Exploding Kittens part of comeback trend for board and card games
Some millennials, tired of today’s smartphone-obsessed digital culture, are turning to the retro pleasures of board games and card games as a way to enhance face-to-face interaction
After leaving his job as chief creative officer at Microsoft’s Xbox, Elan Lee started tinkering with a new game. It would have explosions, laser beams and nightmarish creatures. But unlike the video games he shepherded through production at Xbox, this one wouldn’t require hordes of developers or years to finish.
All it took to make Exploding Kittens was paper, cardboard and an idea.
“Games are back,” says Lee, whose card game has sold 2.5 million copies since its release a year ago. “I’ve been into games my whole life, and it’s so exciting to see that there’s a return.”
While video games hog the limelight, board and card games – known as tabletop games – are enjoying a quiet resurgence. Many are turning to these retro pleasures as a respite from the computers, gaming consoles and mobile devices thought to have rendered board games obsolete.
Introduction to Exploding Kittens
Games and puzzles were the fastest-growing toy category last year, climbing 11 per cent to US$1.6 billion, according to the NPD Group. That streak continued into the first four months of 2016, with game sales jumping 24 per cent – four times the pace of the overall industry.