<p>You know exactly how many exploding kittens are in the deck and there are no cards that allow you to put cards from your hand back in the deck, so it would become obvious at some point if someone cheated (either someone else drew an exploding kitten from their hand or the end of the deck was hit and there was more than one player left). Thus, I believe keeping cards secret is the way to go.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-15T21:28:41.637Z
Those are some great points in addition to Toon's answer, thanks!
Stephen Smith
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-15T20:56:35.913Z
2016-03-15T20:56:35.913Z
Duncan
<p>It is not defined in the rules. </p>

<p>You get the most interesting game by drawing blind and revealing only the exploding kitten.</p>

<p><strong>Edit</strong> I just found a section in the rules that implies very clearly that you don't show the card unless it is an exploding kitten:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>EXPLODING KITTENS: You must show this card immediately. Unless you have a DEFUSE CARD, you’re dead. Discard all of your cards, including the EXPLODING KITTEN.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-16T12:48:26.773Z
I did notice that part, but it's implied so I wasn't sure since it didn't specifically say whether or not regular cards needed to be shown.
Stephen Smith
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-15T14:12:20.260Z
2016-03-16T09:59:37.810Z
2016-03-16T09:59:37.810Z
Toon Krijthe
<p>Adding to other comments regarding cheating, I think it would be practical to draw, look at the card, and then if it isn't a kitten, add it to your hand. That way, no one can sneak kittens out of their hand and into the game to defuse it, since the drawn card is clearly separate from your hand.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-10-19T16:26:12.413Z
2018-10-19T16:26:12.413Z
user45266
<p>The rules (<a href="http://www.explodingkittens.com/how" rel="noreferrer">which are available online</a>) <em>do</em> specify that hands are secret. This is within the setup section:</p>
<blockquote>
<ol start="2">
<li><p>Shuffle the remaining deck and deal 4 cards <strong>face down</strong> to each player.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Deal 1 Defuse card to each player so that everyone has a hand of 5 cards total. <strong>Keep your hand secret</strong></p>
</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
<p>The draw step is part of the normal turn order:</p>
<blockquote>
<ol start="3">
<li>Finally, end your turn by drawing a card from the Draw Pile <strong>into your hand</strong> and hoping it’s not an Exploding Kitten.</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
<p>So the game tells us that hands are secret and cards drawn are added to our hand - at no point does it tell us to reveal the drawn card.</p>
<p>The exception for an exploding kitten being revealed immediately is covered under the specific rules for exploding kittens:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>EXPLODING KITTENS</strong>
<br>
You must show this card immediately. Unless you have a DEFUSE CARD, you’re dead. Discard all of your cards, including the EXPLODING KITTEN.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>So yes, you trust people to admit when they have a kitten. Cheating is possible (i.e. hold a kitten, then steal a defuse and pretend the next card was a kitten), but apart from that specific case it won't stop them being found out by the end of the game.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-16T12:49:43.247Z
Thanks, the "Keep your hand secret" makes this pretty clear. I was looking in the gameplay section where it outlines how to draw for whether it needed to be secret, and forgot to look at the setup instructions.
Stephen Smith
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-16T17:30:13.110Z
I think cheating is difficult, since you must show the kitten *immediately.* Every time I've played we reveal it before even adding it to our hand. Adding a "fake kitten" to your hand and then shuffling cards around to reveal a kitten drawn earlier would be very suspicious.
ghoppe
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-16T17:33:42.460Z
@ghoppe Most people won't be paying super close attention, and you could play it off as going for your defuse. It might be a bit obvious but still, if someone really wanted to cheat at the game (which is dumb :P ) they could do it and people probably wouldn't call them out if they said it was what they drew.
Samthere
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-16T17:38:10.517Z
@Samthere I agree, if someone really wanted to cheat they would probably get away with it because people would not expect it. Who the heck would ruin such a light-hearted game by cheating?? :) — But a simple house rule "reveal before putting it in your hand or your defuse won't work" would alleviate that issue if your play group is suspicious.
ghoppe
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-16T09:50:11.410Z
2016-03-16T09:50:11.410Z
2020-06-17T09:01:24.697Z
Samthere
<p>I've had exploding kittens for a while but haven't really played it because every time I try to play, nobody really knows whether they are supposed to keep what they draw secret or show it to everybody to prove it isn't an exploding kitten.</p>

<p>Are you supposed to show everybody what you draw when you draw it (allowing more complicated strategies based on remembering what cards people have) or do you just trust that nobody hides an exploding kitten?</p>

<p>The instructions make no mention of this.</p>

<exploding-kittens>
Do you need to show what you draw?
Stephen Smith
# Do you need to show what you draw?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-03-15)

I've had exploding kittens for a while but haven't really played it because every time I try to play, nobody really knows whether they are supposed to keep what they draw secret or show it to everybody to prove it isn't an exploding kitten.

