Million Dollars, But... at Random

I think most people have played some variation of this game. It’s been around since 1958, so it just seems likely. While Apples to Apples brought the Prompt/Answer format to card games, Mad Libs made it popular in general. There are so many books in the series at this point, a lot of them themed around popular media and characters through the years. The creators of CAH point to Mad Libs as “the most direct influence” on their game. Mad Libs introduced the collection of responses by prompting the player(s) with a type of word, as well as the aloud reading of the final product. It brought about the community aspect of the later games, but also includes the possibility of playing alone. The ability to play alone has always been a way that people have enjoyed the game, either by simply not paying attention to the text around the prompts, or (with the newer versions) having another page that blocks out any text other than the prompt. This game is still largely associated with children’s media, but the freedom to actually write in one’s own responses also gives the player(s) the ability to add their own profanity if they wish.

Now, I’ve never played this game myself, but it’s the comparison that everyone uses when trying to explain Cards Against Humanity to new players. I figured it fit in pretty well with the whole timeline that led up to MDB. From my understanding, based on friends’ explanations and my own research, this game is one of the first in the prewritten Prompt/Answer format amongst card games. This game influenced much of the way that CAH is played now, but the prompts and answers were a lot shorter, with usually just a single adjective on the prompt card and a single noun on each player’s answer card. This was definitely the most popular game of its kind when it first came out, and it made a lot of people familiar with the format and the community side, as well as introducing the idea of a single player judging the responses for each round. This game is definitely more family friendly than the previous games I’ve mentioned. It also probably has an easier time reaching a wider audience because of the simpler set up based more on funny sounding word combos rather than player constructed scenarios.

I’m honestly not sure how I first learned about this game. I was probably at a party, but it could’ve just as likely been that I saw a let’s play of a digital version. For me, this game really opened up the community aspect of card games. So much of the humor comes from how well you know the player that is judging, what cards would be the funniest to them. Once I first got this game and started bringing it with me whenever I was going to be hanging out with friends, I was fully hooked. Everyone I knew loved to play it, but most people didn’t own it themselves. I went all in after a while, getting all six standard Expansion packs that existed at the time, plus the original Bigger, Blacker Box to keep everything together. This game has given me and my friends hours of laughter and weird inside jokes. It was the first card game I had ever played that had the whole Prompt Card/Answer Card format, and it’s one of the only ones I know of with longer form cards at all (besides MDB). It helped me connected with friends and strangers alike, bonding us over shitty jokes and random profanity. For a while, I started watching people play it online, which was a whole other experience. One of my favorites that I just found, even though it’s a few years old, is this video from Ellen.

I remember watching this show when it first premiered. Back when I was trying my damnedest to watch almost every show that Rooster Teeth made as it came out, this was one of the ones that was easy to stay up-to-date with because of the short-n-sweet episodes. This show has only been on for a little over three years, but it’s come a long way. It’s so weird to go back and watch the first season because of all the little changes. The didn’t have a logo at all, so the title cards and scenarios were just typed in simple white text on a plain black background. However, the fully acted out dramatizations of the scenarios were already pretty wild. The different personalities that collided within each episode made it entertaining, along with the little justifications and reasons for accepting/rejecting the cash. This show took all the silly questions that had been asked during podcasts and let’s plays, and actually put them to the test. Every time I play the card game version, I can getting a better sense of just how the scenario would play out in day-to-day life. I really feel the opportunity to elaborate and embellish scenarios to make them funnier or all the more disgusting.

I’ll be honest with you here. I like this game. Really like it. I became a backer for it after seeing the weird product video with some of my favorite cast members at Rooster Teeth. I already loved the show version and watched every new episode as it came out. With this announcement, I had memories of when I was first introduced to Cards Against Humanity and all the times I’ve enjoyed playing it with friends. It was really feeding into the whole image of this game that I already knew that I liked, but it was also adding what I loved about the show and all the weird hypothetical questions. Once I looked into it, I also learned that backers had the chance to contribute to a Community Pack that would be released a little after the core game was funded. Of course, I had to try for that (although none of my cards made the cut and I’m pretty sure they weren’t funny anyways). This game carries the brand of humor that first got me interested in Rooster Teeth shows in the first place. The rules are easy to understand and, while a lot of people have been kinda hesitant when I’ve suggested playing it because they aren’t familiar with it, it really connects with anyone who enjoys playing CAH or that style of absurd and explicit comedy. For anyone who is a die hard fan of Rooster Teeth, there are, of course, cards that cater to you. Some are from episodes of the show, others are long running jokes from the company. For anyone looking for an obscene card game to bring to parties, or anyone willing to take a break from CAH, I totally recommend Million Dollars, But... The Game.