In the realm of tabletop gaming and family game nights, there’s a special niche that never fails to bring out the giggles and the ‘aha!’ moments in equal measure: quirky card games. These are the games that you bring out at parties, family gatherings, or just when you need a good laugh. They’re not your average ‘play to win’ setups; they’re more about the journey than the destination. And in this whimsical world of card-based hilarity, Exploding Kittens are masters are it, they always offer something that little bit different, absurd even, and That Escalated Quickly stands out as a champion of chuckles.
That Escalated Quickly is a party game for 2-8 players, aged 10+. It has a playing time of approximately 15 minutes. It is a co-operative game where everybody wins or loses together. The premise is simple: rank things by sorting the answers to an absurd question into order.
In the box:
- 10 Number Cards
- 150 Question Cards
- Score Mat
- Instructions
That Escalated Quickly takes game nights from “meh” to “mayhem” faster than you can say “wild card”! This is not your grandma’s bridge club. This is the game where your quiet friend Bob might just reveal his secret talent for ranking the absurdity of squirrels on jet skis! And all with that unique Exploding Kittens fun.
The idea is that one player reads out a question. Everyone is assigned a secret number from 1-10. Players answer the question based on their secret number. The person who read the question has to try and sort those answers into the correct order. If they get it right everyone wins! The thing is, the answers could be just as absurd as the questions.
With questions such as “I discovered something hidden in my grandparents’ attic. What is it?” the answers to this have to ranked from least upsetting to most upsetting. Or “The local science museum has a new scratch-and-sniff exhibit. What is it?” the answers to this must be ranked from least repulsive to most repulsive. And the other players must give their answer according to their secret number – if you have a secret card of 10 you must come up with a really repulsive answer.
The premise is simple: rank things. But oh, the things you’ll rank! From the likelihood of grandma skydiving to the probability of a cat becoming president, the scenarios are as wild as a rodeo clown on a sugar rush. And with 300 questions to tackle, you’re in for a rollercoaster of hilarity that’ll make your sides ache from laughter.
Setting up to play and the game rules are simple. The game comes with an instruction leaflet laying it all out. But as this is an Exploding Kittens game, you don’t want to do it like that, their website has a fun video that explains the rules and game play to you – take a look here, it’s a fun instructional video. They even have a mini version of the game that you can download for free to get a taster for the game before buying.
Just in case you haven’t watched the video (I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t), setting up the game is easy peasy. Shuffle the question cards (they are double-sided and each side is a different colour), pick one colour to use for the whole game and place that colour face down on the table. Shuffle the number cards and deal one to each player, including yourself. Place the score mat in the centre of the table. Pick a player to go first – you decide who (we used the number cards to decide, whoever flipped over the highest number started, the cards were then put back into the pack, shuffled and dealt again).
If the setting up is easy peasy, the game play must be lemon squeezy! The starting player (the organiser) picks up a card and reads it out loud, for example: “I’ve decided that I need to break up with my partner. How should I do it?” Starting with the organiser, everybody gives their answer, in this case from the least hurtful to the most hurtful. Where that answer falls on the scale is determined by each players secret number card. When all answers are given and you’ve stopped laughing, the organiser must then try to rank them in order from least to most hurtful, as determined by the number cards. Answers could be something as simple as sitting down and having an adult talk or throwing a party for their birthday and having a Powerpoint presentation displaying all their faults before a clown announces your breakup while throwing a custard pie in their face. After any discussions and the organiser has made their decision, they flip over the cards – if they are in the right order (i.e. 1, 2, 3, 4) they card goes on to the score mat in the good cards sections, if the cards are out of order (1, 3, 4, 2) the card goes on to the bad cards section. Play continues until you get 3 cards in either the good or bad cards section – 3 good cards and everybody wins, 3 bad cards and everybody loses!
There are some exceptions to the rules depending on how many people are playing. 2-3 players are each dealt 2 number cards each and effectively play as 2 players each and no mistakes are permitted in the order of the cards. 4-5 players (one number card each) and no mistakes are permitted. 6-8 players (one number card each) and one mistake is allowed during the flipping of cards.
Overall, That Escalated Quickly is an excellent fun game. The questions are simple, straightforward and even absurd with no right or wrong answer as the order of the answers are ultimately decided by the organiser for that round. And the answers can be very imaginative which creates lots of laughter.
It is an excellent co-operative game, so you all win or lose together, like a band of merry pranksters trying to put the world in order, one ridiculous scenario at a time. Once a question is read out, your imagination can run riot and chaos begins.
Imagine the scenario: “I showed up late to work. What’s my excuse?” Bob, holding a number 7, says he was abducted by aliens who needed his help fixing their spaceship’s espresso machine. Meanwhile, Linda, with a number 2, claims her cat stole her car keys. The organiser, bless their soul, has to rank these wild tales from “least likely to get fired” to “start updating your resume.”
The beauty of That Escalated Quickly is its simplicity. It’s easy to learn, which means you can jump right into the fun without a PhD in game rules. And it’s quick, like a cheetah on a skateboard quick. Fifteen minutes and you’re done, ready for another round or to bask in the glory of your ranking prowess.
While two people can play, the real enjoyment is when you have a larger number of players. This is a game that you get the most from with 6-8 players, and if they have some imagination, the better it is.
It is a game that’s full of creativity, a forge for friendship, and a downright laughter riot that will have everybody giggling. It’s the party game that’ll have you ranking everything from the mundane to the madcap, all while trying to keep a straight face. It’s like riding a rollercoaster of ridiculousness.
A gem in the world of quirky card games and imagination rules. It’s just as much fun for family game nights as it is for adult game nights. Watch how quickly the answers escalate from the boring and mundane to the creatively inspired and outright ludicrous.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £19.99
For more information, visit www.explodingkittens.com. Available to buy from Amazon here.