Are you supposed to show everybody what you draw when you draw it (allowing more complicated strategies based on remembering what cards people have) or do you just trust that nobody hides an exploding kitten?

The instructions make no mention of this.

**Tags:** exploding-kittens


---

## 4 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2016-03-16. Score: 12 | Accepted answer

The rules ([which are available online](http://www.explodingkittens.com/how)) *do* specify that hands are secret. This is within the setup section:

> 2. Shuffle the remaining deck and deal 4 cards **face down** to each player.
> 3. Deal 1 Defuse card to each player so that everyone has a hand of 5 cards total. **Keep your hand secret**

The draw step is part of the normal turn order:

> 3. Finally, end your turn by drawing a card from the Draw Pile **into your hand** and hoping it’s not an Exploding Kitten.

So the game tells us that hands are secret and cards drawn are added to our hand - at no point does it tell us to reveal the drawn card.

The exception for an exploding kitten being revealed immediately is covered under the specific rules for exploding kittens:

> **EXPLODING KITTENS**
>   
> You must show this card immediately. Unless you have a DEFUSE CARD, you’re dead. Discard all of your cards, including the EXPLODING KITTEN.

---

So yes, you trust people to admit when they have a kitten. Cheating is possible (i.e. hold a kitten, then steal a defuse and pretend the next card was a kitten), but apart from that specific case it won't stop them being found out by the end of the game.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks, the "Keep your hand secret" makes this pretty clear. I was looking in the gameplay section where it outlines how to draw for whether it needed to be secret, and forgot to look at the setup instructions.  
> **username_5**: I think cheating is difficult, since you must show the kitten *immediately.* Every time I've played we reveal it before even adding it to our hand. Adding a "fake kitten" to your hand and then shuffling cards around to reveal a kitten drawn earlier would be very suspicious.  
> **username_4**: @username_5 Most people won't be paying super close attention, and you could play it off as going for your defuse. It might be a bit obvious but still, if someone really wanted to cheat at the game (which is dumb :P ) they could do it and people probably wouldn't call them out if they said it was what they drew.  
> **username_5**: @username_4 I agree, if someone really wanted to cheat they would probably get away with it because people would not expect it. Who the heck would ruin such a light-hearted game by cheating?? :) — But a simple house rule "reveal before putting it in your hand or your defuse won't work" would alleviate that issue if your play group is suspicious.  

---

### Answer by username_1 on 2016-03-15. Score: 5

You know exactly how many exploding kittens are in the deck and there are no cards that allow you to put cards from your hand back in the deck, so it would become obvious at some point if someone cheated (either someone else drew an exploding kitten from their hand or the end of the deck was hit and there was more than one player left). Thus, I believe keeping cards secret is the way to go.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Those are some great points in addition to username_2's answer, thanks!  

---

### Answer by username_2 on 2016-03-15. Score: 2

It is not defined in the rules.

You get the most interesting game by drawing blind and revealing only the exploding kitten.

**Edit** I just found a section in the rules that implies very clearly that you don't show the card unless it is an exploding kitten:

> EXPLODING KITTENS: You must show this card immediately. Unless you have a DEFUSE CARD, you’re dead. Discard all of your cards, including the EXPLODING KITTEN.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: I did notice that part, but it's implied so I wasn't sure since it didn't specifically say whether or not regular cards needed to be shown.  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2018-10-19. Score: 2

Adding to other comments regarding cheating, I think it would be practical to draw, look at the card, and then if it isn't a kitten, add it to your hand. That way, no one can sneak kittens out of their hand and into the game to defuse it, since the drawn card is clearly separate from your hand.


---

