🦄 Unstable Unicorns – Review + Helper Guide
⭐ 20/10
Players: 2–8
Playtime: 30–45 min
Difficulty: Medium (requires reading the cards carefully and planning ahead)
Game type: Card / Strategy / Party
🦄 Unstable Unicorns – Review + Helper Guide
I love this game because it completely represents me. It has cute artwork, unusual rules, and a good dose of chaos — but the fun kind of chaos. Unstable Unicorns is a card game that’s fast and funny on the surface, but also demands attention, planning, and a fair amount of mischief. You can have the perfect plan… and then someone plays Neigh! at the last second, tearing your strategy apart. And that’s exactly why I adore it.
I play it with every guest who visits me — and nobody has ever left without laughing (okay, sometimes with a little sulk 😉). I even bought the Unstable Unicorns: Christmas Special expansion, because it perfectly captures what the holidays feel like: a mix of diplomacy, smiles, sneaky moves, and little “under the table jabs.”
One flaw? The rulebook.
It doesn’t explain many real-life situations that pop up during play. Sure, there are broad definitions you can interpret, but… they’re not always enough. Sometimes the game halts because one player insists on their interpretation, another gets annoyed, and someone else has no idea what to do.
Important note: this isn’t a game for everyone. If you hate losing, dislike “negative interaction,” or can’t stand sabotage, better choose something calmer like Tokaido or classic Pictionary. 🫣🦄
🎲 What you need to know before you start
Playtime: ~30–60 minutes
Players: 2–8 (best with 3–5)
Goal: Have a set number of Unicorns in your Stable:
6 Unicorns (2 players)
7 Unicorns (3–5 players)
8 Unicorns (6–8 players)
But beware — it’s not that simple. Other players will block you, steal your Unicorns, and destroy your plans.
🧩 Setup – step by step
Each player starts with a Baby Unicorn (pink symbol) in their Stable.
Shuffle the deck and deal 5 cards to each player.
Place the rest face-down as the draw pile.
Choose a starting player (e.g., whoever last saw a horse).
🎬 Turn structure
On your turn, you can take up to 3 steps:
Draw 1 card from the deck.
Always at the start of your turn. Some cards allow extra draws, while penalties or enemy cards may block this.
Take 1 action — either:
Play a card from your hand (Unicorn, Magic, Upgrade, Downgrade, Instant), OR
Activate an effect from a card in your Stable (e.g., “At the beginning of your turn” or “Once per turn”).
Check hand limit — discard down to 7 if you have more.
📚 Card types – quick reference
🔻 Baby Unicorn
You start with it.
It cannot be destroyed or stolen (unless a card says otherwise).
🔺 Basic Unicorn
Has no special abilities.
Counts toward your win condition.
🔼 Magical Unicorn
Has special effects — destroying cards, stealing, or protecting your Stable.
❗ Instant (e.g., “Neigh!”)
Played during another player’s turn.
Cancels their card or effect.
Only one Neigh! per player per opponent’s turn (unless stated otherwise).
Can you Neigh! a Neigh!? ✔️ Yes — you can counter Instants until someone gives up.
Can the original player Neigh! their own canceled action? ✔️ Yes, if they haven’t played an Instant yet that turn.
🔶 Upgrade
Played into your Stable.
Activates starting next turn — e.g., lets you destroy another card once per turn.
⬇️ Downgrade
Played into an opponent’s Stable.
Blocks actions (drawing, playing, etc.) until removed.
⭐ Magic
Takes effect immediately, then goes to the discard pile.
Often destroys, steals, returns, or forces you to sacrifice.
🪄 Sacrifice — what does it mean?
It means discarding one of your own Stable cards (e.g., a Magical Unicorn) to the discard pile. Sometimes it’s a cost for activating effects, sometimes a requirement for playing a card.
🧠 Rules to remember
You don’t have to play a card each turn — you can just draw and end.
Some effects trigger automatically (e.g., “At the beginning of your turn”).
If you have a Downgrade saying “You can’t win,” even with 7 Unicorns you don’t win until it’s gone.
You may have more than 7 cards in hand during your turn, but you must discard down to 7 at the end.
The game ends immediately when a player has the required number of Unicorns and no effect blocks victory.
☕ Impressions
Unstable Unicorns is the kind of game that can shatter the peace at the table — in the best way possible. Cute illustrations hide a storm of sabotage and negative interaction. Despite simple rules you learn in minutes, the gameplay itself demands wit, sneakiness, and readiness for sudden twists. One card can flip the entire game on its head (Neigh! cards are the perfect example).
Replayability is endless — every game feels different thanks to countless card combinations, unpredictable player choices, and the varying pace of each round. The adorable art makes even the nastiest attacks look… cute. And the atmosphere? Laughter, surprise, sometimes frustration. Guests may leave with a little sulk — and that’s exactly the point.
🎯 Rating: 20/10 – Why so high? Because Unstable Unicorns breaks conventions: fast to play, smart chaos, and the kind of energy you don’t get in “serious” strategy games. Every card is a cute explosion of laughter, capable of disarming even the grumpiest player. It’s the game you’ll keep pulling off the shelf whenever you want a burst of fun chaos and a laughter-filled rivalry.
