When Matthew Inman, best known as the creator of online comic The Oatmeal, launched a Kickstarter campaign for a card game called Exploding Kittens, he asked for a modest $10,000. The internet, however, would have none of that nonsense.
The original goal soon turned out to be pocket change as the project reached its goal in mere minutes; within 24 hours, the funding had reached $1 million. On Tuesday, with 22 days to go and more than 107,000 backers pledging $4.2 million, it became the most-backed Kickstarter project of all time.
Other projects have raised more money, but Exploding Kittens has the most backers.
What Kickstarter project has the most backers? http://t.co/rAATB976SA— Kickstarter (@kickstarter) January 28, 2015
In a tweet, Inman congratulated his team for this incredibly successful first week on Kickstarter.
Happy first week on Kickstarter, @gameofkittens. THAT'LL DO, KITTEN. THAT'LL DO. pic.twitter.com/RYsZ6Y0KCL— Matthew Inman (@Oatmeal) January 28, 2015
And on the project's official page, founders -- who besides Inman include Elan Lee and Shane Small -- thanked backers for their support, and announced some upcoming updates.
"You wonderful people have come together to form the largest community in Kickstarter history, and the numbers keep rising. Tomorrow we'll talk about some important updates, but today is just about you," says the post.
Go ahead. Treat yourself. You all deserve it. https://t.co/b3IHW4kq0G pic.twitter.com/Bcy9DBA9sN— Exploding Kittens (@gameofkittens) January 28, 2015
Described as a card game "for people who are into kittens and explosions and laser beams and sometimes goats," Exploding Kittens is a take on Russian roulette, with players drawing cards until someone draws an exploding kitten card, losing the game.
The basic version of the game, containing 56 cards, can be obtained by pledging $20 on Kickstarter; for $35, backers also get a NSFW copy of the deck.