We make Cards Against Humanity, a free party game for horrible people.

There are eight of us who make the game together, and we're all on Reddit to answer your dumb questions: Me, jsdillon, bhantoot, DavidManque, MrMeDaniel, ehalpern, Teller422, and dpinsof.

Our game started as a Kickstarter project and then became the best-reviewed and best-selling toy or game on Amazon.

We just released new editions of the main game ($25) and the expansion ($10). You can also download the entire game for free and make it at home. We saw Rampart but had mixed feelings (I hated it, David liked it).

Cards Against Humanity has been on the front page of Reddit a few times, like here, here, here, and here.

Ask us anything.

PROOF: Official Cards Against Humanity "tweet."

EDIT: Reddit, after doing this awesome AMA we are the top-selling item on Amazon.com. We're not a big company, so this is a pretty huge deal for us. We're really humbled by your response and generosity. Thanks!

EDIT II: Annnnnnd we just sold out 8 weeks of inventory. We've made a huge tiny mistake.

Comments: 2061 • Responses: 57  • Date: 

roguestate556 karma

This is the first I have heard of your game, sounds amazing! Would this help me to no longer be Forever Alone? And if not, can I play with by myself?

Was going to print my own, then realized I haven't been able to afford toner for the last 6 months. :(

Maxistentialist904 karma

Roguestate, congratulations, this is the saddest post in the thread. Message me your mailing address and I'll send you a set.

Theoriginalwookie347 karma

Which one of you masters created "two midgets shitting in a bucket"?

Maxistentialist541 karma

bhantoot got really frustrated one day and yelled, "Come on guys! We can't just make every card, 'two midgets shitting into a bucket!'" There was a moment of silence, and then we knew it had to go into the game.

noiseslikewhales320 karma

I really appreciate that you offer the game for free (or close to it after printing costs). Despite you folks sharing a file of the game for free, you seem like you are have created a successful business. Companies that are against file sharing should take notes and learn from your business model.......I'm bad at asking questions.

Maxistentialist229 karma

Thanks! We couldn't agree more.

WhyFear247 karma

Hi guys, I wanted to thank you for creating Cards Against Humanity because without you, I would still be forever alone. About two months ago I printed out a set of Cards Against Humanity and went over to the local library to use one of their massive paper cutters. While slicing the cards apart, I also sliced off the tip of my middle finger and proceeded to bleed all over a certain librarian who then drove me to the hospital and is now my girlfriend. Thank you.

Maxistentialist161 karma

Implausible but awesome.

DavidManque59 karma

Cards Against Humanity: Bringing people together, one severed finger at a time.

ju66l3r211 karma

I had Amazon Credit. So, I bought __________________.

mkdz208 karma

I love the "Customers Who Viewed This Item Also Viewed" section.

[deleted]81 karma

Who the hell wants a six fingered glove?

seamonkee305 karma

That man that killed Inigo Montoya's father.

jsdillon85 karma

Currently on our brainstorming list:

My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare for ________.

-Josh from the CAH team

CantThinkOfUsernames202 karma

Have you ever gotten any calls/letters/emails/threatened lawsuits from the Apples To Apples folks? I'm thinking maybe either a "we feel that your game is too similar to our so stop selling it", or a "please stop comparing your game to ours, we're a family game!" :)

Maxistentialist227 karma

Nope! We've never heard from them. Honestly, our game is very different. We both use the idea of someone asking a question and everyone answering, but many other games use this mechanic as well.

We've never compared ourselves to any other game, we're just trying to make our own thing for our own audience.

MrMeDaniel66 karma

I wish people would compare us to madlibs more. We played more madlibs than apples to apples. It just needed spunking up to be a party game.

-Daniel from CAH

Pyrolytic39 karma

"Spunking up" could be a good white card.

Just sayin'...

