Exploding Kittens Launches First Word-Guessing Game - Poetry for Neanderthals

Caveman-Inspired Party Game Challenges Players To Use Single Syllable Words To Explain Complex Words and Phrases

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Exploding Kittens, the hit tabletop game creator, today announced the release of its latest card game, Poetry for Neanderthals, a word-guessing party game, where teams earn points by correctly figuring out words and phrases. The catch is that the "Neanderthal Poets" must only use single syllable words to describe the complex terms, or they get bopped with a 2-foot inflatable club. Simply put: you must speak good or get hit with stick.

“Poetry for Neanderthals was born when two friends introduced me to a word game they invented, where each player had to describe a life experience using only single syllable words," said Elan Lee, Co-Creator of Exploding Kittens. "After playing for five minutes, I sounded like a caveman at a job interview, and the entire room was in hysterics. We spent the next few months figuring out how to share that experience with the world.”

The goal of the game is to score the most points by correctly interpreting words and phrases. The chosen Poet starts off the game with a Poetry Card and tries to get their teammates to say the listed word, using only words with one syllable within a 90-second time limit. For example, a player could describe “campfire” as “place where roast hot white cubes.” When a teammate guesses correctly, that team is awarded points, and the Poetry Card passes off to the opposing team. If any rules are broken along the way, the Poet is hit gently(ish) with the inflatable “NO! Stick,” and a point is lost and forfeited to the other team. In short: you bad at make word, they hit you with NO! Stick.

“In quarantine, we’ve each spent our time at home differently: either bettering ourselves into Poets or regressing into Neanderthals,” said Matthew Inman, Co-Creator of Exploding Kittens and Creator of The Oatmeal. “Poetry for Neanderthals gives both Poets and Neanderthals a chance to challenge themselves to think outside the box and tap into their own creativity.”

Since March, Exploding Kittens has seen a massive uptick in sales for both its mobile apps and its collection of card games. For the month of May, Exploding Kittens experienced a 186 percent growth in App Store sales and 100 percent growth in Google Play sales for its premium app compared to the same time last year. Additionally, card game sales year-to-date are nearly double compared to the same time last year.

Poetry for Neanderthals is available exclusively at Target, Target.com, and ExplodingKittens.com. To learn how to play the game, please visit www.Poetry4Neanderthals.com/How.

About Exploding Kittens

Exploding Kittens is a leading game and entertainment company with a mission to inspire people to connect, laugh, and play fun games in the physical world. After initially seeking to raise $10k through Kickstarter, the Exploding Kittens campaign raised $8.7M in 30 days from 219,000 backers. To date, Exploding Kittens is the #1 most-backed project in Kickstarter history and has sold over 9 million copies.

Started by former Xbox game designer Elan Lee and The Oatmeal’s founder Matt Inman, Exploding Kittens and its family of games recreates game night for a humorous and fun person-to-person experience. Today, there are six games available for purchase – Exploding Kittens, Bears vs Babies, You’ve Got Crabs, Throw Throw Burrito, On a Scale of One to T-Rex, Poetry for Neanderthals, as well as an Exploding Kittens mobile app that is one of the top 30 premium games on both iOS and Android.