By: Unstable Games Players: 2-8 Ages: 8+ Time: 30-60 mins
Build a Unicorn army. Betray your friends. Unicorns are your friends now!
Unstable Unicorns has sold over a million copies worldwide, highlighting its popularity.
Round up a herd of seven Unicorns and lead them to your stable first to be declared the winner. Use upgrades, downgrades, and lots of magic to be successful in this fast-paced dedicated deck card game where Unicorns come in every shape and size imaginable!
Unstable Unicorns is a highly giftable game due to its popularity and appeal to a wide range of players.
Unstable Unicorns is perfect for game nights with friends and family.
What Is Unstable Unicorns: A Strategic Card Game?
Unstable Unicorns was initially designed and illustrated by Ramy Badie and was funded through Kickstarter. Unstable Unicorns was officially released in 2017 through Unstable Games and has since gone on to see plenty of expansions or add-ons released to add to the gameplay experience.
Unstable Unicorns is a strategic card game where players build a Unicorn Army and engage in gameplay that involves strategy and adaptability. Players compete against each other to be the first to have seven Unicorns in their stable. It’s a simple-to-learn game where players take a few actions each turn and can use several different types of cards to help them or hinder their opponents. Each game is fast and frantic, with everyone needing to stay adaptable with their approach and strategies in order to be victorious. Packed with so many crazy cards, anything could come along to spoil a player’s plans…Including the dreaded “neigh” card.
The game features cute artwork that adds to its overall appeal, especially for younger players.
How to Play Unstable Unicorns Board Game
The main objective of Unstable Unicorns is to be the first player to have seven Unicorns in their Stable. Once someone does this the game ends and that player is declared the winner. The winner is crowned the Righteous Ruler of All Things Magical.
Setting up the game is very simple. Everyone starts the game by choosing their favorite Baby Unicorn and placing it in their ‘Stable’. This is an area in front of each player where they’ll place Unicorns and other types of cards throughout the game. The remaining Baby Unicorns are placed in the ‘Nursery’ in the middle of the play area. Each player is then given five cards to make up their starting hand, with the rest of the cards being placed face down near the Nursery to make up the deck. The player wearing the most colours is deemed the “Unicorniest” and starts the game.
Each turn is made up of four different actions: the beginning of the turn, draw a card, play a card, and the end of the turn. Certain cards that have been played previously may have an effect that takes place at the start of a player’s turn. It’s at this point that, that card’s effect triggers. However, certain cards give players the option to have this effect take place and if the player forgoes it they cannot trigger it again until the start of their next turn.
After drawing a card, the active player may play a card from their hand, or draw a second card from the deck if they don’t see any viable options with the cards they have. Players can only play one card each turn (more on those in a moment) unless they have a card in their stable that stipulates otherwise. This can be an upgrade, downgrade, magic, or Unicorn card.
After the action phase, if the player has more than seven cards in their hand they must discard down until they seven at the most.
That’s essentially how you play Unstable Unicorns. Each turn in essence is quite simple and players will take their turns in the above fashion until someone is the lucky owner of seven Unicorns. Although the game is quite simple on the surface there is both a degree of luck with the drawing of cards from a communal deck, and the strategy implemented with the different types of cards you come across. To understand this a bit better, below are the different kinds of cards in the game and what they do:
Unicorn cards: Of course! But there are three different kinds of Unicorn cards…
Baby Unicorns: After choosing one at the start of the game the rest stay in the Nursery and move to the Stable from there. They never enter the deck, the player’s hand, or the discard pile.
Basic Unicorns: Unicorn cards that live in the deck. They tend to look nice but do not have any additional benefits other than taking up space in a player’s stable.
Magical Unicorns: Drawing these from the deck is great as they all have a special effect that is either continuous or can be triggered periodically.
Magic cards: Have one-time effects that occur when played and are discarded afterwards.
Upgrade cards: grant positive effects and can be played in any player’s stable.
Downgrade cards: impose negative effects and can be played in any player’s stable.
Instant cards: can be played any time another player plays a card.
Some types of cards are very powerful and when played at the right time can make all the difference between winning and losing. Some magical Unicorns for example, will allow you to play a basic Unicorn from your hand or resurrect a Unicorn from the discard pile. Having the opportunity to play more than one Unicorn in a turn is a big game-changer and can take you from last to first place very quickly. Likewise, magic and upgrade cards may let you draw more than one card each turn, whilst downgrade cards can prevent other players from taking certain actions, like playing their own upgrade cards or blocking them from having more than five Unicorns in their stable.