MrMeDaniel38 karma

Hrmn, it's true our game is currently completely lacking the word "spunk"

Sam_Kablam179 karma

What was your process for narrowing down the answers on white cards? You guys seem to not like Glen Beck. A lot.

dpinsof268 karma

We spend endless hours debating the minutiae of poop jokes, penis jokes, and vagina jokes. We literally categorize them and tabulate how many of each category we have. We take this game way too seriously.

-David P. from the CAH team

jsdillon111 karma

Josh here from the CAH team.

For writing cards? Generally, we spend a lot of time comparing every white card to many black cards (and vice versa).

Regarding Glenn Beck, we obviously don't like him and enjoy the image of him being tortured in outlandish ways. That said, we're all quite surprised by his quick fall from the national spotlight.

Maxistentialist110 karma

You can see some videos of us arguing over new cards here and here.

gr9yfox33 karma

I love how serious you guys are about this.

Maxistentialist62 karma

Yeah it's pretty sad.

MrMeDaniel21 karma

Right now we all contribute to a brainstorming document. Sometimes we just put ideas that we want to make a joke about. Sometimes ideas make their way in from the fan suggestions.

Then we have conference calls and come up with a shortlist of cards we like. We read every card with a lot of questions, or every question card with a lot of answers.

We also have general rules about what kinds of cards work and what kinds don't. Name callouts often need more added to them, specificity is generally good, etc... Grammar is a tough one, can't have too many 'your' or 'my' on cards, etc...

Then we meet in person and discuss everything on the shortlist. I'm sure we've spent hours on every single card. It makes actually playing the game very different from what most people experience.

-Daniel from CAH

thepastafarian168 karma

[deleted]

Maxistentialist373 karma

This sounds like a horrible idea. Can't wait to play.

dpinsof52 karma

We've always wanted to do a drinking game but couldn't come up with anything. Let us know how it pans out!

-David P. from the CAH team

Maxistentialist152 karma

Nobody asked us about Rampart.

DavidManque19 karma

Pretty bummed about this. I was excited at the prospect of debating its merits with you publicly.

mainsworth108 karma

Got e-mail informing me y'all were back in stock, promply placed a 1-click order on Amazon. Can't wait for game night next week!

Can I have the expansion pack for free is my question I guess.

Maxistentialist144 karma

Sure. Message me your mailing address.

disco_biscuit86 karma

YOU ARE THE /r/SPACEDICKS OF CARD GAMES, I LOVE YOU.

Maxistentialist193 karma

OH GOD, DO NOT CLICK ON THAT LINK.

ationsong81 karma

First off, thanks for making the game. It's become my friends' Friday night fallback plan on a number of occasions, and I'm super pumped to have just gotten the printed version from Amazon.

  1. Are there any white cards that you've wanted to put in the game, but in the end decided it was just too tasteless? Any cards that you thought were too tasteless, but put in anyway?

  2. On a similar note, do you guys ever get complaints about cards in the game? If you do, are there any cards in particular that draw scorn? It seems like most people would know what they're getting themselves into, but some folks these days...

Maxistentialist123 karma

  1. There have been a few cards we've rejected for being too creepy or tasteless. Recently we had a big fight over, "The budding breasts of a 12-year-old girl" (I hated that card). I think that's going to turn into, "Exploring your sexuality atop a flying carpet."
  2. By far, the card people complained about the most is "ladles." It's gone now.

DavidManque60 karma

Don't listen to him, folks. I think we all know that "The budding breasts of a 12-year-old girl" is an AMAZING card.

DavidManque52 karma

David M. from the CAH team here -

1a. Yes, actually! We've had some extremely testy creative meetings with heated, clashing opinions on what's appropriate and/or funny. For a good comparison, listen to the This American Life episode where they talk about writing for The Onion. Ultimately it just comes down to individual taste, and we all trust in each other's taste enough to let the democratic process work itself out.

1b. I stand behind every card in our game. I may live to regret that statement.

