Cards Against Humanity is a popular party game created by a group of eight Highland Park High School alumni. It is a physical game that can be played by a mature audience who appreciates politically incorrect humor and wants to pass the time during a party setting. The game’s critical formal elements involve each player drawing ten white cards. Then, a black card is randomly selected to be placed with the prompt up. The prompt will be a sentence with one or two blank spaces, and the other players will use their drawn white cards to fill in the blank in the most entertaining way possible. The black card drawer will then select whoever’s answer was most entertaining, and the winner takes the black card. The game winner is determined by the person who collects the most amount of black cards. The game can be played by any number of players, but a group under six is a good balance of variety of answers and gameplay flow. The interesting part is that the players, including the black card drawer, should not know who placed which white cards, so there isn’t any bias in answer selection.
Cards Against Humanity primarily plays into the fellowship aspect of gameplay fun because of the nature of politically incorrect humor and the environment it is often played in (a party setting). The nature of it being centered around who can be most politically incorrect invites people to be a bit more open and authentic with each other, which is why it works particularly well for fellowship. It’s not uncommon for people to reflect back on past experiences of the game with their friends and mention how funny a certain card selection was. Secondly, it plays into the aspect of submission because it’s a great way to pass time and relax with friends in a party setting. It’s very low stakes and meant to be a very casual game that people can use to pass the time.
The game’s vulnerability aspect brings up an interesting dynamic depending on how close you are to the other players. It has the potential to create an uncomfortable situation, making you question whether to put down a card that you find potentially a bit too offensive. This dynamic adds another layer of complexity to the game, as it can lead to more interesting discussions and debates.
Cards Against Humanity could be best improved by establishing clear ending procedures. The game can technically keep going forever, or until all of the black cards are gone, which would take hours and hours. Perhaps, if there were more clearly established ending procedures, such as whoever can get to seven black cards first, it would make the game more manageable. Another possibility could be to change the mechanic so that whoever wins the round gets to discard their white card, and it becomes a race like UNO, in which whoever discards all of their white cards first, wins.
Overall, Cards Against Humanity differentiates itself from other games in its genre because of its focus on politically incorrect humor. It has a unique and quirky charm that sets it apart from other party games. Whether it’s better or worse is subjective and depends on individual preferences, but personally, I really enjoyed the dark humor aspect of it and found myself really enjoying playing it with my friends, particularly if there’s drinking going on.
