Comparison

Exploding Kittens® 2 vs Combo Master Arena

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

Combo Master Arena

Engage in fast-paced, tactical martial-arts card battles. Build your hand, anticipate opponents, and execute combos to win. Play solo, challenge friends, or compete in real-time multiplayer matches.

Highlights
  • Tactical card battles
  • Solo AI challenges
  • Turn-by-turn friend duels
  • Real-time multiplayer matches
  • Card collection and deck building
  • Combo chaining mechanics
Features
Read full description

Combo Master Arena is a fast, tactical martial-arts card battle. Build your hand, read your opponent, and land the perfect strike — block, counter, and chain combos to empty your hand before they empty theirs. PLAY YOUR WAY • Solo — climb the ladder against AI senseis, each tougher than the last • Challenge — duel a friend turn-by-turn, anytime; we'll ping you when it's your move • Live Match — real-time showdowns for 2–6 players MASTER THE CARDS • Strikes, blocks, counters, and game-changing Wild cards • Collect Rare and Super-Rare cards to sharpen your deck • Pull off multi-hit combos and turn the tables in a single turn BUILT FOR REAL PLAY • No account or login required — jump straight in • Invite anyone with a tap, a code, or a QR scan • Rematch instantly and keep the rivalry going One purchase, no ads, no subscriptions — just the game. Expand your deck anytime with optional premium cards. Step into the arena. Tournaments (new in 1.2.0, under Play Online) are optional online multiplayer - like Challenge and Live Match, they need a second device to fully test. Play Solo covers all gameplay for single-device review.

Screenshots

Exploding Kittens® 24 screens
Combo Master Arena4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Combo Master Arena at 100% against Exploding Kittens® 2's 60%. Combo Master Arena also leads on update cadence (daily vs every 2 weeks) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). Exploding Kittens® 2's advantage is ratings volume (3.7K vs 4) and monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs paid). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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

Exploding Kittens® 2 costs $4.99 and Combo Master Arena $4.99 up front. Exploding Kittens® 2 sells 20 one-off in-app purchases and Combo Master Arena sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Combo Master Arena holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Exploding Kittens® 2 has 3.7K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 60% of Exploding Kittens® 2's written reviews are positive against 100% of Combo Master Arena's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Exploding Kittens® 2 ships an update every 2 weeks, Combo Master Arena daily. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Exploding Kittens® 2 versus Combo Master Arena: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterExploding Kittens® 2Combo Master Arena
Price$4.99$4.99
Rating4.8 (3.7K ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews59.6% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3.7K — better4
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank#11 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size443 MB88 MB
Age rating9+9+
DeveloperMarmalade Game Studio LimitedPhilip Hayes

Customer experience

Exploding Kittens® 2

All ratings3,725 ratings
Positive94.1%
Neutral2.2%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews399 reviews
Positive59.6%
Neutral11.5%
Negative28.8%

Combo Master Arena

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

Combo Master Arena

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

20 purchases

Exploding Kittens® 2

One-time20
  • Santa Claws Card Back$0.99
  • Mystic Mayhem Card Back$0.99
  • Beach Day Emoji Pack$0.99
Show 17 more
  • Beach Day Card back$0.99
  • Kitchen Chaos Emoji Pack$0.99
  • Kitchen Chaos Card Back$0.99
  • Mystic Mayhem Emoji Pack$1.99
  • MysticMayhem Cauldron Creature$1.99
  • Glenn Coco$1.99
  • Sea Rat Outfit$1.99
  • Beach Day Location$1.99
  • Slice of Heaven Outfit$1.99
  • Yucky Buddy Outfit$1.99
  • Kitchen Chaos Location$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
10 purchases

Combo Master Arena

One-time10
  • Fake Karate Moves$1.99
  • Pizza Party$1.99
  • Grand Master Sighting$1.99
Show 7 more
  • Get Over Here$1.99
  • Nunchuck Ninja$1.99
  • Awe Snap$1.99
  • Train Harder$1.99
  • Ancient Wisdom$1.99
  • No Mercy$1.99
  • Gotham Smash$1.99

Questions

Is Exploding Kittens® 2 free?
Exploding Kittens® 2 costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Combo Master Arena free?
Combo Master Arena costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Exploding Kittens® 2 or Combo Master Arena?
Combo Master Arena is rated higher. Exploding Kittens® 2 averages 4.8 out of 5 from 3.7K ratings, while Combo Master Arena averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Exploding Kittens® 2 or Combo Master Arena have ads?
Neither Exploding Kittens® 2 nor Combo Master Arena shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Exploding Kittens® 2 or Combo Master Arena?
Exploding Kittens® 2 ships an update every 2 weeks, and Combo Master Arena daily. Most recently, Exploding Kittens® 2 was updated on October 10, 2026 and Combo Master Arena on September 20, 2026.

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