Here to Slay vs Unstable Unicorns (Which Should You Buy?)

By Eric Published October 4, 2026

Buy Here to Slay if your group wants more to do on each turn. Buy Unstable Unicorns if you have younger kids or more than six players. They come from the same publisher and designer, they cost the same, and Here to Slay is the one with more game in the box.

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We’ve played Here to Slay a few times and rate it 4/5 Bamboo and 3/5 Pandas. We haven’t reviewed Unstable Unicorns, so it has no score from us. Everything about it below comes from its official rules and the publisher’s store, read on October 3, 2026.

Specs and prices are from the publisher’s pages for Here to Slay and Unstable Unicorns Classic Edition.

The Turn Is the Big Difference

Here to Slay gives you three action points. Unstable Unicorns gives you one action.

In Unstable Unicorns, every turn has the same four steps: resolve any start-of-turn effects, draw a card, take one action, then discard down to seven cards. The one action is either playing a card or drawing another.

In Here to Slay, you split three points however you like. Draw three cards. Or play a Hero, roll for it, and draw. Or spend two points attacking a Monster and one on something else. There’s no hand limit.

That makes Here to Slay turns longer and more involved. It also means more to explain, which is why BoardGameGeek users rate it a little heavier: 1.69 out of 5 against 1.47.

Check Here to Slay price on Amazon →

Dice vs No Dice

Almost everything in Here to Slay is decided by rolling two dice. Unstable Unicorns Classic has no dice at all.

In Unstable Unicorns, a card does what it says. Play a Magical Unicorn and its effect happens, unless someone stops it.

In Here to Slay, playing a Hero only gets it into your party. To use its effect you roll and try to meet its number. Attacking a Monster is a roll. Even stopping someone’s card is a roll.

If someone at your table hates watching a good plan fail on a bad roll, that’s a point for Unstable Unicorns.

Neigh vs Challenge

“How do you stop another player’s card?” Both games let you, and they do it differently.

Unstable Unicorns uses Neigh cards. Play one when another player plays a card, and their card is cancelled. They can Neigh your Neigh, and the rules allow any number to be chained.

Here to Slay uses Challenge cards. Play one when another player plays a Hero, Item or Magic card, and you both roll two dice. The challenger wins ties. Each card can only be challenged once.

By our maths, a challenger wins about 56% of the time. So a Challenge is a slightly better than even bet, where a Neigh is a sure thing until someone answers it.

How You Win

Unstable Unicorns has one goal: be the first to have seven Unicorns in your Stable. With six to eight players, the target drops to six.

Here to Slay has two. Slay three Monsters, or end your turn with six different classes in your party, counting your Party Leader.

Two goals mean two things to watch. In Here to Slay you have to track each opponent’s slain Monsters and their classes. In Unstable Unicorns you count Unicorns.

Here to Slay also gives every player a Party Leader with its own permanent skill. Everyone in Unstable Unicorns starts the same, with one Baby Unicorn. Our best party leader guide ranks the six leaders.

Check Unstable Unicorns price on Amazon →

Player Count and Age

Unstable Unicorns handles a bigger crowd and younger players. It seats 2 to 8 and is rated for ages 8 and up. Here to Slay seats 2 to 6 and is rated 10 and up.

BoardGameGeek’s community polls say Unstable Unicorns is best with 4 or 5 and Here to Slay with 3 or 4.

So Which Should You Buy?

1. Kids aged 8 or 9: Unstable Unicorns.
2. Seven or eight players: Unstable Unicorns. Here to Slay stops at six.
3. A group that wants more decisions per turn: Here to Slay.
4. Players who dislike dice: Unstable Unicorns.
5. You already own Unstable Unicorns and want a step up: Here to Slay.
6. Mostly two players: Here to Slay, which needs fewer changes at that count.

At $20 each, they’re different enough to own both. They share an art style and a sense of humor, and very little else.

Our Here to Slay review has the full verdict on that game, and the rules guide covers a turn step by step. If you like the monster-fighting side, compare it with an older classic in Here to Slay vs Munchkin.