Jeff Howard
United States
Salt Lake City
Utah
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Longtime lurker...first time reviewer
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I happened to spot Cards Against Humanity while killing time on Kickstarter. I was enamored by the group of young men in the video asking for my support. Their depravity, sheer penchant for randomness, deep desire to offend, and willingness to commit reminded me of myself before life, debt, work, and society ground those things into a smooth paste. I knew I wanted to give my money to the guys who had the stones to put "White People" and "Black People" on cards and dare others to deeply offend their party guests by using them as the response to a question like "What's that smell?"
So many weeks later the game arrived in the mail. I happily unboxed and started reading the cards with my 13 year old son. The first two cards he read were "incest" and "anal cancer." So he was asked to leave the room at that point. I then cracked a smile and thought to myself...finally the antidote to those horrible party games I have been subjected to for a lifetime.
The rules for this game are moron-simple: pick your white card that " best " matches up with the black card being read aloud. If the reader thinks it's the funniest...then you win that black card. First person to win enough black cards goes home with a greater sense of pride. As you can tell, there is some deep strategy to this game. It's almost like Reiner Knizia and Martin Wallace had sex and CAH is their deformed love child.
Let me walk you through a turn so you can see some of the deep decisions facing players in this game...
Step One: I am sitting with 5 white cards in my hand (my house rules--10 cards is typical):
 "Eating all the cookies before the AIDS bake-sale."
 "The Blood of Christ"
 "A bleached as*hole"
 "My genitals"
 "Cards Against Humanity"
Step Two: The black card is read aloud: "In the new Disney Channel Original Movie, Hannah Montana struggles with __________________ for the first time."
Step Three: My mind is roiling with possibilities now. I am forced to think carefully about the person reading the card. What will will she think is funny? Will she go for the meta thing if I play my 5th card? Perhaps she's hungry and card #1 will grab her attention. Card #3 feels too esoteric for this round--best to save it for a player who will appreciate. Even though I've never seen a Hannah Montana movie I go with card #4--a true classic. When in doubt, always bet on my genitals.
Step Four: The various white choices are read aloud...some causing confusion...others raucous laughter. When my card is read aloud people immediately erupt with cheers. The inherent conflict and the double entendre of Hannah struggling with my genitals is just too much for everyone. My card is chosen...I raise my fist to the sky...another black card comes home to papa.
Frankly, this game works best after several drinks. I can think of at least three occasions where drunk friends have asked me to send them the link to buy it or begged me to sell my copy. This occurs after our group has been outed as offensive pigs. What better way to bond with friends?
I will second another reviewer's comment that you should pick your group wisely. This game separates the god-fearing from the relativists; the PC from the Don Rickles fans; the anal retentive from the scatological; and so on. Frankly, I want to keep an eye on those god-fearing, PC, anal retentive types anyway. They're probably creeping up on me with another friggin' copy of Wits & Wagers, or Balderdash, or something just a little too wholesome for my taste.
Respectfully...
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quelf elf
Spain
North Pole
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Sold.
(And you can write your own questions for Wits and Wagers)
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Jason Bryan
United States
Bloomington
Illinois
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This game is a blast, I too took part of the kickstarter for it. And oddly, the person I have introduced it to that enjoys it the most is my mother. The only one who hasn't liked it is my sister-in-law, but she is a little too reserved for this game. The last time my aunt and uncle came to town, my mom asked me to bring this down so that we could play with them. It has been a huge hit with my family.
It also now finishes off most of the game nights with one of my groups (unfortunately we only get to play about once a month, if that.)
I have the expansion but haven't dug into it yet, maybe next time we play.
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Nate Rethorn
United States
Toledo
Ohio
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I think Cards Against Humanity is fine for a round or two. But the gameplay is nearly identical to Apples to Apples, and it doesn't take long for the shock/humor value to wear off.
Nice review, though!
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CJ Winter
China
Beijing
Beijing
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Desperately hoping my local game store in Australia will have a copy or two when I go home to visit in April... my P&P copy is in tatters due to relentless play, and I would gladly purchase a professionally printed deck or three!!
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