The best moment in any game of Cards Against Humanity —the vulgar version of Apples to Apples — is when someone throws down a card that relates to an inside joke. With the new CAH spin-off, College Cards, each answer and prompt is based completely off of experiences University of Wisconsin students share, making every round feel even more relatable.
University of Wisconsin alum and creator of the game David Kemmerer said it’s essentially Cards Against Humanity tailored specifically to colleges.
For example, you might find a question card that says, “What is the College of Engineering using to inspire its students to study so much?” Answers to this might include things like, “Chinese food from QQ’s,” adderall,” or “a party with wop and lots of grinding.”
Here’s how the game is played: All of the players are dealt a hand of random answer cards. Each round one person is designated to be the judge. The judge will draw a question card, read it aloud and the rest of the players pick the best response from their deck.
Then, the judge picks the best answer and whoever put down the selected card wins the round. The players won’t reveal which cards they used until the winning card is announced. The winner of each round then becomes the judge of the next round.
“What we’ve realized is that the game becomes more fun the more hyper-local it is,” Kemmerer said.
There’s essentially something for everyone who has attended UW. Let’s be real, it’s way more fun to talk about blacking out at Monday’s or the Kollege Klub when you and your friends are on the way there than just a general bar. Also, who doesn’t love to joke about how hard it is to book an appointment at University Health Services? Sadly, that isn’t even a joke.
Kemmerer decided to create the game around campus-centric theory after discovering a similar formatted deck called Cards Against Muggles, a Harry Potter adaptation. Cards Against Humanity allows others to build off their idea as long as it is marketed as a seperate game.
“After I heard this, I realized the ultimate market for this is within college campuses,” Kemmerer said.
Kemmerer thinks this is because it’s a perfect outlet for alumni to relive their college days and play with old friends or for current students, it’s the ultimate pre-game activity.
Going forward, Kemmerer and his team are working on creating packs for all of the Big Ten and beyond.
In March, they’ll be rolling out adaptations for University of Michigan and Ohio State University. Their goal is to carry the top 100 schools within the next five years.
You can buy your own pack of Wisconsin College Cards on Amazon, but they’re selling fast due to internet attention from famous Badgers like NBA player Bronson Koenig, which can be found on Badger Barstool’s instagram account (@badgerbarstool).
If you feel like buying your own pack just isn’t enough, College Cards is always looking to hire brand ambassadors and marketing interns.
“It’s a super fun job and a great experience because we are a startup company that is growing fast,” Kemmerer said.
For more information on the game and potential job opportunities, you can visit their website or check out their social media (@college_cards).