Oh, the Humanity!

I'd been hearing about the game Cards Against Humanity from various people for quite some time, and then it turned out to be the Christmas of Card Against Humanity. Not only did I receive a copy as a gift, so did at least three other people I know.

For those who aren't aware of it, Cards Against Humanity can be most succinctly described as the inappropriate, adult version of Apples to Apples. For those who haven't heard of Apples to Apples (really?), here's the less succinct explanation. Each player in Cards Against Humanity has a hand of 10 cards, each one a description of something -- anything from the relatively innocuous ("Dick Cheney" or "Kanye West") to the likely to get a laugh ("A homoerotic volleyball montage" or "Horrifying laser hair removal accidents") to the you'd-better-know-who-you're-playing-with (which includes some things that, if you don't understand, you should NOT Google!). In each round, one player reads a topic ("What gives me uncontrollable gas?" or "I drink to forget ______________."), and everyone else throws in a card from their hand that they think will be voted as the best answer. Hilarity ensues.

In the case of Cards Against Humanity, hilarity can include gasps, groans, and cringes. But in the several games I've already played, it always includes riotous, tears-streaming-down-face, can't-breathe laughter. It's the kind of game that provokes a discussion among friends: could you play this game with your parents? Not for nothing does the game's box promise "a party game for horrible people."

I've played a lot of Apples to Apples over the years, and I have found that eventually the pool of cards wears thin -- even if you don't play regularly. Only time will tell if that happens to Cards Against Humanity. But that said, the fun and laughter I've seen and experienced has been so much greater than I've ever had playing Apples to Apples that it seems to me like even at the worst, Cards Against Humanity will have a far greater "half life" than its stodgy ol' progenitor.

So, if you have a group of party gamers with at least a few dirty minds and a taste for the tasteless, Cards Against Humanity is the game for you. My grade would probably depend on the players one plays with just as much as the game, but in my case, that's turned out to be an A so far.