It happened in 2014. Cards Against Humanity, the "party game for horrible people," decided to launch a holiday stunt that actually did something useful. They called it Ten Days or Whatever of Kinda-Alright Kinda-Stuff. People paid $15. In return, they got ten mystery gifts in the mail. One of those gifts was the race to the moon cards against humanity pack. It wasn't just a handful of cards about space travel. It was a pointed, uncomfortable, and deeply cynical look at the Cold War through the lens of a game that usually focuses on boogers and genital jokes.
People forget how weird the mid-2010s were for tabletop gaming. Crowdfunding was exploding. Cards Against Humanity (CAH) was the undisputed king of the hill. They had so much money they were literally buying private islands and naming them "Hawaii 2." But the Race to the Moon pack was different because it leaned into actual history. It wasn't just random shock humor. It was shock humor with a library card.
The Brutal Reality Behind the Science
The pack is small. It’s only about 30 cards. But the content? It hits a very specific nerve. When you play a card about Wernher von Braun, you aren't just playing a "science guy" card. You're playing a card about a guy who built the V-2 rocket for the Nazis before he built the Saturn V for NASA. The game leans hard into that friction. It asks the players to laugh at the fact that the "greatest achievement of mankind" was built on the backs of people we’d rather forget.
That's the CAH formula, right? Take something sacred and kick it in the shins.
Most people know the broad strokes of the Space Race. We beat the Soviets. Neil Armstrong said the thing about the small step. But the race to the moon cards against humanity expansion reminds you that while we were busy looking at stars, the world below was a mess of proxy wars and questionable ethics. One card mentions "Aps-trol-node," a phonetic spelling of what a dog might sound like if it could talk—a dark nod to Laika, the Soviet space dog who didn't exactly have a round-trip ticket.
👉 See also: Little Big Planet Still Feels Like a Fever Dream 18 Years Later
Why Collectors Are Still Hunting This Pack
You can't just walk into a Target and buy this. That’s why the secondary market for these specific cards is so aggressive. Because it was part of a limited-run holiday "puzzle," the original packs are rare. You'll see them pop up on eBay or specialized board game forums for five or ten times their original value. Sometimes more if the packaging is mint.
Why? It’s not just completionism.
It’s the tone. Later CAH expansions got a bit... soft. Or maybe they just got predictable. The Race to the Moon cards feel like they were written by someone who just finished reading a really depressing biography of Lyndon B. Johnson. They have a bite that the "Period Pack" or the "weed pack" lacks.
Honestly, the humor is smarter here. You actually have to know a little bit about the 1960s to get why certain cards are funny—or why they’re offensive. It’s not just "poop" humor. It’s "the-industrial-military-complex-is-killing-us-all" humor.
✨ Don't miss: Why the 20 Questions Card Game Still Wins in a World of Screens
What’s actually in the box?
If you manage to snag an original, you’re looking at a mix of white and black cards that fit seamlessly into the main set but carry a distinct "Space Age" aesthetic. We’re talking cards that reference:
- The inherent tragedy of being a chimpanzee in a silver suit.
- The fact that the moon is basically just a big, cold rock that cost billions of dollars to visit.
- Drinking Tang and pretending everything is fine while the world teeters on the edge of nuclear annihilation.
It’s bleak. It’s funny. It’s very 2014.
The Cultural Impact of "Horrible" History
There’s a legitimate debate in the gaming community about whether CAH has "aged out." Some people think the shock value has worn thin. Others argue that packs like the race to the moon cards against humanity expansion are actually the game’s peak because they use satire to talk about real power dynamics.
Think about the stats for a second. In 1966, NASA's budget was about 4.4% of the total federal budget. Today, it’s closer to 0.5%. When you play these cards, you’re interacting with a ghost of an era where we had limitless ambition and zero chill. The game forces you to acknowledge that the "Race to the Moon" was less about discovery and more about proving we could drop a bomb on Moscow from the lunar surface if we really wanted to.
🔗 Read more: FC 26 Web App: How to Master the Market Before the Game Even Launches
The expansion doesn't let the Soviets off the hook either. It mocks the desperation of the USSR's early lead and the eventual collapse of their N1 rocket program. It’s an equal-opportunity offender, which is exactly what the fans wanted.
How to Play It Today (Without Spending $100)
If you don't want to pay a premium on Reddit or eBay, you're mostly out of luck for physical originals. However, the "Secret" or "Hidden" packs often get rolled into the larger "Bigger Blacker Box" expansions or the "Everything Box" eventually.
But here’s the thing: the original printing has a specific texture. Collectors look for the "linen finish." If you’re buying a used copy, check the edges. If it looks like it was printed on an inkjet at a library, it’s a fake. There are tons of "Print on Demand" versions floating around, but they don't have that same snap when you flick them across the table.
Actionable Insights for Board Game Fans
If you're looking to integrate historical cynicism into your next game night, don't just stop at the moon. The race to the moon cards against humanity pack works best when you lean into the theme.
- Check the "Holiday 2014" list. This pack was officially Gift #6. If you find a listing for the "Holiday 2014" set, make sure Gift 6 is included.
- Verify the card count. The legitimate pack should have 30 cards. If a seller is offering 20, they’ve lost the best ones (probably the ones about the Nazis).
- Mix, don't match. Don't play this expansion by itself. The jokes land much harder when "The Apollo 11 moon landing" is the answer to a question about "What's the secret to a happy marriage?"
- Know your audience. This specific set is heavier on historical irony than the base game. If your friends don't know who Yuri Gagarin is, the jokes are going to thud. Hard.
The Race to the Moon expansion remains a fascinating time capsule. It represents a moment when a card game company had enough cultural capital to teach a cynical history lesson to hundreds of thousands of people under the guise of a holiday gift. It’s dark, it’s weird, and it’s a reminder that even the most "inspiring" moments in human history have a messy, hilarious, and sometimes horrifying underside.
To get the most out of your collection, cross-reference your cards with the official CAH spreadsheet (widely available on fan wikis) to ensure you aren't missing the rare promotional cards that were sometimes tucked into the envelopes. If you find the "Hidden" card often taped to the inside of the packaging, hold onto it—that's where the real value lies for future resale.