
Cards Against Humanity has made more than $12 million - lenkendall
http://www.chicagogrid.com/enterprise/cards-against-humanity-game-money/
======
fsckin
I gave CAH (and expansion packs) as stocking stuffers for xmas and they were
extremely well received.

What they say on the tin is true -- you _feel_ like a horrible person when you
play the game, which is extremely cathartic.

Hell, they even did a pay what you want for a small package of Christmas
themed cards and pretty sure they pulled a 70k profit from that maneuver,
despite ~25% percent paying $0.

Their average credit card fee was $0.43 per transaction. Ouch!

<http://www.cardsagainsthumanity.com/holidaystats/>

~~~
tommi
What caught my eye there was that they donated the $70,000 to Wikimedia
foundation. I checked their financial report
([https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/6/68/Jul-D...](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/6/68/Jul-
Dec%2712_Mid-year_financials2.pdf)) and the top five costs are:

    
    
      Salaries and Wages 7,468,743
      Outside Contract Services 1,791,275
      Internet Hosting 1,309,591 
      Other Operating Expenses 1,010,273
      Bank Fees 945,190
    

That is not the cost structure I expected. I thought the balance would be more
on Internet Hosting. What are those ~10 million of salaries, contracts and
other operating expenses? Besides, their expenses were 15 million and income
30 million, do they need more money?

~~~
z-factor
Wikimedia employs a lot of people, I personally do not donate because I
believe they employ way too many. Also pretty much all costs are already
covered by corporate sponsors like Google.

~~~
sukuriant
50 employees is too many? (140k per person)

100 employees is too many? (70k per person)

* that 140k and 70k include things like healthcare and benefits too, I bet.

~~~
z-factor
I remember reading though a page where they listed their employees and I
remember it was 100+, I wanted to include the link in my comment, buy couldn't
find it this time.

~~~
sukuriant
So they're getting paid less than the going rate, at least the software
engineers are. Interesting.

Have you considered many of them that are on the payroll might have other jobs
and so the volume is to make up for the fact that they're not all 40+ hours
full time? I think this is much more complicated than we could first expect

~~~
shardling
You know, they probably need a couple people part time for _every_ language
that has a wikipedia version.

------
nbashaw
One of the founders says the article's financial speculation is "wildly
incorrect"

<https://twitter.com/MaxTemkin/status/335124440469876737>

------
Cyranix
If you manage to get a copy of Apples to Apples, Disney Edition (not sure if
that's the real title) then you can play the mashup I was exposed to several
weeks ago: Cards Against Disney. Everyone has a hand with cards from both
games; a prompt is drawn from one game and answered with cards from the other
game, alternating each turn. Much silliness ensues.

~~~
egypturnash
This is the best idea ever and I think I need to try it.

I'd suggest calling it "Disney against Humanity" - but then again I used to
work in animation, maybe I'm bitter.

~~~
mmirate
Disney's copyright lobbying suggests that your bitterness is completely
appropriate. Ever wonder why the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 was
nicknamed the "Mickey Mouse Protection Act"?

~~~
egypturnash
"And now we will hear some remarks from Sonny Bono (Disney, R)…"

------
mdisraeli
I was first introduced to this as Thousand White Cards Against Humanity,
wherein instead of drawing from the deck or playing a card, you could take a
blank and write in a new card. Compared to that, the boxed version just seems
crass and unimaginative.

On the other hand, I'm normally the one to introduce groups to Apples To
Apples. Those who claim this more tame version of the concept isn't fun are
missing the real joy - how a limited set of choices forces surreality, playing
for the person, and twisted readings of the cards.

Of course, if you're playing any of these as straight-up "this one wins", you
are missing the incredible joy of "hamburgers smell, but only the bad ones are
fragrant. Hilter probably was fragrant, but I doubt anyone lived to tell the
tale. My birthday, however, boy was that fragrant...". The verdict slow-
descriptive-reveal as the judge is the real art, and where you learn the most
about people

~~~
cavilling_elite
Please explain the second way to play! I am completely missing this! Is it in
the ruleset?

~~~
Cushman
I had this mostly written up, so I'm going to say pretty much what my sibling
said in a different way :)

It's not about the ruleset so much as the players' attitudes.

There's a way to play Apples to Apples that's as a card game. You deal the
cards, flip a topic, everyone puts up, the judge reveals the cards and picks a
winner. It's pretty boring unless the cards themselves are hilariously lewd,
hence CAH. (And I've played rounds of CAH this way that were just as boring.)

There's another way to play it, more like a role-playing game with the cards
as a prop. The judging is a discursive experience played with the whole group.
When the cards are revealed, due attention must be given to each one. "Fuzzy
like teenagers. Fuzzy like... The Clinton administration? Fuzzy like herding
cats, okay. Fuzzy like... Dinosaurs." Once all the cards are on the table, the
judging begins. Unlike in the card game version, the cards which _aren't_
relevant must be dealt with explicitly, and audience participation is
encouraged.

"Dinosaurs just aren't fuzzy."

"What about pterodactyls?"

"Yeah, birds are technically dinosaurs."

"Okay, but birds aren't _fuzzy_ , they're _fluffy_."

"Maybe it's fuzzy on the _inside_. Like dinosaurs have nice personalities."

If I'm hawking my own card, that's minus points. Or is that _not_ my card, and
I'm trying to sandbag it with praise? Complex interpersonal dynamics meet
linguistics as every judge's turn becomes a little game to itself. And just
wait until cards start to turn up that tie into previous rounds...

It requires the players be engaged and committed to playing with each other,
rather than with the cards, but it's hopefully obvious how that's fun in a way
that has little or nothing to do with the content of the cards themselves. So
nothing against CAH or other forks, but people who think CAH is fun where A2A
isn't probably don't understand what makes the concept fun in the first place.

