Inside Four King Rabbits: The Party Game That’s Not Afraid to Get Wild

What happens when you mix dark humour, taboo topic such as sexually transmitted diseases (STD), and a fast-paced party card game? We talk to the creators - Scott and Zack share how Four King Rabbits came to life!

Q: Please give the readers a short introduction about yourself and your game: Four King Rabbits. What is your “origin” story, and how did you come about creating games?

Hey everyone, this is Scott and Zack, and we are the creators behind Four King Rabbits!

Four King Rabbits is a party card game centred around the dangers of STDs (sexually transmitted diseases). At its core, it is a last-man-standing card game with elements of social deduction, strategy, and a whole lot of humour.

The idea actually goes way back to our Junior College days. We used to play “Cards Against Humanity” with friends and loved how a simple card game could create such ridiculous moments at the table. At some point we thought, why not try making one ourselves?

Our first concept was a Russian roulette style card game where you draw a card and might instantly die. But shortly after we started working on it, “Exploding Kittens” came out, which was basically the same idea. So we went back to the drawing board to think about how we could expand on the strategy and fun of that concept, while presenting something completely new.

That process eventually evolved into what is now Four King Rabbits.

Q: Please give a brief introduction about the game. What is it premise, featured mechanics and the most fun part of the game.

Four King Rabbits is set in a chaotic rabbit kingdom where the population has gotten wildly out of control. To deal with it, the Emperor Rabbit had released STDs into the kingdom as contract killers to thin the herd. Each player takes on the role of one of the Four King Rabbits, trying to survive the outbreak while spreading diseases to everyone else and being the last rabbit standing.

Mechanically, players start with two lives each. Every turn, you are forced to draw STD cards. Accumulate too many diseases and you lose your lives. Each STD also comes with its own trigger condition written on the card, so part of the game is trying to avoid those triggers by playing your action cards (e.g. Condom, One Night Stand, Circle Jerk) cleverly.

But the real twist is the lying mechanic.

Mixed into the disease deck are “Flu” cards (which, obviously, is not an STD). When you draw an STD card, you are actually allowed to lie and declare that it is a “Flu”, placing it face down and “hiding” it. Face down cards are harmless and will not trigger.

Of course, the other players know this trick too. If they suspect that your “Flu” is actually something far worse, they can call you out. If they are right, you get punished. If they are wrong, they suffer instead.

So the table quickly turns into a mess of bluffing, accusations, and people insisting they are “perfectly healthy”.

And on top of that, the cards themselves are indeed ridiculous. Many players end up laughing just from reading the card text alone.

Q: What inspires the ideas behind your game Four King Rabbits? Why did the team choose to make this type of game?

The idea actually started from the mechanics first. From the beginning, we wanted a game that had layers to it, but was still easy for people to pick up and enjoy, like a good party game.

After that, we started thinking about the theme. We always enjoyed the dark humour of games like “Cards Against Humanity”, but we did not really want our theme to be baseless shock humour.

So we thought about topics that people do not talk about very openly, but which are still important. That was how the idea of STDs came about.

In a way, Four King Rabbits is our answer to games that play it too safe. We wanted something that sparks bigger laughs, creates chaotic moments at the table, and nudges people to confront topics that are usually treated as taboo, even though they really should not be.

Q: Congratulations on funding your game through Kickstarter! Before you launch the campaign, what are the challenges of doing a campaign on Kickstarter? Which one is your biggest challenge while planning for the campaign?

Kickstarter is actually a much more gruelling process than most people think.

For context, we first attempted a Kickstarter campaign back in 2019, but we set a funding goal that was probably too ambitious at the time. We were still students then and did not really have the funding or resources to support the campaign properly, so we did not manage to meet the goal. After that, life happened, we went through school, and only returned to launch the game again in 2025.

The second time round was surprisingly even more challenging. We found that there was far less organic engagement than before. After speaking with people in the tabletop industry, we realised that the crowdfunding landscape had changed quite a bit. Platforms like Gamefound have split the audience, and Kickstarter itself is no longer as focused on games as it once was.

What this means is that running a Kickstarter campaign today requires far more marketing effort than people expect.

A lot of people assume Kickstarter will naturally bring attention to your project. In reality, there are hundreds of projects launching every day, and thousands active at any given time. Without serious marketing, your project can easily disappear into the crowd.

For us, the biggest challenge was visibility. At the end of the day, Kickstarter is not just about having a good game. It is also about being able to cut through the noise and get people to notice it.

Q: You went through a lot of prototyping and game concepts before Four King Rabbits came to fruition. What’s something you learnt during that time?

One of the biggest lessons we learnt was the importance of having a clear vision for your game, and sticking to it.

When we rebooted the project, it was very tempting to keep adding “cool” mechanics and features. At one point we experimented with things like stealing lives, grim reaper effects, and several other systems. But somewhere during play-testing we realised the soul of the game was disappearing. It stopped being intuitive. It stopped feeling like the fast, chaotic party game we originally wanted to make.

