Exploding Kittens rules in short: on your turn, play as many cards as you want, or none, then draw one card to end your turn. If you draw an Exploding Kitten and can’t play a Defuse, you’re out. The last player left wins.
Some links below are Amazon affiliate links — as an Amazon Associate, King Panda Games earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Full disclosure.
Everything below follows the current Original Edition rulebook, which you can read on the official Exploding Kittens rules page. Older printings differ in a few places, and we flag each one.
Setup for 2 to 5 Players
- Take the 4 Exploding Kittens and the 6 Defuse cards out of the deck.
- Give each player 1 Defuse.
- Shuffle the rest and deal 7 cards to each player. Everyone now holds 8 cards.
- Put Exploding Kittens back in: one fewer than the number of players. Remove the extras from the game.
- Shuffle 2 of the spare Defuses into the deck and remove the rest. With five players you only have 1 spare.
- Shuffle, place the deck face down and pick a first player.
| Players | Exploding Kittens in the deck | Spare Defuses in the deck |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 3 | 2 | 2 |
| 4 | 3 | 2 |
| 5 | 4 | 1 |
Worth knowing: early printings dealt 4 cards plus a Defuse, for a hand of 5. The current rulebook deals 7 plus a Defuse. If your rulebook says 4, you have an older copy, and either deal works.
For two or three players, the rulebook recommends a Faster Game Variant: before you put the kittens in, remove about a third of the deck at random without looking. Our player count guide shows why that helps.
What You Do on Your Turn
The rulebook calls it “Play-or-Pass, then Draw.”
- Play any number of cards from your hand, one at a time, following the text on each. Or play nothing.
- Draw the top card of the deck. That ends your turn.
Play passes clockwise. There’s no hand limit. You never draw first and then play, so every card you play is a bet about what’s on top of the deck.
The publisher’s official how-to-play video walks through a full turn.
What Every Card Does
The Original Edition has 56 cards.
| Card | Count | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Exploding Kitten | 4 | Draw it and you’re out unless you play a Defuse. |
| Defuse | 6 | Saves you from a kitten. You then put the kitten back anywhere in the deck, in secret. |
| Attack | 4 | End your turn without drawing. The next player takes 2 turns. |
| Skip | 4 | End your turn without drawing. |
| Favor | 4 | Another player must give you a card of their choice. |
| Shuffle | 4 | Shuffle the draw pile. |
| See the Future | 5 | Look at the top 3 cards and put them back in the same order. |
| Nope | 5 | Stop any action except an Exploding Kitten or a Defuse. |
| Cat cards | 20 | No effect alone. There are 5 types, 4 of each. Play them as pairs or three of a kind. |
After a Defuse, your turn is over. Where you put the kitten is the best decision in the game: on top for the next player, or buried where only you know.
Check Exploding Kittens price on Amazon →
Pairs and Three of a Kind
“Do pairs have to be cat cards?” No. In the current rules, any two cards with the same title work.
- Two of a kind: play any matching pair and steal a random card from another player.
- Three of a kind: play three matching cards and name a card. If your target has it, they hand it over. If they don’t, you get nothing.
When you play cards as a combo, you ignore the text on them. Two Skips played as a pair steal a card and don’t skip anything. Combos can be Noped.
Is the 5 Different Cards Rule Real?
The five-card combo is not in the current Original Edition rulebook, which is dated 2025. It was in earlier printings, including the 2020 rule sheet in our own copy.
The rule in our sheet says that if you play five cards with different titles, you go through the discard pile and take any single card you like. The current rulebook dropped it. The Streaking Kittens rules still mention it in passing: “If you’re playing a version of the game that includes the 5 Card Special Combo.”
The older rule: play five different cards and take any one card from the discard pile, including a Defuse.
What the current rulebook says: only pairs and three of a kind are listed. Agree before the game starts whether you’re using the old five-card rule.
How Attack Cards Stack
Attacks stack in the current rules. If you’re attacked and you play an Attack of your own, the next player takes your remaining turns plus 2 more.
Ana plays an Attack on Ben. Ben now owes 2 turns. Before taking either one, Ben plays his own Attack. Cara now owes 4 turns: Ben’s 2 plus 2 more. If Ben had taken one turn first and then played the Attack, Cara would owe 3.
A Skip only cancels one of those turns. Skip once after being attacked and you still owe one.
The first printing worked differently. There, an Attack played by the victim ended their turns and the next player took just 2. If your group argues about this, check which rulebook is in your box.
Nope Rules
A Nope stops any action except an Exploding Kitten or a Defuse. You can play it at any time, even when it isn’t your turn, as long as the action hasn’t started.
You can Nope a Nope, which the rulebook calls a Yup, and the original action goes ahead. A card that gets Noped is lost. It goes to the discard pile and its owner doesn’t get it back.
Winning the Game
The last player who hasn’t exploded wins. There are no points and no rounds.
That’s the whole game, and it’s why our Exploding Kittens review gave it 5/5 Bamboo for how fast it teaches. If you’re choosing a box, see which Exploding Kittens version to buy. If the base deck is getting stale, the expansions ranked guide covers what each pack adds. A new copy of the Original Edition comes with the current rulebook.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many cards do you start with in Exploding Kittens?
Eight: one Defuse plus seven cards dealt from the deck. Early printings dealt four cards plus a Defuse, so an older rulebook may say five.
How many Exploding Kittens go in the deck?
One fewer than the number of players. A four-player game uses three kittens, and a two-player game uses one.
Can you Nope a Defuse in Exploding Kittens?
No. Nope stops any action except an Exploding Kitten or a Defuse. You can Nope Attacks, Skips, Favors, Shuffles, See the Future cards, combos and other Nopes.
What does three of a kind do in Exploding Kittens?
Play three cards with the same title, pick a player and name a card. If they have that card, they give it to you. If they don’t, you get nothing.
Do Attack cards stack in Exploding Kittens?
Yes, in the current rules. If you’re attacked and play an Attack before taking a turn, the next player takes four turns. In the first printing, attacks did not stack.
Where do you put the Exploding Kitten after a Defuse?
Anywhere in the draw pile you like: top, bottom or a specific spot in between. You do it in secret, and then your turn ends.
Is there a hand limit in Exploding Kittens?
No. You can hold as many cards as you draw or steal. There is also no limit on how many cards you play in a turn.