Comparison

Exploding Kittens® 2 vs Gazooks!

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Exploding Kittens® 2

Experience the chaotic fun of a popular card game with friends. This digital version features customizable avatars, animated cards, and new ways to play, including the highly requested "Nope" card. Engage in quick rounds of strategy and luck to be the last player standing.

Highlights
  • Customizable avatars
  • Emoji reactions
  • Multiple game modes
  • Animated cards
  • Online multiplayer
  • AI opponent
Features
Read full description

The ultimate card game with friends is back with a bang, people! EXPLODING KITTENS® 2 has it all – customisable avatars, emojis, oodles of game modes and cards full of quirky humour and animations sleeker than an oiled kitty with catnip-fuelled zoomies! Plus, the official EXPLODING KITTENS® 2 game brings the most-requested mechanic of all…the Nope card! Stuff a glorious Nope Sandwich right into the horrified faces of your friends – with extra Nopesauce, of course. HOW TO PLAY EXPLODING KITTENS® 2 1. Download the EXPLODING KITTENS® 2 online game. 2. Optional: Get your friends to download it too. 3. Each player plays as many cards as they like on their turn OR passes! 4. The player then draws a card to end their turn. If it’s an EXPLODING KITTEN, they’re out (unless they have a handy Defuse card). 5. Keep going until only one player is left standing! FEATURES - CUSTOMISE YOUR AVATARS – Dress your avatar up in the season’s hottest outfits (cat hair not included) - REACT TO GAMEPLAY – Personalise your emoji sets to ensure your trash talk has a razor-sharp edge. - MULTIPLE GAME MODES – Play alone against our expert AI or impress your mum with your sparkling social life by playing with friends online! - ANIMATED CARDS – The mayhem comes to life with awesome animations! Those Nope cards just hit different now… Steady yourself, think of calming waves and draw a card!

About

Gazooks!

Engage in a fast-paced word-dueling party game with friends. Players draw cards with symbols and categories, then race to shout out words from their opponent's category when symbols match. It's a test of wit, reaction speed, and pattern matching for any gathering.

Highlights
  • Cross-platform play
  • Digital card drawing
  • Real-time word duels
  • Lightning-fast setup
  • Diverse card decks
  • Point-based competition
Features
Read full description

Shout, think fast, and battle wits in this cross-platform, IRL mobile party game that turns any gathering into word-slinging pandemonium! How to Play: - Set up: Gather 3-8 friends IRL, launch Gazooks, and arrange phones in a circle. Create a game and let others join instantly by scanning the QR code. - Draw cards: Take turns tapping your screen to draw digital cards, each has a symbol and a category. - Duel: When symbols match, it's a duel! Race to shout a word from your opponent's category before they shout one from yours. - Compete: Win in duels to rack up points. The player with the most points at the end wins! Will you blurt out "Pickle" for “Green Food”? Or maybe "Tornado" for “Things that Spin”? Think quick, because in Gazooks, hesitation means devastation! Features: - Cross-platform play on iPhone and iPad - Diverse decks from General Trivia to Computer Science. - Lightning-fast setup: QR code gets you playing in seconds. Gazooks is perfect for game nights, parties, spicing up family gatherings, or anywhere you can gather your crew and pull out your phones. Ready to put your knowledge, reaction speed, and pattern matching to the test? Create a game, pick a deck, and invite your friends in less than a minute. Get Gazooking!

Screenshots

Exploding Kittens® 24 screens
Gazooks!4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Gazooks! at Free against Exploding Kittens® 2's $4.99. Gazooks! also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 10) and review sentiment (91% vs 59%). Exploding Kittens® 2's advantage is ratings volume (4K vs 115) and rating (4.8 vs 4.5). On ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Gazooks! is free to download; Exploding Kittens® 2 costs $4.99 up front. Exploding Kittens® 2 sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Gazooks! asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Exploding Kittens® 2 holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Exploding Kittens® 2 has 4K ratings behind it against 115, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 59% of Exploding Kittens® 2's written reviews are positive against 91% of Gazooks!'s, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Exploding Kittens® 2 ships an update every 3 weeks, Gazooks! every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
Exploding Kittens® 2 versus Gazooks!: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterExploding Kittens® 2Gazooks!
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (4K ratings) — better4.5 (115 ratings)
Positive reviews59.4% of reviews91.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings4K — better115
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#10 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size446 MB41 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperMarmalade Game Studio LimitedFreeman Jiang

Customer experience

Exploding Kittens® 2

All ratings3,928 ratings
Positive94.3%
Neutral2.1%
Negative3.6%
Written reviews404 reviews
Positive59.4%
Neutral11.4%
Negative29.2%

Gazooks!

All ratings113 ratings
Positive86.7%
Neutral1.8%
Negative11.5%
Written reviews34 reviews
Positive91.2%
Neutral0.0%
Negative8.8%

User reviews

Exploding Kittens® 2

From 4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast-paced gameplay
  • 👍 Charming animations and visuals
  • 🤩 Engaging and fun experience
  • 🎨 Customizable skins and backgrounds

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • ⏱️ Slow animations and gameplay
  • 💰 Expensive in-app purchases
  • 🤖 Unresponsive AI opponents

Gazooks!

From 115 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🤩 Extremely fun and enjoyable
  • 👍 Easy to learn and play
  • 🥳 Great for parties and groups
  • 💡 Fast-paced and quick thinking
  • 🤣 Hilarious and creates funny moments

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App doesn't notify matches
  • 🐛 Incorrect word calls
  • 🐌 Game can be slow at times

Bugs and requests

Exploding Kittens® 2

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Nope card not functioning properly
  • Leaderboard not updating correctly
  • Inability to leave a game after losing
  • Forced account creation for online play

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add a turn timer to prevent stalling
  • Allow custom deck creation and configuration
  • Improve online multiplayer stability and matchmaking
  • Bring back the original game's sound effects and personality

Gazooks!

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • App doesn't notify matches
  • Incorrect word calls leading to point theft

Requested features

2 requests
  • Add more cards
  • Loud notifications and strong vibrations

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Exploding Kittens® 2

One-time10
  • Mystic Mayhem Card Back$0.99
  • MysticMayhem Cauldron Creature$1.99
  • Sea Rat Outfit$1.99
Show 7 more
  • Slice of Heaven Outfit$1.99
  • Santa Claws Pack$4.99
  • Mystic Mayhem Pack$5.99
  • Beach Day Pack$5.99
  • Kitchen Chaos Pack$5.99
  • Sun and Spice Bundle$7.99
  • Explosive Expansions Pass$9.99
None

Gazooks!

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Exploding Kittens® 2 free?
Exploding Kittens® 2 costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Gazooks! free?
Gazooks! is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Exploding Kittens® 2 or Gazooks!?
Exploding Kittens® 2 is rated higher. Exploding Kittens® 2 averages 4.8 out of 5 from 4K ratings, while Gazooks! averages 4.5 from 115 ratings.
Do Exploding Kittens® 2 or Gazooks! have ads?
Neither Exploding Kittens® 2 nor Gazooks! shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Exploding Kittens® 2 or Gazooks!?
Exploding Kittens® 2 ships an update every 3 weeks, and Gazooks! every 6 days. Most recently, Exploding Kittens® 2 was updated on November 8, 2026 and Gazooks! on November 4, 2026.

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