kindling
A card game for people who want more of each other.
Questions, confessions, touch, dares, dates, and an 18+ pack for exploring kink, all dialed from heat 1 to 5. Made for couples, new lovers, throuples, and friends who want to get closer. Consent is built into every rule. Queer by default.
Pick your heat. Draw a card.
Every card is rated 1 to 5. At the table, everyone picks a max heat in private and the game plays at the lowest one. Nobody has to explain themselves.
Intimacy, at large.
Sex is in the box. So is reading to them in the bath. Kindling treats closeness as a whole range, and lets you choose where on it you want to be tonight.
One core deck. Three ways to turn it up.
Start with Embers. Shuffle in a pack when you're ready for bigger challenges, slower dates, or the 18+ After Dark deck. Mix them however you like.
Learn it in two minutes.
The rules fit on four cards in the box. Here they are.
Set the heat
Everyone secretly picks a max heat, 1 to 5. The table plays at the lowest one. Choose your decks and how long you're playing.
Draw & read
On your turn, draw and read the card out loud. Questions are for you to answer. Actions say who does what.
Choose
Do it and score. Claim it for later. Or skip it. Skipping is always free, with no explanation needed.
Score Sparks
The number in the corner is what it's worth. Embers cards are worth their heat. Expansion cards are worth double.
Match & wild
Match cards get a secret vote, and if everyone says yes, everyone scores double. Wild cards bend the rules.
Catch fire
First to 25 Sparks (or 50 on a long night) wins and picks a reward from their partner's wish list. Then you all go and do it.
Points for leaning in. Never for pushing.
Kindling rewards courage and generosity, not pressure. Skipping costs nothing. A Free Pass still scores a Spark. And the winner's prize is always something the whole table gets to enjoy.
Heat = Sparks
A heat-3 Embers card is worth 3 Sparks. The bolder the card, the bigger the score.
Expansions pay double
Wildfire, Slow Burn, and After Dark cards ask more of you, so they're worth twice their heat.
Claim now, play later
Claim a big card and it goes face up in your Woodpile. It scores the moment you complete it: tonight, this week, before next game night.
Everyone yes, everyone double
Match cards get a secret vote. If it's unanimous, everyone plays and everyone doubles. One no and it disappears without a word.
10 wild cards
Pass It On, Double Down, Steal the Woodpile, Reverse, Free Pass, Callback, Truce, and more.
Put money where your heart is.
The Pot is optional, and it's what turns one fun night into a month-long game. Everyone pays in, the Sparks leader decides how it's spent, and everyone goes.
- Pay in. Same amount each, into a jar, an envelope, or a shared account. Then together write a wish list of experiences you'd all love.
- Play for a month. Keep a running Sparks total across game nights. Woodpile cards you finish between games count too.
- Catch fire. At the end, the Sparks leader picks one experience from the wish list and the pot pays for it.
- Last place plans it. Bookings, reservations, the outfit reveal. Everyone goes. Everyone wins, and someone wins a little more.
Consent isn't the fine print. It's the game.
One of the four rules cards is entirely about care. After Dark opens with negotiation cards and prints an aftercare line on every card.
Skip anything.
Every card is optional. Skip it with no reason given, no penalty, and nobody making faces.
Lowest heat wins.
The table plays at the most careful player's heat. Nobody gets outvoted into something.
“Cool it.”
Anyone can say it, any time. The heat cap drops by one for the rest of the game.
“Ember out.”
Anyone can say it. The game ends right there. Water, snacks, and a hug, in any order.
Made for every kind of close.
No card assumes a gender, a body, or a relationship structure. The 3+ cards are written for groups, not added as an afterthought.
Questions, answered.
Is Kindling only for couples?
No. Embers has 50+ "friend-safe" cards at heat 1–2 that work for friends or a first date. The digital game has a Friends mode that only deals those. There are also group cards written for three or more.
How spicy does it get?
As spicy as your table wants. Heat 1 is "describe their laugh." Heat 5 runs from "have sex somewhere semi-public you can actually get away with" to the 18+ After Dark pack. The table always plays at its lowest chosen heat, so you only get as far as everyone wants.
What's in After Dark?
60 cards about kink, power exchange, sensation, and roleplay, for couples and groups. It starts with negotiation cards (yes/no/maybe lists, safewords, traffic lights) and every card carries its own aftercare line. It's sold separately and is 18+ only.
Do we have to play for money?
Not at all. The Pot is optional. Without it, the winner picks one reward from a wish list their partner wrote before the game, and the partner gets to give it.
When does it ship?
The first print run is in production now. Pre-ordering reserves your box, and nothing is charged until it ships. In the meantime the whole game is playable free on this site.
Can therapists, educators, or shops carry it?
Yes, please. Email us about wholesale and practitioner pricing at jgerms20@gmail.com.
Light something.
Reserve a first-run box (numbered and limited), or play the whole thing free tonight.