Exploding Kittens: Community, Storytelling, and Game Design for Success - Episode Hero Image

Exploding Kittens: Community, Storytelling, and Game Design for Success

How I Built This with Guy Raz · · Listen to Original Episode →
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TL;DR

  • Exploding Kittens' success stemmed from treating Kickstarter as a community-building platform, not just a funding mechanism, by creating "achievements" that incentivized audience participation beyond monetary contributions.
  • The company's marketing strategy, exemplified by the "furry cat vending machine" and interactive campaigns, prioritized engaging storytelling and fan collaboration over traditional, high-cost advertising.
  • Early game design focused on creating simple, highly interactive experiences like Exploding Kittens, which facilitated broad appeal and repeat play, contrasting with later, more complex games that underperformed.
  • The company's core value proposition is facilitating face-to-face interaction and shared experiences, positioning its games as a counterbalance to screen-centric entertainment and a crisis of community.
  • A significant trade-off in game development is balancing novel mechanics and art with accessibility, as evidenced by the commercial failure of more complex games like "Bears vs. Babies" and "You've Got Crabs."
  • The company's efficient unit economics, with a production cost of $1-2 per game and a retail price of $20, underscore the critical role of effective marketing and community engagement in sustained profitability.

Deep Dive

Exploding Kittens transformed a simple, Sharpie-modified card game into a global phenomenon, demonstrating that innovative marketing and fan engagement are as crucial as game design itself. The company's success stems from treating marketing as interactive storytelling and fans as collaborators, a strategy that propelled a $10,000 Kickstarter goal to nearly $9 million and over 60 million games sold, redefining the creator economy and crowdfunding.

The company's journey highlights a profound understanding of audience engagement, beginning with Elan Lee's background in interactive storytelling and alternate reality games. His experience developing "The Beast" for Microsoft, an early example of an ARG, and later the marketing campaign for Halo 2 using payphones, established a blueprint for creating deep fan investment. This philosophy was directly applied to Exploding Kittens' Kickstarter, which eschewed traditional fundraising for "achievements" that turned backers into active participants, generating unprecedented engagement and nearly $9 million. This approach fostered a cult-like following, proving that marketing could be a form of play and a powerful engine for growth.

Second-order implications emerge as the company navigates its explosive success. The initial manufacturing crisis, scaling from 1,000 decks to 700,000, was overcome through strategic partnerships, notably with Cards Against Humanity, underscoring the importance of collaboration in overcoming unforeseen challenges. The company's subsequent retail success, driven by a blend of strong original product and continued creative marketing like the "kitty-cat vending machine," demonstrates that sustained engagement requires both a compelling core product and a willingness to innovate marketing tactics. However, the company faced the "one-hit-wonder" dread with subsequent games like "Bears vs. Babies" and "You've Got Crabs," which, despite initial Kickstarter success, failed to achieve the same enduring retail presence as Exploding Kittens. This revealed that while innovative marketing can drive initial interest, long-term success hinges on game design that offers broad appeal, ease of explanation, and consistent replayability, a lesson reinforced by the massive success of "Throw Throw Burrito," which blended card game mechanics with physical play. The strategic investment from The Chernin Group marked a pivotal shift, enabling expansion into new media like TV and film, aiming to elevate Exploding Kittens from a game company to a broader intellectual property brand, while the COVID-19 pandemic unexpectedly boosted demand for tabletop games, further solidifying the company's market position.

Ultimately, Exploding Kittens' trajectory illustrates that building a lasting brand requires a symbiotic relationship between creative product development and deeply engaging, narrative-driven marketing. The company's core mission to facilitate face-to-face interaction in an increasingly digital world provides a compelling rationale for its continued relevance and growth.

Action Items

  • Create a "storytelling strategy" framework: Define 3-5 core elements (e.g., audience connection, unexpected twists, emotional resonance) to guide future marketing campaigns.
  • Audit marketing campaign effectiveness: For 3-5 past campaigns, measure engagement metrics against storytelling goals to identify high-impact elements.
  • Design a fan engagement model: Outline 2-3 methods for treating fans as collaborators (e.g., co-creation contests, feedback loops) to foster community.
  • Develop a "playful marketing" playbook: Document 5-7 examples of marketing initiatives that feel like play to inspire future creative efforts.
  • Track unit economics for new game concepts: For 3-5 proposed games, calculate estimated production costs versus potential retail price to ensure profitability.