The instant cards are “Neigh” cards, which negate the effects of a card another player has just played. These cards can be terribly frustrating as they can be played at any time. Not only that, but you can Neigh a Neigh card and counteract the cancellation of a card, or play the “Super Neigh” card, which stops cards from being Neighed. I think that’s the most anyone has used the word Neigh in one paragraph!
So even though Unstable Unicorns is supposed to be more light-hearted, fun, and party game-esque, there is still a degree of strategy involved and understanding when to play and hold off from playing certain cards can make all the difference.
Expansions: Rainbow Apocalypse Expansion Pack
Although the base game comes with over 130 entertaining and well-illustrated cards, there are plenty of expansions that can be purchased to bolster your collection. Some of these are thematic, others contain an assortment of random cards, but all are just as funny as each other. There is also a kids version of the game for younger players with simpler rules, and a couple of NSFW editions which contain many cards with questionable names!
Summary
Fun to play
Simple to learn
Hilarious cards
Great artwork
Expansions for replayability
Final Verdict
Unstable Unicorns is a fast-paced and fun card game with simple-to-grasp rules and a small learning curve. The game will only take about half an hour to play through but contains so many humorous cards, you’ll want to play several times over so you can find them all. A great party game with plenty of extra purchasable cards to add to your collection, it definitely gets our stamp of approval. Unstable Unicorns is a must-have game for any collection due to its endless entertainment and enchanting gameplay.
Unstable Unicorns won the 2019 People’s Choice Award for Toy of the Year, highlighting its achievement and popularity.
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We recommend this game in our best games for 8 year olds, which you can check for more age appropriate recommendations,
If you’re looking to try out some similarly funny or bizarre games to Unstable Unicorns, we’ve included a few below that we’re sure you’ll enjoy:
Exploding Kittens: a hot potato-like card game. Full of crazy card designs, if players draw an exploding kitten they must diffuse the bo…cat before it explodes and they’re eliminated!
Taco Vs Burrito: The game that answers the age-old question of Taco or Burrito? Players choose one or the other and fill it with all kinds of ingredients. The weirder the better.
Happy Little Dinosaurs: Players do their best to shield their dino buddy from natural, predatory, and emotional disasters! Keep the dinos happy by using everything from sticks to flaming chainsaws to fend off danger.
Sushi Go: A fast and frantic pass and play game where players try to create the best dish possible from the ingredients that come whizzing by. Easier said than done when you’re relying on what your opponents are leaving for you!
Dumb Ways To Die Card Game: Save the beans! Easier said than done! Their survival depends on the cards players draw from the deck, but they can’t be trusted and will always find some way to die.
FAQ
Q: How many players can play Unstable Unicorns?
A: Unstable Unicorns can be played by 2 to 8 players. It’s a versatile game that works well for small groups as well as larger gatherings.
Q: How long does a game of Unstable Unicorns take to play?
A: A typical game of Unstable Unicorns lasts around 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the number of players and their familiarity with the game.
Q: Is Unstable Unicorns suitable for children?
A: Yes, there is a kids version of Unstable Unicorns with simpler rules that make it suitable for younger players. Additionally, the original game is rated for ages 14 and up due to some complexities and strategic elements.
Q: Are there expansions available for Unstable Unicorns?
A: Yes, there are several expansions available that add new cards and themes to the game, enhancing replayability and adding more variety to your gameplay experience.
Q: Do expansions require the base game to play?
A: Yes, most expansions for Unstable Unicorns require the base game to play as they rely on the core mechanics and card interactions from the original set.
Q: What is a “Neigh” card?
A: A “Neigh” card is an instant card in Unstable Unicorns that negates the effect of another player’s card play. It can be played at any time, even during another player’s turn.
Q: Can I play Unstable Unicorns online?
A: While there is no official online version of Unstable Unicorns, some fans have created digital adaptations and ways to play the game online with friends using tools like Tabletop Simulator.
Q: Are there any special editions of Unstable Unicorns?
A: Yes, beyond the kids version and various expansions, there are NSFW editions of Unstable Unicorns that contain adult-themed content and humor designed for a more mature audience.