BARKING KITTENS
Publisher: Exploding Kittens
Barking Kittens is the third expansion to the popular Exploding Kittens game, where its predecessors include Imploding Kittens and a NSFW version. Once the record setting Kickstarter, you have to ask if the continued expansions are worth the time. Well, for Barking Kittens, yes, it is.
There are two new additions to the series, the first being an additional 20 cards. These include new play requirements to add to the original, such as ‘Potluck’ which sees everyone around the table put a card of their choice in the draw pile, or the titular ‘Barking Kitten’ which requires the person who holds the other matching card to take half of their hand, pick out the best ones, and return the same number of cards, as well as Alter the Future, Bury, Super Skip, and more. These are the sort of expectations we have of an expansion, but are fun in their own right.
Then the differentiator is the Tower of Power Crown. Made of laminated stiffened paper, if you gain the Tower of Power Card, you may wear the Tower of Power Crown, which contains six cards from the draw pile. This means that when other players attempt to steal your cards, they must take them from the crown atop your head instead.
Is it gimmicky? Probably, and it does serve to make the box larger than it would otherwise need to be for a simple 20 card addition. However, that doesn’t stop it being fun. When you replay Exploding Kittens you begin to lose some of the delight in the silliness that original plays of it had in spades. When you replay with additional tactics offered in this expansion, whilst you or your players are forced to wear a cat hat/crown, alongside a selection of other random cards with their typical style and wit, it’s easy to give in, and laugh your way through. Silly, a little childish, but engaging – pass me the crown.
CHARLIE PETTIT