The Madness Behind the Game for Horrible People

The Judge's Card: "Why do I hurt all over?"

The winning card: "Black People"

I'm waiting to buy the game because it looks like great fun... but I know for sure I'll take at least one card out and throw it away because it does cross that line from "offensive and funny" to just "offensive." I guess that line is in different places for different groups.

After watching the TNT, I have come to the conclusion that I MUST PLAY THIS GAME!

Overrated, just like Apples to apples. That shit gets old real quick

Are the makers of Cards Against Humanity fans of Helvetica? The minimalist design of the cards is striking.

The canadian version of this game is no extra cost, HUGE ups to these guys!

I just hope that when they re-stock, they can ship internationally.

Or I might need to move west.

@patrickklepek "A real consistency to the jokes embedded on the cards becomes apparent once you’ve seen the full deck. too. Some of Temkin’s friends are still in Chicago, while others have jobs or graduate school elsewhere."

Can you spot the typo in this sentence? Hey man if you need someone to fucking run spellcheck for you before you post an article let me know. I am sure its not like you get paid for this stuff anyways.

@jking47: I'll get the torches, you're on pitchfork duty.

Oh fuck yes! Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution!

@CatsAkimbo said:

I'm waiting to buy the game because it looks like great fun... but I know for sure I'll take at least one card out and throw it away because it does cross that line from "offensive and funny" to just "offensive." I guess that line is in different places for different groups.

At least for my friends and I there are no lines which shouldn't be crossed. Call it being jaded by longtime exposure to the internet, call us assholes, but the more offensive something is the funnier it is, and we don't distinguish between "offensive and funny" and "offensive" -- the more offensive something is without a blatant attempt at humor the better. Needless to say, this game is perfect for us. Up until now we've used Apples to Apples but this game blows it out of the water, and I have the TNT to thank for exposing me to this great gem of a game.

@jking47 said:

@patrickklepek "A real consistency to the jokes embedded on the cards becomes apparent once you’ve seen the full deck. too. Some of Temkin’s friends are still in Chicago, while others have jobs or graduate school elsewhere."

Can you spot the typo in this sentence? Hey man if you need someone to fucking run spellcheck for you before you post an article let me know. I am sure its not like you get paid for this stuff anyways.

Eh, cut him some slack. We all make silly errors despite being careful. I've seen plenty of other professional writers with misspellings, incorrect grammar, etc. Calling out Patrick for a typo wherein he accidentally pressed the key adjacent to the intended one seems a bit extreme.

All these people talking about how hard it is to get a set. Just take a flash drive with the PDF from their website and do it yourself at staples or some print shop. I had a set printed on card stock and it was like 11$! That's the way to do it.

Bought it minutes after the TNT. Best party experience I've ever had.

If this game was being published by a major game company, the guys who made Apples and Apples would be suing the fuck out of them. Don't give me the nonsense of "coincidence" when it's exactly the same game except with bad words.

@Humanity said:

I guess I have a thicker skin because both Cards Against Humanity TNT's were fairly boring to me and I couldn't get into it. I believe the humor is found when you turn an innocent game like Apples to Apples into something with a double entendre, where the sudden realization that while perfectly innocent, at the same time something is horribly vile - thats where the real humor is. Cards Against Humanity just seem too blatant because you know whatever someone puts down will be offensive, just varying degrees of how much. Possibly this would be fun if I played it with people I knew, but I just can't imagine sitting down to play a game with the singular purpose of trying to out-gross my friends with "naughty" phrases.

#1, When Patrick talks about the game taking on another level when you play it for the 2nd or 3rd time, that's exactly what he is referring to (double entendres). I was playing on the weekend and the black card was "What do I think about during sex?", and the winning white card was "Parting the Red Sea". We larfed.

#2, Great ironic username, bro. I guess the cards are against you. Heh.

I definitely love this game, but I wish the VT Massacre card wasn't in there. It's not exactly funny for someone who attended the school at the time and lost friends (like myself). I suppose there are similar arguments for a lot of the cards, but the article itself recognizes that one card is particularly rough; the first time the guys played they initially didn't want to include that one.

I suppose the question really is whether everything is acceptable if the goal is to be offensive, right? What if there were racial slurs on the cards? Is that still in good fun? I mean, I personally don't get offended by much, and of course, when I play the game, I just don't use that card.

I really do support this game, and recommend it to all my friends (who have a good sense of humor) but to me it does kind of bring up a broader discussion of whether or not there are some things we objectively shouldn't laugh about, even in a wacky context.

So you think it's a game for horrible people, and you admit you like it. What does that say about you?

@George_Hukas said:

God this place is so fucking hypocritical..

Get out. Stop using this website.

If only I could buy a damn copy!!

@Wezmon: Well I was talking about a double entendre of two conflicting ideas.

MY username IS pretty sweet.