So we ended up cutting a lot of those ideas and bringing the game back to its original identity: fast, chaotic, and social.

The same lesson applied when it came to feedback. During prototyping you will receive a lot of it, and that is a good thing. But not every piece of feedback is right for your game. For example, a competitive TCG player might say the game is too shallow or not strategic enough. That feedback can still be useful, but it also depends on what your game is meant to be.

So throughout the process we kept reminding ourselves of the same thing: stay true to the vision of the game you set out to make.

Q: Are your team employed full-time? If so, how do you guys manage your time juggling between work and publishing a boardgame in a gruelling Singapore work environment.

Yes, both of us are employed full-time.

It definitely has not been easy. Many board game creators outsource parts of the process, like hiring artists or working with publishers and distributors. For Four King Rabbits, we decided to do everything ourselves, from the artwork to distribution.

That meant squeezing time out after our day jobs. In the months leading up to the launch, we were doing playtests almost every weekday night.

But strangely, it never really felt like a second job. A big part of the process was meeting new people, sitting down with them, and watching them laugh and argue over the game. Those moments made the long nights feel worthwhile.

So while balancing everything in Singapore’s work environment can be tough, we honestly saw this less as “juggling work” and more as spending our free time building something we genuinely love. In many ways, it felt more like play than work.

Q: The genre of your game has some NSFW elements in it. What made you decide to create this game and how do you market it creatively in a culturally conservative Singapore.

As we mentioned earlier, one of our goals was to touch on topics that are often treated as “taboo”, but really should not be.

Sexual health is genuinely important, yet people often feel embarrassed talking about it. In reality, STDs are just diseases like any other. They should be discussed openly, with proper understanding of treatment and prevention. The more we avoid the topic, the harder it becomes for people to learn about it.

Marketing it in Singapore is of course challenging. Because of the theme, some people may initially misunderstand our intentions. We have had playtesters ask whether the game is making fun of people with these diseases.

But that was never the goal. In the same way that “Monopoly” is not making fun of prisoners when someone gets sent to jail, our game does not aim to mock anyone. The humour is simply a way to make the topic less intimidating.

So when we present the game, we try to emphasise that spirit. The laughter and absurdity help break the ice, and once people relax, they become much more comfortable talking about things like sexual health and prevention. If the game can make those conversations a little easier, then we think it has served its purpose.

Q: With Four King Rabbits being your first entry into the board game industry, what are some of the biggest challenges you have encountered after the game is launched.

After the launch, we were actually very encouraged by the response. For example, at Singapore Comic Con, Four King Rabbits ended up being one of the top selling games at the event, which was a really exciting moment for us as first-time creators.

What we quickly realized, though, is that a big part of the challenge after launch is finding the right audience for your game. At events like Comic Con, the crowd was very open to the humor and chaos of the game. At more traditional board game events, the reception can sometimes be different.

So one of the biggest things we have been learning is understanding where our players are, and how to reach them.

There is also an additional layer of complexity because of the NSFW elements in the game. Some content creators and influencers may be hesitant to feature the game, and certain platforms like TikTok can be stricter when it comes to this kind of theme.

But in many ways, that challenge has also helped us think more creatively about how we introduce the game to people. We have been focusing a lot on live play sessions, demos, and letting players experience the humour and social dynamics of the game firsthand. Once people sit down and try it, the response has been incredibly positive.

So for us, the journey after launch has really been about finding our community and connecting with the players who resonate with the game.

Q: What’s one piece of advice would you give to other aspiring board game designers who want to launch their own boardgame project?

JUST...GET...STARTED!

You don't need elaborate materials to get started. Take a deck of poker cards, jot down some notes on them, and begin playtesting. Work on it daily. Continue testing and making adjustments. You'll be amazed at the progress you can make in a year. Our main advice is straightforward: stop waiting and just begin.

Q: Any plans for a new game project? Any themes or ideas you may be interested to work on?

Yes, we are currently planning an expansion for Four King Rabbits that will allow the game to be played with up to eight players.

The concept takes a little inspiration from “Bridge”. There will be four Kings and four Soldiers, with each King paired with a Soldier from their race. The twist is that the Soldier’s role is hidden, which adds another layer of deduction and chaos. We cannot reveal too much yet as it is still in its early stages, and any release will also depend on the demand for Four King Rabbits.

We are also very loosely exploring ideas for a completely new game. It is still very early, and we have not even confirmed the format yet, but the setting we are playing around with is… the toilet of a prison.

So safe to say, we are probably not moving away from “taboo” themes anytime soon.

Q: Where can we find out more about your game?

You can find out more about Four King Rabbits on our official website: www.fourkingrabbits.com. We are also quite active on Instagram at @fourkingrabbits.

And if you would like to grab a deck, the game is now available on SBD online shop and at Singapore e-commerce platform Shopee as well!