~~~
d4mi3n
This mirrors my own experience with CAH and Apples to Apples: you make plays
pm the judge(s) and the words!

------
replicatorblog
It's not often discussed, but 20% of Kickstarter's top 20 projects are board
games. The Pebble and Ouya skew the average, but D&D style games with little
plastic figurines clean up with multiple games clearing $2MM or more.

[http://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2013/05/15415-ranked-31-mill...](http://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2013/05/15415-ranked-31-million-
dollar-kickstarter-campaigns/)

~~~
jdludlow
Kickstarter is a huge topic on BoardgameGeek.com. It's everywhere, and tends
to dominate the discussions of new titles. It's all over the site, but the
concentrated discussion is here:

[http://www.boardgamegeek.com/forum/915012/kickstarter/genera...](http://www.boardgamegeek.com/forum/915012/kickstarter/general)

------
mhartl
The success of Cards Against Humanity is evidence of massive demand, and yet
all they have protecting them is their brand—unlike, say, craigslist, whose
unwillingness to innovate is legendary but whose business benefits from
massive network effects. As a result, the (apparent) apathy of the Cards
Against Humanity founders offers an opportunity: copy their basic idea, for
which they have no protection, and structure your new venture as a real
business with full-time efforts devoted to growing sales. You could even one-
up them by dropping the non-commercial clause in the Creative Commons license,
allowing potential partners to profit and thereby grow your brand further.

The Cards Against Humanity guys are leaving money on the table. Who's going to
pick it up?

~~~
mikecane
I wonder, would this get rejected at the iOS App Store on grounds of taste or
something? (That's aside from the fact it'd probably be DMCAed away if someone
did it.)

~~~
UnoriginalGuy
I would imagine Apple would take it down quite quickly given how they shy away
from even the most subtle of controversies.

Not to mention it is illegal or near illegal in a lot of locations (e.g. UK).

~~~
dataxpress
There are some pretty raunchy apps on the app store - did you see I'd Cap That
last summer? The whole app just takes your image and adds some heavily-
innuendo-laden text on top. Lots of apps have similar or worse content.

~~~
UnoriginalGuy
This isn't in the same universe as that.

Unless it is an app making light of the holocaust then you aren't really
comparing like with like.

------
mikeurbanski
We're doing the same thing. Our team is located in NYC, London, and Aurora,
IL.

We launched our little meta-board gaming company at <http://susd.pretend-
money.com> a little over 1.5 months ago. And we're already profitable!

We made a conscious decision to forego taking money from
advertisers/investors, and even dodged a pre-launch acquihire offer, in an
attempt to create something that's 100% our vision (unless YC wanted to fund
us.) Our plan is to grow slowly, keep up the quality, and use the money that
we're making from the show/blog/podcast to fund even more ambitious
community/tech projects.

AND!

Board Games are Big Business!

Board/card/traditional gaming (whatever you want to call it) has been
exploding in America over the last 10 years or so. It taps into that primal
need for people to sit around together and ACTUALLY interact with each other.

We're in a bit of a "Golden Age of Board Gaming". Quinns gave a hilarious talk
on the subject: [http://susd.pretend-money.com/videos/v/board-game-golden-
age...](http://susd.pretend-money.com/videos/v/board-game-golden-age-talk/)

~~~
JonLim
A bit confused, but curious: you guys are essentially curating board games to
promote and sell, am I right?

I'm just trying to figure out if you guys make them or just talk about them.
:) Either way, a lot of great content on there.

~~~
mikeurbanski
We don't make board games, we're just wildly passionate about them. Paul &
Quinns started Shut Up & Sit Down so they could have fun reviewing and writing
about board games. They just had a hard time figuring out how to make it
sustainable.

I've been playing with technology surrounding gaming for the last three years
or so(and gaming since I was little) so it was natural for us all to team up
and build something together.

------
obviouslygreen
This is awesome, but not creating a corporate structure at all and just
letting who does and gets what go organically is a really bad idea. It's nice
that it's worked for them so far, but if they continue to succeed -- and I
hope they do, I love what they've done -- they're very likely to find out that
money _does_ matter and _does_ change things.

~~~
wittyphrasehere
Maybe they'll turn it into a worker-owned coop and all participate equally in
the governing, and ownership, of the company.
<http://electricembers.coop/pubs/TechCoopHOWTO.pdf>

------
evan_
Is this just Apples to Apples except all the cards are Family Guy jokes?

~~~
king_jester
Essentially yes. The game is massively unplayable for a lot of different kinds
of people due to the really triggering nature of the card content (rape jokes,
pedophilia, racism, sexism, etc.). A lot of people find that content to be one
of its virtues, but I've generally found that only certain kinds of people
really enjoy CAH (read: white men).

