players | 2–10 | 2–5 | 2–10 | 3–18 |
| Best with | 5-8 | 4-5 | 4-6 | 5-8 |
| Play time | 15–25 min | 15–20 min | 10–30 min | 20–40 min |
| Age | 7+ | 7+ | 7+ | 8+ |
| Rules | Easy | Easy | Easy | Easy |
| Indian edition | Available | Available | Imported | Imported |
| On this page | Explore Exploding Kittens | Explore UNO | Explore Flip 7 |
More by Elan Lee
Another way into their collection.
More from Exploding Kittens
Another way into their collection.
More from Bored Game Company
Also made or sold in India by Bored Game Company.
Exploding Kittens
Draw cards, dodge the exploding kitten, survive to the end
Kingdomino
Build a tiny kingdom from land dominoes in twenty minutes
Cross Clues
Give one-word clues that link two words and fill the grid together
Trophies
Shout a word that fits the topic and letter to win trophies
BraveRats
A five-minute rat duel of bluff and second-guessing for two
More push-your-luck games
Different games. A familiar kind of fun.
Exploding Kittens
Draw cards, dodge the exploding kitten, survive to the end
King of Tokyo
Roll dice as a giant monster and fight to rule Tokyo.
Flip 7
Flip cards, push your luck, and bank your points before you bust
Jaipur
Two rival merchants trade goods and camels in old Jaipur
SKYJO
Swap and flip cards to finish each round with the lowest score
Also playable with two
For game nights with two players.
Jaipur
Two rival merchants trade goods and camels in old Jaipur
Battleship Card Game
Battleship's hunt-and-sink duel as a quick, pocket-sized two-player card game
Travel Rebound
Slide, bounce and score: Rebound's puck game on a folding board
Magnetic Snakes & Ladders
Snakes and Ladders where you place the snakes and ladders yourself
Ballaroo
A push-down ball game plus two solo ball puzzles in one box
Questions people ask about Exploding Kittens: Party Pack
What is the difference between Exploding Kittens and the Party Pack?
The rules are the same. The Party Pack has 120 cards instead of 56 and plays 2 to 10 instead of 2 to 5, with 9 Exploding Kittens, 10 Defuses and four extra kinds of card: Targeted Attack, Alter the Future, Draw from the Bottom and Feral Cat.
Can you play the Exploding Kittens Party Pack with 2 or 3 players?
Yes. With 2 or 3 players you use only the cards marked with a paw print in the corner, plus the kittens you need, so the deck stays small and a round stays quick.
Is the Exploding Kittens Party Pack made in India?
Bored Game Company makes an officially licensed Indian edition, and its photo of the box back prints 'Made in India'. Our Amazon.in link goes to that edition.
What age is the Exploding Kittens Party Pack for?
The box says 7 and up. The cartoon art is silly rather than scary, but children who get upset at being knocked out early may want a grown-up beside them for the first few rounds.
Do I need the original Exploding Kittens to play the Party Pack?
No. The Party Pack is a complete game on its own, with everything you need for 2 to 10 players.
Game facts
- Designed by
- Elan Lee, Matthew Inman, Shane Small
- Publisher
- Exploding Kittens; Indian edition by Bored Game Company
- In India
- Bored Game Company (Pune), which makes the officially licensed Indian edition
- Players
- 2–10
- Language
- Little reading – Each action card has a short English instruction and a joke; the cat cards have no instructions at all. Once the cards have been read out in the first round, players who are less comfortable in English keep up easily, and the rules are short enough to teach in Hindi or any other language.
- Box size and weight
- 0.35 kg
Sources & photo creditsThe references behind this guide.
Facts on this page come from the publisher, the Indian maker or distributor, and the sources below. Photos are credited under each one.
- Bored Game Company - Exploding Kittens: Party Pack Original Licensed Edition (SKU, players, time, designers)
- Bored Game Company - photo of the Indian Party Pack box back
- Exploding Kittens - Exploding Kittens: Party Pack Edition (licensor page: 120 cards, ages 7+, 2-10 players)
- Exploding Kittens - Party Pack instructions page
- Exploding Kittens - Party Pack rule sheet (English PDF, 2025)
- Wargamer - Exploding Kittens rules guide (Party Pack cards)
- Casual Game Revolution - Exploding Kittens: Party Pack Edition review