Make them make a UK version, so we don't have to pay £70 to some asshole on ebay who just bought 30 sets knowing we would want them. Please, this is all I want. I'll even pay £70 for it, just not to them.

@paulwade1984: It's ok. humor tends to be subjective and can be isolating at times. You don't find it funny, thats neither good or bad. Just your personal taste.

Now if you said Sasha baron Cohen isn't funny I'd kick you in the fucking ankle and spit in your nose.

@Duke_of_IRL said:

@CatsAkimbo said:

I'm waiting to buy the game because it looks like great fun... but I know for sure I'll take at least one card out and throw it away because it does cross that line from "offensive and funny" to just "offensive." I guess that line is in different places for different groups.

At least for my friends and I there are no lines which shouldn't be crossed. Call it being jaded by longtime exposure to the internet, call us assholes, but the more offensive something is the funnier it is, and we don't distinguish between "offensive and funny" and "offensive" -- the more offensive something is without a blatant attempt at humor the better. Needless to say, this game is perfect for us. Up until now we've used Apples to Apples but this game blows it out of the water, and I have the TNT to thank for exposing me to this great gem of a game.

Nah, I don't think you're an asshole. I'm jealous of you in fact. It's just when one of the cards refers to something traumatic that you or someone you know experienced, it's pretty much impossible to find funny.

I must have this.

@Humanity said:

I guess I have a thicker skin because both Cards Against Humanity TNT's were fairly boring to me and I couldn't get into it. I believe the humor is found when you turn an innocent game like Apples to Apples into something with a double entendre, where the sudden realization that while perfectly innocent, at the same time something is horribly vile - thats where the real humor is. Cards Against Humanity just seem too blatant because you know whatever someone puts down will be offensive, just varying degrees of how much. Possibly this would be fun if I played it with people I knew, but I just can't imagine sitting down to play a game with the singular purpose of trying to out-gross my friends with "naughty" phrases.

I tend to feel the same way towards this game. It reminds me of Family Guy-type shock humor. And maybe I'm overly sensitive, but I do find some of the cards just distasteful (the Virginia Tech Massacre card as one example).

Monthly Cards Against Humanity TNT or bust.

@chilibean_3 said:

@patrickklepek said:

@chilibean_3 said:

I really like this game. Bought it and introduced to my friends and they all love it. But I don't think I'd ever call the game clever. And I don't believe for a second this nonsense about not taking inspiration from Apple To Apples. I mean, it IS Apple To Apples but requires much less from the players to add a twisted humor to it.

They realize it's like Apples to Apples, but as the story points out, if you follow the design process of the game's ruleset, it simply ended up becoming like Apples to Apples.

Maybe I'm just being way too cynical about this. I read how the process was described but my mind just says, "nope". Played Apple To Apples and said, "yeah, like this but tweaked."

I get what you're saying @chilibean_3. I also think the game just seems like a mere "dirty" version of Apples to Apples. Still, I don't think anyone is trying to assert that this is some high-brow game that appeals to some intellectually stimulating sense of humor.

@CatsAkimbo said:

@Duke_of_IRL said:

@CatsAkimbo said:

I'm waiting to buy the game because it looks like great fun... but I know for sure I'll take at least one card out and throw it away because it does cross that line from "offensive and funny" to just "offensive." I guess that line is in different places for different groups.

At least for my friends and I there are no lines which shouldn't be crossed. Call it being jaded by longtime exposure to the internet, call us assholes, but the more offensive something is the funnier it is, and we don't distinguish between "offensive and funny" and "offensive" -- the more offensive something is without a blatant attempt at humor the better. Needless to say, this game is perfect for us. Up until now we've used Apples to Apples but this game blows it out of the water, and I have the TNT to thank for exposing me to this great gem of a game.

Nah, I don't think you're an asshole. I'm jealous of you in fact. It's just when one of the cards refers to something traumatic that you or someone you know experienced, it's pretty much impossible to find funny.

I don't think you should feel jealous of someone who values being completely jaded. I prefer to be like you and have some sense of conscience! :)

not a video game, not clever, not newsworthy

Thankfully living in Canada has its perks when it comes to purchasing Cards Against Humanity. I got my copy 2 days after ordering it. CAH is such an amazing game, I hope everybody gets a chance to taste the horribleness for themselves.

@kevtheasian said:

@CatsAkimbo said:

@Duke_of_IRL said:

@CatsAkimbo said:

I'm waiting to buy the game because it looks like great fun... but I know for sure I'll take at least one card out and throw it away because it does cross that line from "offensive and funny" to just "offensive." I guess that line is in different places for different groups.

At least for my friends and I there are no lines which shouldn't be crossed. Call it being jaded by longtime exposure to the internet, call us assholes, but the more offensive something is the funnier it is, and we don't distinguish between "offensive and funny" and "offensive" -- the more offensive something is without a blatant attempt at humor the better. Needless to say, this game is perfect for us. Up until now we've used Apples to Apples but this game blows it out of the water, and I have the TNT to thank for exposing me to this great gem of a game.

