LA-based board game developer Exploding Kittens is moving into preschool tabletop games for the first time to refresh a category that is ready for some new IPs. 

On July 30, Target will launch a new collection called Kitten Games, which includes four tabletop games aimed at three- to five-year-olds. They all feature younger-skewing versions of the characters that Exploding Kittens created for its all-ages games, as well as more simple gameplay premises. In I Want My Teeth Back (pictured), players spin a wheel to win teeth; in Hurry Up Chicken Butt, kids compete in different challenges; The Best Worst Ice Cream is all about guessing ice flavors; and in My Parents Might Be Martians, adults must describe a hidden word to kids using only one-syllable word clues. 

Exploding Kittens CEO Elan Lee was inspired to create the Kitten Games line by a market gap he experienced first-hand as a parent. “When my four-year-old daughter and I played the games available for her age, she was distracted and I was bored,” he says. “It was clear there was a glaring need for games that were genuinely fun for both preschool-aged kids and adults. We created Kitten Games to fill that void.” 

Lee worked with his daughter to design the games so the rules would be clear, and also to ensure they would appeal to preschoolers and be fun to play.

Exploding Kittens currently has more than 30 games for youth and adults in the market, including mobile game Kitty Letter and board game Really Loud Librarians. The company is also expanding into TV with an animated adult series based on its same-name card game in production and scheduled to premiere later this year on Netflix. The premise is about the eternal conflict between God and the Devil, who are sent to Earth in the bodies of cats.