For those of you who are good, wholesome people, Cards Against Humanity is a party game for “horrible people,” and is not intended for you. The makers of the game clearly state on their website that the game is “as despicable and awkward as you and your friends.”
The game is quite simple, and could be compared to the popular game Apples to Apples. It starts with the players being asked a question from a black card. Then, it is the responsibility of all of the players to come up with the worst and offensive answer from one of their white cards.
The beauty of the game lies in the viral appeal and the availability of expansion packs to add to the deck. The game is available for free under a Creative Commons license. Fans of the game can download printable cards for free and print themselves to play. The Creative Commons license means players can use, remix, and share the game for free, but cannot resell it without permission from the game makers. In other words, the game makers are trusting you, and they kindly ask, “please do not steal our name or we will smash you.”
The game makers’ clever website features a “Your Dumb Questions” Q&A section and an area where you can submit your “bad idea” for additional cards. The game makers have successfully leveraged the ideas of its fan base to create diverse, quirky, and downright offensive game cards.
So what does this have to do with marketing? Well, Cards Against Humanity has introduced an expansion pack aptly named Advertising Against Humanity. The expansion pack was the product of a Toronto-based animation, design, and visual effects studio called The Juggernaut. The cards and packaging take jabs at the advertising industry. The box features a brief game description:
“This is an expansion pack for the card game Cards Against Humanity. These cards are as despicable and offensive as the advertising industry itself. You might be all ‘you guys ripped this off!’ but how many ideas did you steal from Reddit this year?”
The design firm initially designed the expansion pack to give away as holiday gifts, but as soon as word was out about the naughty game, people wanted it for themselves. The expansion pack has been so popular that it has become difficult to get your hands on. If you are in dire need of this deplorable game, you need to contact a special email address found on cardsagainsthumainty.com