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Cards Against Humanity Taught The World A Lesson In 2015

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 05:53 PST, Jan 7, 2016

Cards Against Humanity has become one of the most popular games of choice, particularly on the east coast of the U.S. and particularly among young people. The New York Daily News reports that even the actresses from Downtown Abbey have indulged. Lesley Nicol (Mrs. Patmore), Laura Carmichael (Lady Edith Crawley), and Phyllis Logan (Mrs. Hughes) have had their share of fun playing Cards Against Humanity.

An example of the fun the ladies had is evident in the clue “_____: good to the last drop,” to which the two potential answers were Arnold Schwarzenegger or her sex life. The sex life won as the ultimate choice. Could fans ever imagine these women’s Downtown Abbey characters playing Cards Against Humanity? It would be a riot.

Cards Against Humanity has had a lively, if thus far short, go at it, and according to Campaign, it has taught the world three lessons in the past year. The people behind Cards Against Humanity have proven to be marketing geniuses, and the first of these lessons is one of marketing – take nothing for granted. Cards Against Humanity has gone against all the old marketing rules when it comes to the likes of email campaigns, pricing, and FAQs, and they have done so with success.

Cards Against Humanity has also taught the world a lesson about putting the consumer first. They have made a point of letting their customers have influence over the product. Cards Against Humanity is under Creative Commons, which allow fans to remix the game as they wish, giving them a chance to help create and recreate the game.

The third and final lesson from Cards Against Humanity is that going all the way is the only way. They proved this with their Black Friday campaign of selling nothing for money and proving that people will still go along with them. This is a company that encouraged full participation from their customers right from the beginning, and it paid off. Some of the money raised was used to give Cards Against Humanity factory workers in China a paid vacation.

The Huffington Post reports that the game has grown incredibly popular in a very short amount of time, having been first published in 2011. Since its initial release, Cards Against Humanity has put out a number of new editions and expansions. However, they have run into a few hitches, despite their popularity. One reason is because some people have been offended by some of the cards. Publicity of an offensive transphobic card caused many people to remove more than a hundred cards from the deck.

There are also many people who have simply become bored with Cards Against Humanity and are looking for something new and exciting. There are a few games that might do the job nicely. Slash is a game of Romance Without Boundaries. Here, players create love matches between well-known fictional characters. Mad Scientist University is a game even kids can play, and players have to justify the cards they choose to the judge. Other great games include Bad Medicine, Dixit, Snake Oil, Love 2 Hate, Say Anything, and Apples to Apples. Apparently, Wil Wheaton enjoys a good game of Dixit.

In the end, Cards Against Humanity will remain popular, and it will always be known as the game that revived face-to-face gaming among friends at the birth of the digital age. However, as time goes on, those who are fans will want to add more variety to their board game collection. Kudos to the creators of Cards Against Humanity for reviving the board game experience!

[Image via LunaseeStudios/Shutterstock]

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