I've had exploding kittens for a while but haven't really played it because every time I try to play, nobody really knows whether they are supposed to keep what they draw secret or show it to everybody to prove it isn't an exploding kitten.
Are you supposed to show everybody what you draw when you draw it (allowing more complicated strategies based on remembering what cards people have) or do you just trust that nobody hides an exploding kitten?
The instructions make no mention of this.
The rules (which are available online) do specify that hands are secret. This is within the setup section:
Shuffle the remaining deck and deal 4 cards face down to each player.
Deal 1 Defuse card to each player so that everyone has a hand of 5 cards total. Keep your hand secret
The draw step is part of the normal turn order:
- Finally, end your turn by drawing a card from the Draw Pile into your hand and hoping it’s not an Exploding Kitten.
So the game tells us that hands are secret and cards drawn are added to our hand - at no point does it tell us to reveal the drawn card.
The exception for an exploding kitten being revealed immediately is covered under the specific rules for exploding kittens:
EXPLODING KITTENS
You must show this card immediately. Unless you have a DEFUSE CARD, you’re dead. Discard all of your cards, including the EXPLODING KITTEN.
So yes, you trust people to admit when they have a kitten. Cheating is possible (i.e. hold a kitten, then steal a defuse and pretend the next card was a kitten), but apart from that specific case it won't stop them being found out by the end of the game.
You know exactly how many exploding kittens are in the deck and there are no cards that allow you to put cards from your hand back in the deck, so it would become obvious at some point if someone cheated (either someone else drew an exploding kitten from their hand or the end of the deck was hit and there was more than one player left). Thus, I believe keeping cards secret is the way to go.
It is not defined in the rules.
You get the most interesting game by drawing blind and revealing only the exploding kitten.
Edit I just found a section in the rules that implies very clearly that you don't show the card unless it is an exploding kitten:
EXPLODING KITTENS: You must show this card immediately. Unless you have a DEFUSE CARD, you’re dead. Discard all of your cards, including the EXPLODING KITTEN.
Adding to other comments regarding cheating, I think it would be practical to draw, look at the card, and then if it isn't a kitten, add it to your hand. That way, no one can sneak kittens out of their hand and into the game to defuse it, since the drawn card is clearly separate from your hand.
