If you are reading this, chances are you have played Exploding Kittens and loved it. If that is the case, then I am sure that at some point in time someone has asked you “What’s your favorite expansion?” This article will help answer that question! We will cover all of the expansions for Exploding Kittens including what they add to the game, which ones should be added first, and more.
Base Game: What is Exploding Kittens?
Game Features
Exploding Kittens is a card game where players take turns drawing cards until someone draws an exploding kitten and loses the game.
The goal is to avoid drawing the exploding kitten, and this can be achieved by playing a Defend card or using special abilities. The game takes about 15 minutes per person and it’s easy enough for kids as young as five years old!
Mechanics
Explosions, deflections, and hooliganism. That’s all you need for this game! All the cards are beautifully illustrated with kittens, explosions, or both! The mechanics of Exploding Kittens is very simple – draw a card until someone draws an exploding kitten. If it’s your turn when that happens then you explode, not the card! At this point, you are out of the game.
Scoring System
Exploding kittens has a simple scoring system. You gain one point for every trick you win in-game (If everyone explodes, no points are awarded). The player with the highest score at the end of the game wins!
Best Exploding Kittens Expansions on the Market
Exploding Kittens has many different expansions for you to try, they are all worth getting but which one is best? Well, that depends on what type of gameplay you like.
| Image | Product | |
|---|---|---|
Best Exploding Kittens Expansion  | Imploding Kittens
| Check Price |
Best for Casual Play  | Streaking Kittens
| Check Price |
Best for Team Play  | Exploding Minions by Exploding Kittens
| Check Price |
Best for Kids  | Barking Kittens
| Check Price |
1. Imploding Kittens – Best Exploding Kittens Expansion Pack
Overview
The first expansion for Exploding Kittens is called Imploding Kittens. It adds an extra layer of strategy to the game where players can choose what cards they want in their hand, and more importantly which ones they don’t. Instead of drawing from the deck whenever it’s your turn you get to draw two cards giving you a better chance of drawing something good.
When Imploding Kittens is played with the base game it’s suggested to remove two types of cards so that Exploding Kitten’s original mechanics are not altered too much.
Mechanics
Imploding Kittens adds a set of cards to the deck called “Draw Two” which allows you to draw two cards whenever it’s your turn instead of one.
This expansion also adds some new types of cards for winning tricks. The types are “Attack”, “Defend”, and the awesomely named “Hooligan”.
Components
There are only five new types of cards in Imploding Kittens, all with unique illustrations. The box is the same size as that for Exploding Kittens and it has a beautiful black cover.
Pros and Cons
Final Thoughts
The Imploding Kittens expansion adds a whole new level of strategy to the game and it’s definitely worth getting. If you’re not into microgames with short playthrough times then this is probably not for you though, because once your turn ends so does the round!
2. Streaking Kittens – Best for Casual Play
Overview
Streaking Kittens is the second expansion pack for Exploding Kitten by Elan Lee. This expansion adds a new twist to your standard gameplay of exploding kittens, with some pretty awesome cards that are sure to give you more explosive fun! The deck consists of 24 different types of action cards and they can be played at any point in the game. When an action card is played, you may perform the corresponding actions listed on it immediately! This means that many of them can be chained together to get a huge combo going and score even more points than before!
Mechanics
This expansion pack adds a few new mechanics to the game, including Card Passing and Picking Up!
Picking up is a mechanic that allows you to pick up all of the cards on your side of the Exploding Kittens mat. The only rule here is that when picking them back up, they must be in numerical order and facing down! This means that if someone manages to steal one or more cards from you then it could really ruin your chances of winning!
Components
The Streaking Kittens expansion pack consists of a small deck, with 24 cards in total. These are made from the same material as regular Exploding Kittens and they’re really high quality!
There’s nothing much else to say about this one except that it has great components too! The box is also the perfect size for fitting right into the original Exploding Kittens box.
Pros and Cons
Final Thoughts
The Streaking Kittens expansion pack adds a whole new layer to the game, with some unique mechanics that really spice things up. It’s great to have more of an opportunity to score points and really be able to get a combo going. It’s also great that the cards are high quality, just like all other Exploding Kittens components!
3. Exploding Minions by Exploding Kittens – Best for Team Play
Overview
The Exploding Minions expansion pack is the third installment in the exploding kittens series by Elan Lee. It’s a family-friendly game that adds some new explosive fun, perfect for families with children who love playing games!
This means that it’s a great option for team play, perfect if there are two children or adults who want to play together. It also makes things more interesting because each player has their own special minion card and they can use these minions to help them get rid of their Exploding Kittens cards faster!
Mechanics
The mechanics in this one are pretty similar to the original exploding kittens game, but there are a few new ones that make things even more interesting! The first of these is the minion mode. When you have your special minion card then you can use it at any point during or after your turn and choose a player to help them get rid of their cards.
Another new mechanic in this game is minion powers. You’ll have to keep an eye out on the top left corner of each card because there’s a power level between one and three. These powers allow you to do some extra stuff like getting rid of any exploding kittens cards that are above or below your minion card, whether they’re on your side or the other players’ sides.
Components
The components are really high quality, just like all of the other Exploding Kittens sets. The box is also perfect for fitting right into one another so you can keep everything nice and neat when it’s not being played with!
However, there are some differences when it comes to the minion cards and these aren’t made from the same material as normal exploding kittens cards so you may find them slightly less durable in terms of getting damaged but they’re still really high quality!
Pros and Cons
Final Thoughts
The Exploding Minions expansion pack is a great addition to the exploding kittens family. It’s really fun to play with children and it adds an extra layer of strategy that makes playing even more interesting!
4. Barking Kittens – Best for Kids
Overview
Barking Kittens is a fun new way to play exploding kittens! It’s perfect for kids because it has some really cute illustrations of the cats and dogs on each card. However, all of the different cards are made from high-quality materials so they’re durable enough for being played with again and again without them getting damaged or worn out.
Mechanics
The mechanics are really simple in this one which makes it perfect for young children to play. There’s only one way that you can get rid of your Exploding Kittens cards and there aren’t any minion modes or complicated strategies, it’s just good old-fashioned fun! The new mechanic is the bark power which allows you to choose a card from the deck and put it at the bottom of your pile. This means that you can get rid of an exploding kittens card each time, which reduces how many cards are in front of you!
Components
The components for this one are pretty simple as well because there aren’t any special minion or power modes to consider. The cards are made from good quality materials and they all fit nicely into the box which reduces how much space they take up when it’s not being used.
Pros and Cons
Final Thoughts
Barking Kittens is a great expansion pack for the original exploding kittens deck. It’s perfect for young children and it’s really simple to play with no complicated strategies or minion powers!
People Also Ask
Is there an Exploding Kittens deck without cats?
Yes! There's the original Exploding Kittens deck which is just cats and there are also a few other options available with different animals on each card, such as Barking Kittens or Purring Kittens.
What is the best explosive power for an Exploding Kitten?
All of them! You can use all of your powers to try and get rid of those Exploding Kittens cards and win!
What is Betrayal Expansion Exploding Kittens?
Betrayal is a third expansion pack for the Exploding Kittens card game. It's different from all of the other decks because it has two new decks that you can play with, but there's also a traitor mode included for players to enjoy.
Conclusion
The base game is definitely the best place to start with Exploding Kittens, but every good Expansion should add something new to keep things interesting. Some of them are more complicated than others, some have different rules to the original game and some just add new cards. There’s something for everyone here though no matter what your playing style or level is!