  1. Very, very, very few complaints. I think it helps that we offer our game for free on the website, so people have a chance to see what they're getting into.

dpinsof36 karma

  1. We often have disputes about whether or not the ratio of funniness to offensiveness is high enough for any given card. No matter how offensive something is, we're always willing to put it in if it's funny enough. So it's not about how terrible it is, it is about whether the funniness outweighs the terribleness.

  2. We have actually never gotten any complaints! (Though I'm sure they will come once we get bigger!)

-David P. from the CAH team

landbeaver81 karma

Things... (tho not necessarily by design) is my favorite 'dirty' party game. Tell me why your game is better.

Maxistentialist166 karma

That game looks awesome, I just bought a copy.

Maxistentialist79 karma

Here is what our inboxes look like when we launch a new edition: http://maxtemk.in/391a0h2g0H1b031B2c3n

Theoriginalwookie23 karma

Mailchimp, hell yes. What is the average open rate on a typical campaign?

Maxistentialist22 karma

We love MailChimp. Here's the stats for our campaigns: http://maxtemk.in/1c353j1B2k2S0d0c2h2K

Look at how many people have joined recently: http://maxtemk.in/1B1V0r1l0T3H0N2g3Z0u

borlu49 karma

Have you ever dealt with anyone legitimately offended by any of the cards in the game?

-Poor College Student (hint hint)

Maxistentialist98 karma

We actually never hear from people who were offended by the game, although I have at least one friend who shredded the card, "YOU MUST CONSTRUCT ADDITION PYLONS."

Also, as a former poor college student, I feel your pain. Send me a Reddit message with your mailing address and I'll get you a free copy of the game.

tragopanic45 karma

I noticed that you solicit card suggestions on your website. How many of those submissions are worthy of being used, and did any make the new version?

Fun fact: I can play "tasteful sideboob" to any card and my husband will pick it, without fail.

Maxistentialist38 karma

We've never used a submission exactly how it was sent in (most of them are pretty terrible) but they often inspire new ideas. It's one of our favorite brainstorming tools.

Kuothe37 karma

Hi there, Is there any way to get Cards Against Humanity on Europe? If not, do you plan to (and when)?

Maxistentialist33 karma

We're working on a European release - we just expanded to Canada. In the mean time, you can email us at [email protected].

Thereddestcrayon33 karma

Has there been any thought given to making a purchasable iPhone/iPad app of CAH? Nothing will beat out having the real deck in terms of awesomeness, but with as many people having i-gadgets as there are now I could see it working. Great for waiting around with friends at conventions, concert lines, etc.

Once everyone is connected into the game people are dealt cards onto their phone and the host is designated by the game (and the host role subsequently rotated per turn). When the host pulls the black card it appears on all phones and he reads it aloud. Players flip through their white cards via touch screen, select one, and it is sent face down to the host phone. Once all connected players have turned their card in the option to flip the cards for reading is available. Once read aloud for the amusement of all the host chooses his winner, the person's name that played the white card appears and points are awarded. Next round.

Maxistentialist32 karma

We'll probably make an app some day. Right now we're just trying to make the best card game we can.

CantThinkOfUsernames26 karma

What's your favorite white / black card? Whatever criteria you want (funniest, evilest, most disgusting, etc..)

car_tag67 karma

One of my custom blacks is "They found ____ in the dumpster behind the abortion clinic." My girlfriend, the wonderful, sweet girl she is, answered with "Heath Ledger"

Maxistentialist31 karma

A+

dpinsof54 karma

I think the "Hannah Montana struggles with ____" is one of the strongest black cards in the game. For white cards, I think "emotions" is one of the most underrated and consistently hilarious.

