The Very Adult Game We (Sort of) Bought for Our Kids
Cards Against Humanity for Kids?! You may not think that Cards Against Humanity is appropriate for kids, and as intended, it’s not (at least not in our family). However, we made some modifications and have had a blast playing with our kids. Maybe a DIY version of the game will work for your family as well?
A few months ago, we started doing family game night every Sunday. It’s been a huge hit, and a great way to wrap up the weekend. We have a handful of games the boys enjoy and have collected a couple new ones as our game nights continue.
Occasionally, when we have adult friends over, we play Cards Against Humanity. If you know this game, you know it’s filthy, vulgar and offensive. If you don’t know this game, just trust me on this one. It’s wildly inappropriate even for adults. If it aligns with your sense of humor, however, it’s hilarious.
It’s a bit like Apples to Apples meets Mad Libs but laced with curse words, racist undertones, sexual innuendos, political wildfire, and plenty of poop jokes. At least half the deck is funny without being offensive, but it’s not a game to play with someone who doesn’t appreciate this type of humor. Whether you like it or not, I pass no judgment. It’s definitely not for everyone, and that is totally ok.
A couple of times, we’ve had friends over and played Cards Against Humanity after putting the boys to bed. To no one’s surprise, they were not yet asleep and our laughter drew every ounce of their interest. They wanted to play with us so badly. And… definitely no! Hard No! No way!
We did, however, make them two compromises. First, we let them play one round with us after editing the card options for that particular round. We played one round with only clean cards so they could understand the gist of the game.
Then, we used the blank cards included in the set to make our “own dumb jokes”, as the game makers call the DIY cards, that were just right for the boys. M made the cards, which included many inside jokes and plenty of elementary school humor.
The following Sunday, at game night, we played the “edited” version of Cards Against Humanity with the boys. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen them laugh so hard. A few of the cards we made for them were a little edgy, and I suspect not all parents would approve of such humor for five and seven year old kids but… different families have different rules, and I fully respect that.
In any case, the very adult game has been a lot of fun to play in our family with our kids in a modified way. For the holidays this year, we bought each of the boys a pack of 50 blank cards. I expect we will create some cards for them, and we’ll let them create a bunch themselves as well. I can only imagine the early elementary humor they’ll dole out on these cards.
Although I can’t recommend you let your kids play the real version of Cards Against Humanity, it’s pretty fun to play unique family editions with the “create your own” cards. Each family can buy blank cards, which are fairly inexpensive, and set up a deck that reflects the inside jokes for their family with just the right level of humor that works for them.
If you play this game or buy a version to make with your kids, let me know what you think. If you have any other edgy games that you can make work for your family, I’d love to hear about them in the comments. And if you think our family is totally crazy for even bringing this game into our house, I understand. I know and respect this is definitely not for everyone.
