Unstable Games

Unstable Games is an independent publisher best known for party-friendly tabletop card games built around deliberately cute, comic illustrations and competitive play. Its breakout title, Unstable Unicorns, was launched on Kickstarter in 2017. The campaign raised more than $8.7 million, a result Kickstarter described as making it the platform’s most funded card game at the time. Designed by Ramy Badie, Unstable Unicorns asks players to build a unicorn stable while using magic, upgrade, downgrade, and instant cards to protect their own collection or disrupt rivals. The game’s premise and visual tone established the company’s most recognizable property for years to come. Unstable Unicorns did not remain a single boxed game. Unstable Games issued themed expansions, including Rainbow Apocalypse, Unicorns of Legend, Dragons, and NSFW, as well as the standalone-compatible game Control. The publisher also developed the property beyond tabletop shelves: an Unstable Unicorns animated series was announced by Netflix in 2018, with Badie attached as executive producer. In 2023, Unstable Games released Unstable Unicorns for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, and PC through a digital adaptation that lets players compete locally or online. Those releases show how the original card game became a continuing brand rather than a one-off crowdfunding product alone. The company’s later Kickstarter successes introduced new worlds instead of simply reskinning unicorn cards. Here to Slay, released in 2020, combines party formation, dice rolls, and monster-slaying; players try to be first to assemble a full party of six classes or defeat three monsters. Its core box features characters such as the Warrior, Bard, Ranger, Wizard, Thief, and Guardian. Happy Little Dinosaurs, released in 2021, turns extinction into darkly comic competition: players attempt to survive disasters while collecting points, with dangers ranging from lava pits to relationship problems. Both games received expansions and retail editions after their crowdfunding campaigns. Unstable Games has also published titles including Llamas Unleashed, a game in which players build herds from several animal types; Casting Shadows, a competitive game of magical duels; and Command of Nature, which uses elemental sages and strategic card combinations. The company’s catalog repeatedly returns to collectible-looking characters, direct player interaction, and accessible rules, but each line has its own objective and mechanical framing. That distinction matters: Unstable Unicorns centers on a stable, Here to Slay on party and monster goals, and Happy Little Dinosaurs on surviving calamities. Across those releases, its history follows Kickstarter launches, expansions, and illustration-led identities.