You’re sitting there, maybe three beers in, staring at the matte black finish of a fresh expansion box. You’ve heard the rumors. Somewhere in the cardboard guts of these sets, there’s a secret. A literal "Easter egg" you can't find just by flipping through the deck. So, is there a hidden card in Cards Against Humanity or is it just another urban legend cooked up on Reddit?
The answer is yes. But it’s not just one card, and finding them usually requires a literal box cutter and a lack of respect for your property.
Cards Against Humanity (CAH) has built a brand on being difficult. They’ve sold actual cow manure to thousands of people. They once dug a massive hole in the ground for no reason other than people paid them to do it. It makes perfect sense that they would hide physical cards inside the structural layers of their packaging. If you’ve ever felt like your Bigger Blacker Box was a little too heavy or "thick" in certain spots, your instincts were probably dead on.
The legend of the Bigger Blacker Box
The most famous instance of a secret card involves the "Bigger Blacker Box." This is the massive storage case designed to hold the base game and every expansion known to man. For years, players suspected something was off about the lid.
If you take a utility knife to the inner lining of the top lid of the original Bigger Blacker Box, you’ll find a single card tucked away in the cardboard. It’s usually a white card that says, "A dick so big and so black that it's a little bit scary." Subtle? No. On brand? Absolutely.
Later versions of the box changed things up. In the newer iterations, the secret card moved to the bottom. Specifically, it’s often hidden inside the foam filler blocks or behind the paper lining at the very base of the box. Some people have shredded their entire storage case only to find... nothing. That’s the risk. The company doesn't guarantee a "prize" in every unit, and they certainly won't replace the box if you butcher it looking for a card that isn't there.
Hidden gems in the expansion packs
It’s not just the big boxes. The 90s Nostalgia Pack famously had a card hidden in the foil packaging itself. Or rather, behind the header card.
You know that little piece of cardboard at the top of the plastic wrap that allows the pack to hang on a retail hook? If you peel the layers of that cardboard apart, there’s often a "hidden" card printed on the inside or tucked between the plys. In the 90s pack, it was usually a card referencing "Fresh Prince" or something equally era-appropriate.
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Then there’s the Science Pack. This one is legendary among completionists. If you look at the bottom of the pack where the cardboard folds over, there’s a tiny, tiny slit. If you’re lucky, a miniature card—literally a tiny version of a standard CAH card—is slid into the fold. It usually says "Aha!" or something equally snarky.
Why do they do this?
Honestly, it’s about the "fuck you" factor. The creators of Cards Against Humanity—Max Temkin and his co-founders—grew up on 90s alternative culture and ARG (Alternate Reality Game) mechanics. They love making people work for things. They want you to feel like an insider.
When you find a hidden card, you aren't just getting a new prompt for your game; you're joining a club of people weird enough to destroy a $20 box for a joke. It creates a secondary market, too. Collectors on eBay will pay a premium for "unpeeled" boxes or "virgin" secret cards that haven't been bent by a kitchen knife.
Is there a hidden card in Cards Against Humanity's newer sets?
This is where it gets tricky. In recent years, CAH has moved toward more eco-friendly packaging or different manufacturing processes. The "hidden in the cardboard" trick is harder to pull off with thinner materials.
However, they’ve pivoted to "secret" cards that aren't physically hidden inside cardboard, but are instead hidden in plain sight. Take the "Hidden Compartment" pack. They literally told people there was a secret. Most people assumed the secret was just the cards inside. Nope. If you look at the box itself, it has a false bottom.
- Check the weight. If a small pack feels heavier than 30 cards should feel, start poking.
- Look for "tripled up" cardboard. Most packaging is one layer. If a flap feels like three layers of cardstock glued together, there is likely something sandwiched in the middle.
- Shine a bright LED flashlight through the cardboard. If you see a rectangular shadow where there shouldn't be one, you've found paydirt.
The risks of the hunt
Let’s be real: you are probably going to ruin your box.
