“We built this city on: hot hipsters.” Cards Against Urbanity wants to make you laugh

Nothing adds to any nerdy party better than the card games “Apples to Apples” or “Cards Against Humanity”, but now thanks to a bunch of DC urbanists we may soon have “Cards Against Urbanity” with cards focused on all sorts of aspects of planning and urban living.

The founders officially launched their Kickstarter drive with an event Tuesday night in Arlington. In order to make this game a reality, the group needs to raise $7,500. As of last night, they were already 43% of the way to the goal with $3,207 raised.

If you’ve never played Cards Against Humanity, you’re missing out. It’s a hilarious party game. The way it works is that each player takes turns playing the judge. He or she draws a black card with a question or phrase with blanks. The remaining players then select white “noun” cards from their decks and play the one they think fits best. Whichever card the judge picks determines who won that round.

Cards Against Humanity took its gameplay from the tamer party game Apples To Apples; Cards Against Urbanity is a spinoff and will focus on city life and planning.

You can see some of the examples of the cards on the kickstarter page. I can’t wait to see what my friends throw down for “My city’s economic plan includes _____________.” Perhaps “a pink fixie,” “dangerous minorities,” “citizens for urban chicken keeping,” or “Starbucks proliferation.” Whatever the combo is, I’m sure it will make me laugh out loud.

At the launch event one card combo was, “We built this city. We built this city on ________” combined with “Housewife crying at public meeting.”

Some of the answer cards that have been produced included “hot hipsters,” “nude roof deck,” and “rezoning s****storm.” But the launch event was interactive. The organizers wanted suggestions from the attendees. If you have a suggestion for a card (either question or answer), make sure to leave it in the comments.

Although the game’s language may be too salty for a civic gathering, it could definitely get more people to talk about local issues in a fun and silly way. And if you’re already involved in planning, cities, or civic engagement, it can be a great way to poke a little fun at things you may encounter all the time; whether an overactive neighborhood listserv or draconian HOA rules.

Dying to get your hands on a set? Even if the kickstarter doesn’t meet its production goals, the very first prototype set will be raffled off to an attendee at the Coalition for Smarter Growth’s Smart Growth Social fundraiser on October 15 — so purchase a ticket to be one step closer to having your very own set.