(EDIT: psst, hey y’all, did you know that two of my fellow contributors have their own CAH expansion? No? Well, get yer ass to this link and check it out)
No really, I do. I know it’s become popular now to hate on the game and call it not funny or trying too hard at being “edgy”, and they’re right. I’m not going to really argue with those views, and I’m not trying to convince anyone who’s done with the game or never want to give it a try.
But me? I love it all the same. I love getting together with friends, having a few drinks, and spending the evening indulging in laughs and dark humor. The company has done amazing things with the ridiculous amount of money they’ve earned with the sales, charities, selling nothing, selling literal shit, selling foot by foot plots on a protected island, giving their factory workers in China a week’s paid vacation, just awesome things. And I like supporting these efforts.
Yes this is definitely a case of “my fav is totes problematic” (more on that subject in another post), but the game is funny and can be a lot of fun – with caveats.
Playing with the unaltered deck is uncomfortable, to say the least. There are so many problematic cards in it. “Hardworking Mexican”, use of the t-slur, shit about big black dicks, etc. A lot of the humor is based on vulgar edgelord “shock” value.
But there isn’t a rule that requires you to play with an unaltered deck. My friends who have decks, more geeky and socially aware, have custom ones (if you have never played with Miri’s uber deck of awesome, you have missed out on an experience). I have gone through my own and pulled out all the ones that make me cringe. Some even allow for people to take out problematic cards during play. You can even create your own cards. It’s great for in-jokes in groups, and it keeps the game fresh.
Do you want to refresh your deck further? Have some expansions, hell, have themed deck sets. Do you like Dr. Who, here you go. There’s a My Little Pony deck in the online version (Pretend You’re Xyzzy). Like a more woman focused deck, Ladies Against Humanity has your back. Want to support a scholarship for women getting into STEM? There’s a science-based deck for that. Hell, there’s a Lieutenant who is working on a military version of this game.
And like any game, it really depends on who you play with. I don’t play with a group I don’t know, because yeah, I might run the risk of having to uncomfortable-laugh my way through card after card after card. It’s the same deal with RPGs and poker. You don’t want to play with that one person who throws a literal fit when their dice is being shitty that night.
And about the humor? I’ll admit, I love me some dark gallows humor sometimes. The world sucks, especially if you’re “woke” and see the injustices in our society. Sometimes I need to get together with like-minded people and make terrible jokes, awful groaners, and some amazing on the point winners. It’s a release value. It sticks a finger in the eye to those who say them darn Ess-Jay-Double Ewes don’t have a sense of humor. Most importantly, it’s fun.
So, yeah, I’m going to keep playing as long as I can find people to play with.
Anyone up for a game?
(Note: If you’re really done with CAH and want to try another sort of card game? Try Slash. The ever awesome Greta and her ever awesome wife Ingrid introduced me to this game at Skepticon 8 – and it’s hilarious.)
I’m in love with Cards Against Humanity, thanks, in large part, to Miri. That said, I don’t begrudge anyone who hates it. There’s so much problematic stuff in it it’s ridiculous. But that customizability is part of what makes it awesome.
Unfortunately, I’m neither creative nor witty enough to really create my own cards, so I do the best I can scouring the internet for good sets… like the custom sets you linked to.
*co-signed*
I’ve tossed some cards I think cross a line, but allowing anyone to do it during play is a great excellent suggestion.
I sign up for their holiday gifts every year too. The best (besides my deeded 1 square foot of “Hawaii 2”) was a white card with my name on it and a black card also incorporating my name – major opportunities for hilarity (at my expense)!
I got that card (and the square foot) too!!
I’m a firm believer in being a critical fan of everything. It’s a nice balance between dogmatic idolization and boycotting every problematic thing in the world (which is . . . everything!).
Plus, you had me at Doctor Who!
Ania and I made an expansion full of fish and sex 😀 http://the-orbit.net/splainyouathing/our-cah-expansion/
HOW DID I NOT LINK TO THIS!?!?
It’s not too late 😉
Consider it edited in (well, as soon as I get off this comments page thing)!
I love the game too. Yeah, it’s offensive. That’s part of the point. It’s right there on the box: “for horrible people”. I haven’t rated every card but I’m pretty sure there’s something out there to offend everyone. I don’t think I’d want to play with an edited deck, but there are some cards I would not use if they wound up in my hand.
Meh. It’s just Apples to Apples except with “reluctant anal”.
Tee hee, I just said “reluctant anal”. Don’t blame me, that’s what it says on the card. I really had no choice in the matter.
Ok, I had a choice, but I’m saving “big black dick” for the right moment. Something with children or grandmas. Tee hee. So I’m keeping “big black dick” in my hand. tee hee.
It’s lazy game design and lazy gameplay, IMO. The designers just copied AtA. Players exercise little creativity; they just pick from 7 generated responses. For a social “party game”, it’s remarkably shallow and about as lifeless as a dead hamster in the Jewish kid’s Christmas stocking. Yowsa!
We live in the Golden Age of board gaming, and there are dozens of better party games out there that include actual social interaction and creativity and more engagement than literally reading cards (with naughty words!) to each other.
What’s more, you can be as edgy and transgressive as you want to be in most of these other party games if you so choose, but you have to take responsibility for it. I’m sure everyone will get a big chuckle about your lactose intolerant great-aunt, and you won’t even need to write that onto a blank card to make it legal.
Dude.
Dude.
I write a post about loving a game and you decide to not only write a downer comment, but post it, thinking it would add something to the conversation.
Don’t harsh the squee. It’s rude.
Let me guess, when you hear a parody of a song you brush it off as not being very creative as well. I’d hardly call what they do “simple”. “Silly” maybe, but not “simple. It takes work to come up with good “fill in the blank” cards as well as the object cards. It has to be a many-to-many relationship with lots of one type of card to work with lots of the other type. Because CAH has a focus, their options are limited. AtA can have just about anything from “grandma’s quilt” to “Avengers 2 on blu-ray” but in CAH those same cards would be worthless from a gameplay perspective.
One other thing, at the next gaming or sci-fi convention you attend bring both games and find out which one is more popular.
Years ago I bought a game I thought was amusingly offensive called ghetopoly. Then many, many years later I was tutoring a young woman of color and she happened to be over when we were clearing out the closet and that game I bought back in college was in there.
The way I felt at that moment is the way I feel pretty much every time I sit around with middle class, white, straight, cis-gender people playing this game.
It’s even worse if I’m the only one who knows someone is closeted about something that’s the butt of the joke. And I can see how uncomfortable it’s making them. And that’s when I know. Who knows what I don’t know.
Anyway the result is it not really funny any more so in addition to being obnoxious it’s not fun.