I’ve seen dozens of people on forums who saw a TikTok about a secret card, grabbed a steak knife, and proceeded to gouge a hole in the side of their $15 expansion pack. They found nothing but grey paper pulp. Not every printing run has these secrets. Sometimes the "hidden" card was only for the first 10,000 units. Sometimes it was an exclusive for a specific retailer like Target or an independent game shop.
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If you’re going to search, do it with a scalpel or an X-Acto blade. Go slow. Feel for a "bump" or a pocket of air. Don't just start hacking away like you're carving a pumpkin.
What about the "Hidden Diamond" card?
There was a rumor for a while about a card with a literal diamond chip embedded in it. This was mostly a misunderstanding of one of their holiday stunts (like the "10 Days of Whatever"). While they did give away pieces of land and private islands, a card with a diamond in it isn't a standard hidden feature in the retail boxes. Don't go smashing cards with a hammer hoping to find a gemstone. You'll just have a broken card.
Tracking the "Lost" Cards
If you’re a completionist, you should know that some "hidden" cards are now effectively extinct.
The "Pikachu" card—a parody card that was tucked into certain promotional packs—is incredibly rare. The "World Wide Web" pack had secrets that required you to go to specific URLs that don't even exist anymore. This is the downside of "live" gaming content; the secrets have a shelf life.
If you're buying a used set of Cards Against Humanity, check the lids immediately. Often, the previous owner didn't even know they were sitting on a secret. I once found a 2013-era Bigger Blacker Box at a Goodwill for five bucks. I peeled the lid back and there it was: the secret "scary" card, perfectly preserved for a decade. It felt like finding a golden ticket, even if the joke on the card was objectively terrible.
Identifying fake "hidden" cards
Because the internet is the internet, people make fake "secret card" videos for clout. You’ll see someone "find" a card that says something incredibly offensive or weirdly specific, claiming they found it in the base game.
Check the font. CAH uses a very specific version of Helvetica (specifically, Helvetica Neue Bold for the text and Helvetica for the logo). The kerning—the space between the letters—is very tight. If the font looks "off" or the cardstock feels like a standard playing card (slick and plasticky) rather than the premium, slightly textured CAH finish, it’s a fake.
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Real secret cards have the same "linen" finish as the rest of the deck. They aren't cheap inserts. They are produced in the same factory on the same machines.
What to do if you find one
First, don't bend it. The act of extracting a card from a glued cardboard flap usually leaves it with a "smile" (a slight curve). Place it under a heavy book for 48 hours to flatten it out.
Second, if you’re a collector, don't put it in your main deck. These cards are worth way more as standalone items. If you just want to play with it, go for it—that's what it's there for. But remember that once you've cut that box open, the resale value of the set drops to basically zero.
Practical steps for the curious player
If you're itching to find out if your set has a secret, don't just start cutting. Follow this sequence to minimize damage:
- The Light Test: Hold every piece of packaging up to a 100-watt bulb. You’re looking for "density" differences.
- The Squeeze: Run your thumb and forefinger along the edges of the box lids. If the cardboard feels "squishy" or has a hollow sound when you tap it, there might be a cavity inside.
- The Flap Check: Look at the bottom of expansion packs. If the glue looks like it was applied twice, or if the flap is unusually thick, use a thin needle to poke a tiny hole. If you feel resistance that feels like cardstock, you're in business.
- The "Bigger Blacker" Bottom: If you have the storage box, ignore the lid for a second and look at the very bottom, under the felt-like lining. Sometimes they hide a card under the floor of the box.
Ultimately, the search for a hidden card is part of the game’s "experience." It’s a meta-joke. The creators are laughing at the fact that we’re willing to destroy the things we bought just to see if they hid a secret message inside. Whether you find a card or just a pile of shredded cardboard, you've participated in the exact kind of chaos Cards Against Humanity intended.
Go grab a flashlight and a steady hand. Just don't blame me if you end up with a ruined box and a very confused group of friends at your next game night.