DavidManque35 karma

David M. from the Cards Against Humanity team here. Speaking only for myself, here, but - favorite white card is "A windmill full of corpses" and favorite black card is "Make a haiku". Ultimately the best cards are the funniest - being evil or disgusting is only good if it results in laughs.

egg111111514 karma

I never really got how the haiku one worked so we usually skip it. Are you actually supposed to use the right amount of syllables for each line? It never ends up working out; it either doesn't go together well since we were trying to fit the syllables or it's hilarious, but not a real 'haiku'.

DavidManque40 karma

You don't have to use the right syllable count - doing so is nearly impossible. For me, it's an excuse to tell a story using only three white cards. A simple example: The Chinese gymnastics team, Whipping it out, Sexual tension. I think the haiku card is the one that awards creativity the most.

someshake22 karma

No real question, but I just want to say thanks for making an awesome game. I brought it to PAX Prime last year and we ended up playing an 18-person game and had a blast!

(also you've forever ruined Apples to Apples for me, but I don't give a shit)

Maxistentialist18 karma

We're getting ready to go to PAX East in a few weeks, will you be there?

sausagekingofchicago21 karma

Printing out my own version tonight for a get together tomorrow night. I can't wait!!! Thanks for the free(ish) game!

DavidManque104 karma

No, thank YOU Abe Froman.

mrbill21 karma

How big is this new print run? Already got my order in as soon as I could click...

Maxistentialist69 karma

We don't like to say an exact number, but it had to be put on a train because it was too big for trucks!

Spuchuu20 karma

I printed out the core set at a Staples last month.

1) As someone who had to also shop from The Container Store, TCS's website isn't helpful when determining what size AMAC case. I recommend a tall clear one for white cards and a smaller one for black cards. (FYI)

2) The black cards are pretty outnumbered. Did you realize that during development?

EDIT: Thanks for the insight.

Since I had it printed, I keep a supply of blank white/blank cards on hand in case someone proposes a good card. We test it, if it works, it gets written. I have the friend initial the bottom corner of the card. It keeps the memories.

DavidManque15 karma

David M. from CAH here-

  1. Thanks for the tip.

  2. We did. We're careful to preserve the ratio of black cards to white cards - the white cards get used up much faster, and it makes the game more replayable.

gr9yfox19 karma

Did you notice any difference in sales after Giantbomb's TNT video? Because I wanted to get one right away.

Maxistentialist16 karma

We were sold out, but our email list subscriptions shot through the roof. We love those guys.

rootyb14 karma

1) Do your parents approve of (and play) CAH?

2) Do you let your kids (if any) play?

3) Do you have any great drinking game rules for CAH?

4) Would you please set up some kind of referral program? "Refer ten friends, get a free copy" or something? I think at least half of the people I've made play this game have bought their own copies. The rest are cheap bastards.

5) I remember hearing rumors about themed expansions (Harry Potter was the one I remember off the top of my head). Are these still happening? I imagine something like Harry Potter could be tough, trademark/copyright-wise. I'd still love to see it happen, though.

dpinsof13 karma

1) Yes they can't stop kvelling about us, and yes they play CAH. 2) None of us have kids yet. 3) Unfortunately, we don't. Let us know if you come up with anything! 4) Maybe we'll do something like that further down the line, but right now we're just focusing on supplying the crazy demand. 5) We're leaning towards doing general expansions from here on out, but we might change our minds at some point.

-David P. from CAH

invincibubble13 karma

  1. Which one of you should we thank for the glorious, all-purpose card that is "Dickfingers"?

  2. I'm trying to figure out how to word this question without the answer ending up too mean, but it is a game for horrible people, so I'll just go with it and hope you can answer: do people ever send in suggestions for cards, and if so, what's one of the worst suggestions you've received?

Maxistentialist10 karma

  1. I have no idea who came up with Dickfingers, I think it's an Eli. Maybe someone can conform?
  2. The suggestions are usually pretty bad, but they often inspire some of our best ideas and brainstorms.

UnconnectdeaD12 karma

If you had to play this with a bunch of drunks that turn Monopoly into a drinking game, what would your rules be? Don't hold back, these guys/girls drink like fucking fish.

jsdillon32 karma

Josh here from the CAH team.

