Exploding Kittens and Penn Jillette’s new party game is for all the rotten liars
Fibbing with family.
Exploding Kittens has partnered with famed stage magician Penn Jillette for its newest party game, You Lying Sack.
Releasing to retail in January 2023, You Lying Sack is an exercise in bluffing that uses a sack full of 50 Bad Things and a single Good Thing - red triangles for the former and a little blue square representing the latter. On each player’s turn, they reach inside the bag and secretly pull out either three Bad Things or the Good Thing.
Thus begins the sell. The active player must look everyone else in the eye and, one by one, convince them to take what’s in their hand. They can deploy any manner of verbal tricks or cajoling as long as the contents remain hidden in their fist. If they make it through the entire group without finding a buyer, the active player must keep their stash. As soon as someone accepts, their turn ends.
Anyone who ends a round with the Good Thing in their possession reduces their pile of Bad Things by the result of a six-sided die roll before returning it to the sack. This is important because anyone who collects 10 Bad Things is immediately eliminated, and play continues until the final liar stands alone.
Publisher Exploding Kittens, who handles the eponymous card game along with Dicebreaker favourite Happy Salmon, and Jillette emphasised the metagaming potential in a press release: “While I’ve made a living as a magician, at my core I’m really just a professional liar who plays within the lines between the truth and lies – and that was the inspiration of the game,” Jillette said. “You Lying Sack is all about lying, cheating, and swindling your friends and family. You’ll have to do mental gymnastics to win the game, so may the best liar win.”
It’s a simple premise where enjoyment is derived from how well players can fool their friends and family. Do you downplay your fist of Bad Things to trip up someone expecting a double cross, or do you lean into a reputation as a bad liar and sneak the Good Thing into your own possession? Players can discover how forked their own tongues can be when You Lying Sack releases to retail in January 2023. It’s currently available through Exploding Kittens' webstore, as well.