~~~
endtime
I've played with white women (and one Hispanic woman) who also enjoyed it.
I've never seen anyone _not_ enjoy the game.

Most of the people I've played with are Jews, and the presence of cards like
"Auschwitz" and "Nazis" isn't a problem. The game is only really unplayable
for people who take themselves too seriously.

~~~
oblique63
Ditto. Even if it was just mostly a jab at the stereotypical 'American white
male' stereotype, I'm really not fond of people depicting 'minorities' like me
(and women) like poor overly sensitive PC types. If anything, it's probably
less likely to offend minorities, cause a lot of other countries really aren't
so paranoid about being PC like the US is. I mean, there is a fine line
between dark humor and offensiveness, but we'll let you know when you cross
it; please don't speak for everyone.

~~~
cllns
I don't think the original commenter did anything to depict you as over
sensitive, nor were they attempting to speak for anyone else.

~~~
oblique63
It implied people that don't fall under the white male demographic _can't_
laugh at things like this, which is still not true. I mean yeah, people have
different senses of humor and all that, but it came out in a way that made it
sound like it would be interpreted as offensive instead of just "meh".

Though I admit, I don't actually think the OP's comment was even that bad
(like I said, it sounded more like just a jab at the 'white male' creators);
but I do see this general trend that I'm talking about a lot, so I figured it
might be helpful to bring it up.

------
gsibble
I love CaH but I do have to say that the founders are full of themselves. I
and several other friends/entrepreneurs have reached out to them regarding
ideas to build associated products that would help build their brand. Even
companion apps and such since their content is under Creative Commons. Every
single one of us was sent back extremely rude and vile replies. This article
just reeks of more narcissism.

It's a real shame too. It will go out of style in a year or two and, gasp,
maybe these people will have to get real jobs or start a real company!
Assholes.

~~~
guelo
Come up with your own idea instead of trying to ride the coattails of
something that is already a huge hit. I'm sure they have plenty of ideas and
projects to work on without having to give you a cut of it.

~~~
avalaunch
Fair comment except that cards against humanity is pretty much just riding the
coattails of an already huge hit itself.

~~~
skaevola
Yeah, that comment was unintentionally hilarious...

------
not_that_noob
The less travelled path - figuring out how to do it with fewer people so you
can stay in control. Kudos to them for thinking for themselves.

Quote: 'And it’s dawning on them that they’re doing something impressive.
“We’re doing a lot of stuff that no one has done before,” Hantoot reflects. “I
do think we’re sort of proof that if you streamlined your business enough, you
could do a big thing with a few people.”'

------
jamieb
Says wikipedia: The Onion AV Club interview calls the game "a sort of Apples
To Apples for the crass and jaded."

i.e. perfect for parents =)

------
ghempton
Perhaps this is the perfect time to shamelessly self-promote a side project:
<https://deckepic.com> is a Facebook-driven dynamic CAH card generator.

------
michaelhoffman
It's interesting that they blank out the MICR routing number at the bottom or
the check but leave enough information elsewhere in the check to trivially
figure it out.

------
smmnyc
The $12 million figure isn't confirmed. Just the author speculating based on
reported sales figures and "made" doesn't account for the cost of producing
the game.

------
Kiro
I don't understand what's so good about this game. What am I missing? I don't
find the example cards funny at all.

------
mrbill
I've given away 10-12 complete CAH sets to friends. Not a single person has
said "oh that game is boring", and more than one of them has come back later
and told me it was their favorite birthday/Christmas present, etc.

It's also a great way to judge if you'll get along with someone.

------
mnicole
This is super janky (sorry if anyone here made it), but there's an online
version here -- <http://pyz.socialgamer.net/game.jsp>

------
goloxc
ever talked with open-mic stand-ups about why some jokes are funny?

love it when a business professor analyzes why something like this game is so
successful

------
tedchs
Online Cards Against Humanity quote generator:
<http://scriptagainsthumanity.appspot.com/>

~~~
Chico75
Why do it needs to be logged in with Google to try it?

------
michaelochurch
Whatever replaces VC-istan and generates the next wave of great businesses is
going to be built by guys like this.

Also, it'll probably happen in the Midwest. Chicago, Austin, Madison, and
Minneapolis are among the cities to watch.

~~~
ImprovedSilence
Ya know, I can't explain it, but I've been getting some good vibes from the
Midwest lately. (me being a North easterner) Plus the people are pretty
awesome. I'd keep Minneapolis on that list too.

~~~
dos1
+1 for Minneapolis. I pay pretty close attention to the start up scene here
and things are starting to move. The Minne* Organization
(<http://minnestar.org/>) does some nice events.

~~~
egads
Thanks for this link. I've been looking for groups in the TC area to get
involved with.

------
benatkin
How does that compare to the amount of money Minecraft has made?

~~~
adamnemecek
How does the amount of money Minecraft has made compare with the amount of
money Google has made?

