How to Play Cards Against Humanity

Reviewed by Ashton Wu

Last Updated: August 13, 2024 Fact Checked

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A famous party icebreaker, Cards Against Humanity is an adults-only game for players mature enough to handle the intentionally provocative (but often hilarious) topics and answers. The goal is to pair the answer and question cards in the funniest, most provocative, or cleverest way you can.

Part 1

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Playing the Game

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1
Draw ten white cards each. You can only look at your own hand of cards. Leave the rest of the white "answer" cards and black "question" cards separated into face-down stacks.^{[1]
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- You need at least four players to play Cards Against Humanity. There's no upper limit to how many people can play, but it's most fun with 6–8 players.
- If you don't already own Cards Against Humanity, you can find a deck here. You can also play the game online.
The official rules say that the "person who most recently pooped" is the first "Card Czar." (This might give you an idea of what the game will be like.) If you prefer, the person with the next upcoming birthday can go first instead. That player starts the round by turning over the top card in the black "questions" stack. Read the card aloud and leave it face up on the table.^{[2]
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Have each other player choose a white answer card. The Card Czar waits while each other player chooses one card from their hand. The goal is to pick the funniest answer to the black question card, or the answer the Card Czar will like most. Put the selected white cards in a face down pile.^{[3]
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- If the black card says "Pick 2," choose two white cards from your hand. Keep them in the order the Czar should read them.
Shuffle and read aloud the answer cards. Now the Card Czar picks up the white answer cards and shuffles them, so no one knows who put down which card. Reread the black answer card, then read the white cards one by one, putting them face up on the table.^{[4]
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Choose the best answer. The Card Czar chooses their favorite answer to the question. The player who played the winning card gets one "Awesome Point." The easiest way to track points is to give the black question card to the winning player.^{[5]
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- All players can talk while the Card Czar is deciding, and try to influence the decision.
- Set aside all the white cards from that round into a discard pile.
- The Card Czar's "favorite" card could be the funniest option, the one that makes the most sense to them, the one that's most appropriate for the category, and so on.
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Start the next round. Each player draws back up to ten white cards. The person sitting to the Card Czar's left becomes the Czar for the next round, picking a new black card.^{[6]
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- Alternatively, you can appoint whoever won the last round as the new Czar. This doesn't work well if there's a newcomer in the group, since it's harder to win rounds if you don't know the Czar's style of humor.
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Play until you're sick of it. This is a casual, non-competitive game, and people usually play until they get tired of it. If you want a more defined end point, play until one player gets five points (or 7–10 for a longer game). Whoever has the most points at the end of the game wins.^{[7]
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- One fun way to end the game is to use the "haiku" black card for the final round. You don't need to find the actual card: it just says "Make a haiku." The other players each choose three cards from their hand to use as an answer.
- Some players stop drawing new cards when they announce the end, but keep playing until they run out of cards. This leads to (even more) absurd nonsense answers.
- Remember: CaH is a "party" game, and the goal is to just have the funniest combinations of cards with friends.
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Add house rules to your game. The CaH states that the game is meant to be house-ruled, so don't be afraid to add your own rules and regulations when you play.

Part 2

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Optional Rules

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If you agree to play with this rule, any answerer can gamble one point after the Czar reads the question card. That player then puts two answers into the pile instead of one. Whoever wins the round wins the extra point as well.^{[8]
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Dump your hands. The game tends to get less interesting when players are stuck with a bunch of cards they don't like. Some playgroups like to add one of these rules to prevent that situation:
- Anyone can spend a point to discard any number of cards and draw back up to ten.^{[9]
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- Everyone can discard any number of cards and draw up to ten when the haiku card is played (before answering).
- The first player to reach 3 points wins. Deal out new hands to start the next game.
If you're playing with a large group, the Card Czar can choose three winners. Award three points to the Czar's favorite answer, two points to the second best, and one point to number three.^{[10]
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Vote on the best answer. Instead of taking turns judging the answers, have everyone play an answer card every round. Players then vote on the winner. This works well if you are playing with strangers, who would have trouble choosing cards targeted for a specific person.
- Alternatively, if you want to avoid ties, take turns eliminating cards until only one is left.
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Expand your collection. If you love Cards Against Humanity but you've memorized all the cards, there are many expansions to shuffle into your set, plus special editions that change US pop culture references for the UK, Australia, and Canada. You can order these from the Cards Against Humanity website, or find them in most board game stores.
- If that's not enough, there are many unofficial expansions you can purchase or print out from online.^{[11]
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  Research source} Or you could make your own — all it takes is a pen and two colors of paper.
Hardcore CAH fans might enjoy the online laboratory. The website will show you a random selection of cards and ask you to pick the funniest one. If you give the creators good feedback, your favorites from the site could end up in the next expansion.

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Question

I understand how to chose 3 cards to make the haiku, but what I don't understand is why it says "Draw 2 Pick 3"?

Community Answer

You have to draw two cards so that you have enough cards in your hand to continue playing at the end of the turn, and also so you'll have more choices in your hand at the time of the "Draw 2 Pick 3" round.

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Can I play with all the expansions together?

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Yes, you can play with as many expansion packs at a time as you'd like.

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Do you have to write the answers down?

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No. The answers are all printed on the white cards. Just choose a white card from your hand and put it face down on the table.

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Tips

You do not need to follow the 5-7-5 syllable structure for the "Make a haiku" card. Just pick any three answers.

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If you know the people you’re playing with well enough and you have blank cards, use that to your advantage. This works especially well for online matches.

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Warnings

This game is officially designed for "horrible people" aged 17 and up. If you don't enjoy offensive jokes about sex, race, and genocide, you will not enjoy this game. You can use the same rules with the family-friendly game Apples to Apples, or with homemade cards.

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