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Happy Little Dinosaurs vs Exploding Kittens: both are silly, brightly illustrated card games where one bad draw can knock you out. Exploding Kittens is the fast, chaotic original from 2015. Happy Little Dinosaurs, from the makers of Unstable Unicorns, adds a little more strategy and a race to 50 points. Here is how to pick between them.
Our pick for families with younger kids: Exploding Kittens
Exploding Kittens plays in about 15 minutes, teaches in one, and is rated for ages 7 and up. It costs about $20.
Price band: $10–$20 (about $20) · Check today’s price on Amazon
Happy Little Dinosaurs vs Exploding Kittens at a glance
Two funny elimination card games.
- Fastest to learn: Exploding Kittens — the original draw-until-you-explode card game (about $20)
- More choices each round: Happy Little Dinosaurs — dodge disasters and race to 50 points (about $20)
How Exploding Kittens plays
Players take turns drawing from a single deck that hides Exploding Kitten cards. Draw one and you are out, unless you can play a Defuse card. Before you draw, you can play action cards to skip your turn, peek at the top of the deck, shuffle it or force someone else to take extra turns.
The last player who has not exploded wins. As the deck shrinks, the odds of an explosion climb and every draw gets tenser. See our Exploding Kittens rules guide for every card.
How a round of Happy Little Dinosaurs works
Each player is a dinosaur trying to survive the end of the world. Every round a disaster card is flipped, and players secretly choose a point card to play. The player with the lowest point card takes the disaster into their pile, while everyone else moves forward on their scoring track.
Instant and trap cards let you mess with other players along the way. Collect three disasters of one type, or one of each type, and you are eliminated. The first dinosaur to reach 50 points wins. Our how to play Happy Little Dinosaurs guide covers setup.
Happy Little Dinosaurs vs Exploding Kittens: side-by-side table
| Feature | Exploding Kittens | Happy Little Dinosaurs |
|---|---|---|
| Players | 2 to 5 | 2 to 4 (expansion adds more) |
| Age rating | 7 and up | 8 and up |
| Game length | About 15 minutes | About 30 minutes |
| How you lose | Draw an Exploding Kitten without a Defuse | Collect the wrong mix of disasters |
| How you win | Last player standing | First to 50 points |
| Price on Amazon | About $20 | About $20 |
Luck vs skill: which gives you more control
Happy Little Dinosaurs. Choosing which point card to play is a guessing game about what everyone else will do, and you have to balance scoring against avoiding a dangerous disaster. Exploding Kittens is more about timing your action cards and enjoying the chaos.
Which is better for a quick game
Exploding Kittens. You can play two or three rounds in the time one game of Happy Little Dinosaurs takes, and knocked-out players are back in the next round within minutes.
Which is better for adults
Happy Little Dinosaurs, by a small margin. Adults enjoy the bluffing in the point-card choice and the mean little trap cards, and the theme of dinosaurs surviving a meteor, a flood and a predator is funny without being crude. Exploding Kittens still works for adults, and its absurd art is a big part of the appeal, but the luck of the draw can decide a game before anyone makes an interesting choice.
Player counts and expansions
The base Exploding Kittens deck plays up to five, and the Party Pack edition stretches to ten. Expansions like Imploding Kittens add new cards and an extra player. Happy Little Dinosaurs plays two to four out of the box, and a separate 5 to 6 player expansion adds more dinosaurs and disasters. If you regularly host more than four people, check which version you are buying before you order.
Both games come in small boxes that fit in a backpack, and both take under two minutes to set up, so either one makes an easy stocking stuffer or a travel game.
Our verdict
- Choose Exploding Kittens for younger kids, quick rounds and five-player tables.
- Choose Happy Little Dinosaurs for tweens, teens and adults who want a bit more to think about.
- Want more? Our games like Exploding Kittens list has other picks.
Happy Little Dinosaurs vs Exploding Kittens FAQ
Is Happy Little Dinosaurs like Exploding Kittens?
Both are funny card games with player elimination, but Happy Little Dinosaurs adds a scoring race and simultaneous card choices.
Who makes Happy Little Dinosaurs?
Unstable Games, the publisher behind Unstable Unicorns.
Is Exploding Kittens good for kids?
Yes. The original edition is rated for ages 7 and up.
Which costs less on Amazon right now?
At today’s Amazon prices, Exploding Kittens is about $20 and Happy Little Dinosaurs is about $20.