Nah, I don't think you're an asshole. I'm jealous of you in fact. It's just when one of the cards refers to something traumatic that you or someone you know experienced, it's pretty much impossible to find funny.

I don't think you should feel jealous of someone who values being completely jaded. I prefer to be like you and have some sense of conscience! :)

I didn't say I valued being jaded, it's just how it is for better or worse. I can definitely understand not finding things that remind one of past traumatic events funny, though for some reason that sort of stuff just doesn't affect me personally. I've definitely had some trauma in my lifetime, including being robbed at gunpoint (twice!) but I guess I'm just emotionally bankrupt in some ways, as are the friends I play with. I'd probably prefer to not be this way but it is what it is. This game definitely fills a weird specific niche for me, IE a bunch of assholes sitting around wanting to play a party game, so I'm glad I found it. I have nothing against taking out really racy cards, I was just offering up my own viewpoint.

Yeah, I'm not sold on this one. I like the design of the cards, but the idea seems pretty boring. I'd be all for it if it really did expose the darkness within people, but when every card is offensive, does it really accomplish that? I would agree that a lot of the fun in Apples to Apples is indeed squeezing a horrible double-entendre out of a seemingly innocuous answer. Every card being dirty and vile (and blatantly so) seems kind of dull. I dunno.

I will sub for life if you play this game weekly and put out a video. -throws money at Giant Bomb-

Wait...Apples to Apples isnt inherently a comedy game? I call bullshit on that, My friends and I almost never scored for "accurate" answers in A2A(oh god A2A...some abbreviations should never be used), we always gave out points for funny answers.

@SonicFire said:

Is that still in good fun? I mean, I personally don't get offended by much, and of course, when I play the game, I just don't use that card.

I really do support this game, and recommend it to all my friends (who have a good sense of humor) but to me it does kind of bring up a broader discussion of whether or not there are some things we objectively shouldn't laugh about, even in a wacky context.

Racial slurs can be funny, my friend who has a bit of a looser tongue than me will call me racial slurs. I am a white, beardy hippy, so of course the absurdity of him calling me a name is humorous, although it can wear thin if used too often. It all just needs to be given a proper context. The black cards work as context for the jokes in CAH, so if your black card is absurd enough, of course any card could be funny.

Given enough time anything can become funny. Although probably not to the people that experienced something as horrible as what happened at VT. But i can see a world where a fringe comedy troupe does a humorous(or not depending on your situation or the qualty of the skit) skit about a school shooter being a rabid barney fan or some other strange premise(Excuse my poor premise, i am not a comedy writer). I'm not saying it isnt in poor taste if timed improperly. Sure people could be offended, they have the right to, but that doesn't mean they should ruin it for others, and it doesn't mean daring comedians should be scared away from it. It's their job to press boundaries.

Funny people can make anything funny, look at Louis CK, he's made a career out of jokes about rape, and other things people would argue you 'shouldnt joke about'. The problem is when the jokes fall flat. If your premise isnt crazy enough, people will just take it as you trying it for the shock value, and thats where the offensiveness comes, in my opinion. It boils down to knowing your audience and knowing what you think they will or wont be offended by, even if the joke falls flat. There is also an art to making a joke not 'about the subject' but about the situation around the subject. Just things to consider.

Cards Against Humanity is an amazingly funny game!

I played it with friends recently and we were literally in tears.

Will be interesting to see how new game+ develops.

Regarding preparation, cutting out the cards took some time...

but trying not to read them while doing so was the hardest part!

6/5 stars.

great more lame hipster ironic games for me not to spend my money on

I have never heard of this game before, but now that I know of its existence, I must have it.

Is there a video for this TNT?

They should make this game for XBL in the style of UNO. I would pay for that.

This game isn't funny. It's like the opposite of mad libs but still not funny.

My mate printed out the PDF version of this game and we had such a good time with 5 of us just playing the worst/best cards

I can't wait to purchase a legit set of CaH.

You need to make a CAH's edition bombcast... It could be great.

@Amukasa said:

This game isn't funny. It's like the opposite of mad libs but still not funny.

You are in the minority.

I printed out the PDF and played it multiple times with my friends. Good times were had by all. I recommend everyone give it a shot unless you have easily offended friends.

@Amukasa said:

This game isn't funny. It's like the opposite of mad libs but still not funny.

Cool story, bro.

@ccampb89: Like the lantern run?

A week or two and friend and I spent an hour in a Kinkos making a free set of CAH cards after which we promptly went to a party at which we knew basically no one. We then sat down with some beers and played through the entire deck.

I can't wait for that irresponsible number of printings to hit Amazon so I can go and buy it already.

Downright amazing game, though I do worry about its ability to stay relavent without new cards or a lot of alcohol on repeat playthroughs.