Related Episodes

Key Quotes

"I was never a great student mostly because um class was really hard for me I actually graduated from high school with mostly cs and one a and the a was in physics and um it's all because I had this incredible teacher whose name was Fred Carrington and he looked at me and he said you're gonna fail this thing like just 100 you're not paying attention you're not gonna get a test you're not turning in your homework you're gonna fail this thing but I'm gonna make you a deal I think you're smart I think we're just trying to figure out where the smart lives and so here's what we're gonna do next year we're switching textbooks a brand new physics book and the problem with the new physics book is it's edition one and that means there's gonna be a ton of mistakes in the thing and they're eventually gonna re release edition two and three and so on but right now we've got this book with a bunch of mistakes take this book go home find a mistake and fix it and I'll let you pass this class."

Elan Lee explains how a physics teacher offered him a unique challenge: find and fix mistakes in a new textbook edition. Lee found this approach engaging, likening it to a research project where he could solve a problem. This experience led him to excel in physics, demonstrating the power of personalized, problem-solving education.

"He essentially said you're one of the worst program managers I've ever seen but I think you might be a good designer so we're going to give that a try instead and he put me on the design team to develop the first six titles for the Xbox the very first six and yeah so my job was literally running around from team to team helping wherever I could so that when this thing goes out the door those first six titles are absolute triple a hits."

Lee recounts how his boss, Jordan Weisman, recognized his unsuitability for a program manager role but saw potential as a designer. Weisman then assigned Lee to the design team for the initial six Xbox titles. This pivot allowed Lee to contribute creatively by problem-solving across different teams to ensure the games' success.

"What if instead the thing that you were scared of in the deck were cute adorable fuzzy little kittens and we'll call the game exploding kittens instead and that was literally what he said to you that sentence."

Lee describes how his friend, Matt Inman, suggested renaming their card game from "Bomb Squad" to "Exploding Kittens." Inman's rationale was that using cute kittens instead of bombs would be less obvious and more appealing. This creative renaming was a pivotal moment in shaping the game's identity and marketability.

"What if instead of a regular page what if we convert our entire page into a game that tells stories and matt said what the hell does that mean and I said well look normally a kickstarter campaign has these things called stretch goals right we're trying to raise 10 000 but if we raise 20 000 everybody gets a fancy carrying case and if we raise 50 000 you get more cards added to the game whatever they borrowed that from from public radio by the way."

Lee explains his innovative approach to Kickstarter campaigns, proposing to transform the page into a story-driven game rather than just listing monetary stretch goals. He contrasts this with traditional public radio fundraising tactics. Lee's strategy focused on engaging the audience through narrative and achievements, rather than solely on financial targets.

"We don't make entertaining games we make games that make the people you're playing with entertaining like I think that speaks perfectly to what you're describing is let's connect let's sit around a table and let's laugh and let's eat food together and let's exchange ideas and let's play this silly game or kick each other under the table to cheat or whatever it is like to be to be able to facilitate that and say all of the stuff we make is just to help you get away from your screens and and enjoy each other."

Lee articulates the company's core mantra: "We don't make entertaining games, we make games that make the people you're playing with entertaining." He connects this philosophy to the growing need for in-person interaction and community in a digitally saturated world. Lee emphasizes that their games are designed to facilitate genuine human connection and shared experiences away from screens.

Resources

External Resources

Books

  • "Halo" - Mentioned as the first game Elan Lee was involved with at Microsoft.

Articles & Papers

  • "AI" (Movie) - Mentioned as the basis for a collection of Xbox games Elan Lee worked on.

