The Best Worst Ice Cream

Stack delightfully gross scoops, deploy x-ray card deduction, and race to build the ultimate wacky ice cream cone in a fast-paced, kid-friendly reimagining of Mantis.

The Best Worst Ice Cream (published by Exploding Kittens as part of their Kitten Games line for early learners) blends colorful set collection, light tactical decision-making, and gross-out humor into an approachable family card game. Moving away from complex text cards or cutthroat adult themes, this title simplifies the addictive "Score vs. Steal" mechanics of Mantis into an intuitive visual matching game. The primary gameplay objective centers on flavor matching and cone building: players use probability clues to guess incoming flavors, snatching and stacking delightfully disgusting scoops—like eyeball swirl, earthworm crunch, pizza, and slug ripple—to be the first to fill their Ice Cream Cone with 9 scoops.

The primary mechanical hurdle stems from the clever "pseudo x-ray vision" card-back system. The back of every scoop card displays three possible flavor colors, one of which is guaranteed to be the true flavor face-up on the other side. On your turn, you assess the odds and decide whether to play the top card to your own tank to build up matching flavor piles or attempt a steal from an opponent's stash by matching their displayed scoops. When a matching flavor hits a pile, all matching scoops are scored directly onto your cone board. Designed for 2 to 5 players aged 4 and up, rounds move at a snappy tempo across roughly 10 minutes. To win, you must calculate your best odds, capitalize on rival scoop piles, and complete your tower of bizarre flavors.

Game Specs at a Glance:
Age Range: 4+ Years
Publisher: Exploding Kittens
Play Time: 10 Minutes
Player Count: 2-5 Players
Complexity: Light (Pattern Recognition, Probability, Deduction, Set Collection, Stealing)

What's in the Box?

• 60 Flavor Scoop Cards
• 5 Ice Cream Cone Score Boards
• 5 3D Ice Cream Character Figurines
• Dual Rule Sheets