I grew up in a family that got together and played games on a regular basis. As a little girl, I’d sit around my grandma and grandpa’s kitchen table when we’d visit them and watch my parents, aunts and uncles, cousins, etc., play card and board games and couldn’t wait until I was old enough to join in. Snacks were plentiful, the laughter loud, and it was an inexpensive way to have fun and visit at the same time.
Flash-forward some 40 (or 50) years later and I still love to get together with friends and family to play games. Fortunately our extended family, with all the in-laws and significant others, likes to get together for game nights too. Over the holidays my son introduced us all to a new game (new to us,) called Cards Against Humanity, which is now my new favorite game to play. It’s hysterical but not for everyone. Seriously, it’s not for everyone. The suggested age to play is 17 and that’s for a reason. Punch lines (answers,) include; Auschwitz, slavery, “Stephen Hawking talking dirty,” white privilege, ethnic cleansing, terrorists, the Trail of Tears, assless chaps, nuclear bombs, “a mime having a stroke,” and much, much more depravity. It is absolutely politically incorrect!
Cards Against Humanity – 719woman.com
We played with 10 people and were just going to try it out and then play our usual Texas Holdem but we were having so much fun, we ended up playing Cards Against Humanity for about 4 hours straight. We laughed, got uncomfortable a couple of times, gasped, laughed, and then laughed some more.
The game is simple to play with easy instructions, which means you can immediately understand and play once you crack the box open. You can order it on Amazon for $25, with extension packs costing $10. If you order $35 worth, you get free shipping so we ordered the game and one extra pack. (My husband and I ordered the game the day after playing it for the first time.)
http://www.amazon.com/Cards-Against-Humanity-LLC-CAHUS/dp/B004S8F7QM
The rules are simple…
There are black and white cards. Everyone draws 10 white cards. The game begins with the “Card Czar” reading a question or fill-in-the-blank phrase from a black card. Everyone else answers the question or fills in the blanks by choosing one of their white cards. The Card Czar picks the funniest play and that person gets the point. After the round, a new player becomes the Card Czar and everyone draws another white card. Those are the basic rules but there are other ways you can play too.
Like I said, this game isn’t for everyone though and some people might find it hugely offensive.
AN EXAMPLE…
Here’s a black card with the question, “What ended my last relationship?”
Here’s an example of 5 different white cards you might have to answer that question with –
“Peeing a little bit.”
“Necrophilia.”
“Same-sex ice dancing.”
“Fiery poops.”
“Bill Nye the Science Guy.”
In an April 2014 BusinessWeek article titled “Cards Against Humanity, the Most Offensive-and Lucrative-Game on Earth,” reporter Nick Summers writes, “Cards Against Humanity, the hit card game created by (Max) Temkin, 27, and seven friends, may be profoundly irreverent, but it also has a soul. Sticking to principles has helped the group overcome long odds and survive mistakes and bouts of pure stupidity that probably should have doomed their fledgling company. Instead they have the top five bestselling products in the toys and games category at Amazon.com, where customers have given them more than 14,000 five-star reviews. That’s a level of devotion that can’t be explained by shock value alone.”
You know, I was a bit hesitant to write about how much our entire family enjoyed this game because I was worried about others thinking we’d seem a bit depraved. But it was a fun, affordable, and hugely hysterical evening when we played. There will be those who agree with me and then there will be those who won’t.
From the BusinessWeek article –
“GameChurch, which evaluates the medium from a Christian perspective, posted a particularly thoughtful take, titled “Our Sin in Black and White”: “Cards Against Humanity is unique in that it is wholly about ideas and their implicit power.” The game “appeals to those who are honest with themselves about the nature of their own world and their own soul. We are horrifically imperfect people and the problems are so big and seemingly insurmountable that when placed before us in unavoidable black and white letters, the only response that makes any practical sense is to laugh.”
The entire article from BusinessWeek is interesting and worth a read,
I like the fact that you can go to the website and not only get examples of questions/answers; but also download the game yourself (which costs about $10 and takes about an hour.) This way you can play before buying and see if you think this is funny or not.
http://cardsagainsthumanity.com/
But…if butt jokes or the word penis offends you, this may not be the game for you. And if you’re not easily offended, well, you’ll probably end up with a sore stomach from laughing so much.
If you’ve played before or try it out…we’d love to hear what you think.
*We had a few friends over the other night to see what they thought of the game…another evening filled with hours of laughter!
Cards Against Humanity – 719woman.com