Divorced Dads is a brilliant Magic The Gathering clone, but with more existential dread

Every now and then, a joke is just too good to stay a joke.

Such is the case for Divorced Dads, a collectible card game that has its origins in a viral video skit from comedian Graeme Barrett, aka AudioOpera. You’ve probably seen something of his when doomscrolling Instagram or Tiktok; his most-shared video by my estimation is the skit news report about a group of live-action role players finding a body in the woods while mid-LARP.

My favorite bit of his, however, was the recurring series of a collectible card gaming character opening up booster packs of ‘Divorced Dads’, a card game where every card represents something a Divorced Dad has, or wants. In various skits, cards like ‘Bald Spot’, ‘Jam Band’, ‘Enchanted Forest’ (one of those tree-shaped car air fresheners), ‘Retirement Plan’ (a fistful of lottery scratch-offs), and ‘Hacked Facebook’. The rarest and most sought after card, of course, is ‘The House’ – because she usually takes the house.

It was a silly, dumb gag. But then something magical happened: this mini-meme took off with a small audience, and Barrett took the step to make the cards real. Not only did the cards become real – they became an actual playable card game.

I am all for stupid jokes made real. As a playable game, Divorced Dads is basically a Magic: The Gathering knock-off. Rather than the more traditional elements, play uses the powerful DIY elements of Wood, Steel, Leather, and Concrete. Beast cards face off, while you can use Tools (essentially spells) to augment the flow of play and counter your opponent’s moves.

Whereas the earliest video skit versions of the cards were basically a name and a stock image, each card has now been lovingly hand-drawn with some sort of representation of what it’s meant to be. The first and non-playable cards, which also had a limited release, felt like a gag somebody had got printed at a local UPS or something. This new, playable iteration doesn’t quite have the presentational flair of a ‘professional’ TCG… but it’s not far off. There’s quality here.

‘New BBQ’ is depicted as a mini flamethrower, because that is a totally believable mid-life crisis purchase.. ‘Erectile Dysfunction’ features a fantasy worm creature, seemingly doubled over and shriveled in pain. ‘In Laws’ is a pack of snarling, stinking trolls and goblins. Others are more literal; ‘Stool Softener’ is a glowing pink drink with Japanese characters emblazoned across it. ‘Getting Cigs’ depicts an aging muscle car in a mad dash to the nearest gas station, an explosion billowing behind it. Flavor text also adorns each card.

It’s extremely silly, but I’m here for it. Moreover: it’s totally viable as a playable card game. The game’s reddit isn’t tremendously active, but there’s already a string of mini-tournaments popping up and players offering card trades. The game is resonating with people; the joke of the cards being about the cliches of single dads in the grip of a mid-life crisis is just the thing that cracks the door open to an actual playable thing.

“There’s some people who are like ‘I don’t get it’ – and I’m like, okay, well then this isn’t for you,” Barrett said in an appearance on the Almost Friday podcast.

Sure, the Divorced Dads meta isn’t going to be as balanced or as intricate as something like Magic – but it works, it’s fun, it’s grass-roots. The cards and their illustrations are funny, as is the game’s general theme. And Barrett’s goal appears to have been exactly that.

“I made it for a game where anyone who has played it once can teach someone else – and if you’re not into card games like Magic or Yu Gi Oh it’s so simple that it’s a pick up and play thing,” Barrett continued on the same podcast.

“The logic was that when people are like ‘Hey Man, do you wanna learn Magic’, everyone would be like ‘no dude, f**k off’… but then it’s like ‘Do you wanna play Divorced Dads?’ Then they’re like ‘Sure, what’s that?’ It’s kind of a gateway into something.

“It was an interesting challenge to make it simple enough that people can play it without knowledge, but then also having enough room for strategy that people who play strategy games can actually feel like they have a bit more control.”

With this as a mission statement, I honestly think that Divorced Dads is a bit of a home run. The game is fun, the cards are funny – and it’s quick and easy to play. There’s also something charming about a TCG that is being made by just a few people as opposed to some huge corporation. I’m just hoping the fact that I was willing to buy a bunch of booster packs of this damn thing isn’t a sign that the cards are a glimpse into my future.