You could try turning the white cards into Charades.

Xab11 karma

Two things:

How is "Hitler's Mustache" not a white card?

And thanks for doing what ya do! I've had many amazing drunken games of CAH with friends and family. It's great. Keep the good stuff coming!

jsdillon17 karma

Josh here from the CAH team.

"Hitler's Mustache" is not a card, but "MechaHitler" is one of my favorite new cards in v1.2.

DavidManque14 karma

Thanks, Xab! We actually just added the card "MechaHitler" to the game, so hopefully it will fill the Hitler-sized void in your heart with regards to our product.

boilerroombandit11 karma

I see your Canadian prices are the same as American ones, how'd you guys pull that off?

I appreciate it and wish that the Book industry could learn from you.

DavidManque54 karma

David M. from CAH here -

Currently 1 Canadian Dollar = 1.0072 US Dollars, so the game is actually slightly more expensive in Canada. Thanks for the extra 18 cents, suckers!

Thereddestcrayon10 karma

Are there certain categories or topics that you consider taboo to the game, avoiding hot buttons by putting down religious groups or even other um, passionate, groups like "bronies"?

dpinsof16 karma

Nothing is off limits, provided it is funny enough. We are an equal-opportunity offender. -David P. from the CAH team

DavidManque15 karma

Seconded. If there's something offensive that isn't a card, it's because we haven't figured out how to make it funny yet.

car_tag10 karma

Will there ever be an "expansion" of just blank cards released? This would allow early adopters to get the latest cards, and add our own in that match the others.

Maxistentialist21 karma

Honestly, we haven't decided on this. One of the nice things about the game is that you can buy the deck and get all of the jokes. If we start making a lot of blank cards, the game becomes more of a platform and less of a creative product.

PanoramicPanda8 karma

I just bought a set - will it make my grandmother weep?

Maxistentialist44 karma

Andy Milonakis just said, "This game is like Apples To Apples if your grandparents don't mind talking about suckin dick"

DavidManque9 karma

I have played with more than one grandmother in my time . . . and the answer is yes. Yes it will.

IamCrunchberries7 karma

Do you guys have individual preferences on which cards you like the best? As in sexual, grotesque, subtle, cultural, etc...

How do you balance how many of each "style" of card appears in the game? Is it systematic or more like a free for all?

I just downloaded the game, will print it out as soon as I can get to an Office Max, thanks guys!

Maxistentialist16 karma

We've all been friends for a very long time, so we share a sense of humor. Personally, I love cards that are uncharacteristically sweet or just absurd. My favorites are, "A tiny horse," and "A falcon with a cap on its head." I also like animal jokes I guess.

FrostCatalyst7 karma

So when are we gonna see a new expansion?

DavidManque11 karma

David M. from the CAH team here - no dates yet, but it's in the works.

Maxistentialist7 karma

Probably this summer... the first expansion is less than 6 months old!

pqr7107 karma

Love the game...I have become a disciple & I'm currently telling my friends to hurry up.

2 Questions:

What's the one White card you wanted in the game that didn't make the cut?

Can I get a copy of the 1.2 game so I can pass my original worn, laugh & alcohol-stained version to those in need of a lot of demented fun?

Maxistentialist17 karma

I was recently lobbying for "dissolving into a skeleton," and, "From WBEZ Chicago, it's This American Life. Today on our radio program, ______. Stay with us." But neither of those made the cut.

GaryGergich6 karma

What's that smell?

Also, a friend and I developed a Vassal board game engine module using the print your own pdf. We havent made it public yet (we'd love your permission to do so), but I will send it to you guys later today. So far we have had great fun playing with several people while video chatting.

Maxistentialist7 karma

As long as you aren't selling it or using it for profit, you have our permission (the game is licensed under Creative Commons). Nice username.