How do Attack cards stack in Exploding Kittens?
If you're under Attack and play an Attack of your own, your turns end and you pass on the turn you're on, every turn you still owe, plus 2 more. The count keeps growing down the table: owe 4 and attack straight away, and the next player owes 6.
The rule:
In Exploding Kittens, Attacks add up: if you’re under Attack and play your own, you pass on the turn you’re on, every turn you still owe, plus 2 more, so owing 4 and attacking straight away leaves the next player owing 6.
If you’re already under Attack: turns passed on = the turn you’re on + the turns you still owe after it + 2. If you’re not under Attack, an Attack simply gives the next player 2 turns.
| When you play your Attack | Next player owes |
|---|---|
| You’re not under Attack | 2 turns |
| You owe 2 turns and are on the 2nd | 3 turns |
| You owe 4 turns and are on the 1st | 6 turns |
| You owe 4 turns and are on the 3rd | 4 turns |
Each attacked turn is a full turn: you can play cards, and each one ends with a draw unless a card ends it for you.
Answering with a Skip instead: a Skip only ends 1 of the turns you owe.
It can be Noped: a Noped Attack does nothing, and the player who played it carries on with their turn.
Example:
Jo attacks Lena, who now owes 2 turns. Lena plays an Attack of her own on her first turn, so the next player, Omar, owes 4. Omar plays one straight away too, and now Priya owes 6 turns.
Why players argue about it:
Many players think an Attack simply resets the count to 2, or that the attacked player's turns are cancelled. The sheet says they're transferred and added to.