People

  • Elan Lee - Co-founder of Exploding Kittens, discussed for his career path from game design to entrepreneurship.
  • Guy Raz - Host of "How I Built This," mentioned as the interviewer.
  • Matt Inman - Creator of The Oatmeal, co-founder of Exploding Kittens, discussed for his artistic contributions and business insights.
  • Ramtin Arablouei - Composer of music for the podcast.
  • Sam Paulson - Producer of the podcast episode.
  • Sean Stewart - Science fiction writer, collaborated with Elan Lee on marketing campaigns.
  • Shane Small - Friend who suggested the initial concept for Exploding Kittens.

Organizations & Institutions

  • 42 Entertainment - Company founded by Elan Lee and Jordan Weisman, focused on alternate reality games.
  • Airbnb - Mentioned as a platform for booking accommodations and for hosting one's own home.
  • Amazon - Mentioned as a retail sales channel for Exploding Kittens.
  • Audible - Mentioned as a platform for audiobooks and podcasts.
  • Chernin Group - Investment firm that invested in Exploding Kittens.
  • Exploding Kittens - Company co-founded by Elan Lee, Matt Inman, and Shane Small, known for its card games.
  • Halo 2 - Video game for which Elan Lee helped with marketing.
  • How I Built This - Podcast hosted by Guy Raz.
  • How I Built This Advice Line - Podcast segment offering advice to entrepreneurs.
  • Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) - Company where Elan Lee interned, working on special effects.
  • Microsoft - Company where Elan Lee worked as a program manager and designer, contributing to the Xbox.
  • National Football League (NFL) - Mentioned in the context of Elan Lee's early career aspirations.
  • Netflix - Mentioned as a platform for a potential TV show based on Exploding Kittens.
  • Pro Football Focus (PFF) - Mentioned in relation to Elan Lee's early career interests.
  • Shopify - Mentioned as a platform for small businesses to sell online.
  • The Oatmeal - Online comic created by Matt Inman.
  • Titanic - Movie on which Elan Lee worked during his internship at ILM.
  • Tomales, California - Location of Stemple Creek Ranch.
  • Wondery - Podcast network that produces "How I Built This."
  • Xbox - Gaming console developed by Microsoft, on which Elan Lee worked.

Websites & Online Resources

  • Airbnb.com/host - Website mentioned for finding out how much one's home might be worth for hosting.
  • Audible.com/built - Website mentioned for a free 30-day Audible trial.
  • Cluade.ai/hibt - Website mentioned for experiencing collaborative thinking with Claude AI.
  • Shopify.com/built - Website mentioned for a $1 per month trial for Shopify.
  • Vitalproteins.com - Website mentioned for Vital Proteins products.

Other Resources

  • Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) - Type of game that Elan Lee focused on with 42 Entertainment.
  • Bomb Squad - The original name for the game that became Exploding Kittens.
  • Bears vs. Babies - A card game developed by Exploding Kittens after Exploding Kittens.
  • Candyland - A board game mentioned as an example of a mundane game for young children.
  • Connect Four - A board game mentioned as an enduring classic.
  • Dodgeball - A sport that inspired the game "Throw Throw Burrito."
  • Exploding Kittens - A card game that became a major success for the company of the same name.
  • Flaming Mangoes - A game concept that inspired "Throw Throw Burrito."
  • Game Night - A recurring theme and activity discussed throughout the episode.
  • Halo - A video game franchise.
  • Halo 2 - A video game.
  • Halo 2 marketing campaign - Described as a cultural phenomenon using payphones.
  • Kickstarter - Crowdfunding platform used to launch Exploding Kittens and other games.
  • Magic: The Gathering - A strategic card game.
  • Pictionary - A board game.
  • Russian Roulette - A game concept that inspired Exploding Kittens.
  • Settlers of Catan - A board game.
  • Taco Cat - A palindrome and a favorite card in the game Exploding Kittens.
  • The Beast - An alternate reality game developed by Elan Lee and Jordan Weisman.
  • Throw Throw Burrito - A card game developed by Exploding Kittens that became a hit.
  • Trivial Pursuit - A board game.
  • Uno - A card game.
  • Vanta.com/built - Website mentioned for Vanta's services.
  • War of the Worlds - Orson Welles' radio drama that inspired the marketing for Halo 2.
  • You've Got Crabs - A card game developed by Exploding Kittens.

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