Elan Lee quit his Xbox lead designer role after witnessing his niece and nephew ignore him while playing a game he'd created, sparking a career pivot to physical, face-to-face games.
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Exploding Kittens became Kickstarter's most-backed campaign ever ($9M, 219K backers) by turning traditional stretch goals into 'crowdfocused' interactive challenges (e.g., send a photo of 10 Batmans in a hot tub) instead of tying rewards to more dollars.
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His core design philosophy is 'make games that make the players entertaining,' deliberately removing solitaire-style mechanics so every card in Exploding Kittens forces an interpersonal interaction.
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For personal wellness, he relies on 18-hour daily fasting, zero sugar, and e-foiling as a 'two-hour sit-up' that forces complete mental presence — describing it as his meditation replacement.
Protocols
Concrete recipes — what, when, how much, and why
3 items
Daily e-foiling for fitness and forced mental presence
WhatRide an electric hydrofoil surfboard for approximately two hours daily, concentrating entirely on balance and flight to the exclusion of all other thoughts.
WhenMorning, after dropping kids at school. Replaces gym time on those days.
DoseTwo hours; frequency 'literally every day at this point'.
For whomPeople with access to water and a tolerance for a steep learning curve; those who struggle with traditional meditation or need a workout that demands full focus.
WhyCombines extreme core workout (constant isometric engagement similar to a two-hour sit-up) with enforced mindfulness — any mental distraction causes immediate loss of balance and a fall into the water, effectively training sustained attention.
CaveatsRequires equipment (e-foil board, controller), a suitable body of water, and an initial investment of time to learn (he spent 8 hours of falling before succeeding). High risk of injury for beginners; he nearly killed himself in the Bahamas. Best with an instructor initially.
Elan Lee adopted e-foiling after traditional gym and walking failed to address his stress. He frames it as a more demanding, more effective alternative to meditation because it leaves no room for intrusive thoughts — the cost of letting your mind wander is an instant crash. He progressed from hours of trial and error to mastery after internalizing a YouTube instructor's mantra: 'You're not far forward enough and you're not going fast enough.' Once he adjusted those two variables, he 'popped right out of the water and floated there for two hours.' He now considers it his primary wellness anchor, calling it peaceful, meditative, and the best shape of his life. He recommends renting a board and getting a teacher for the first hour to accelerate past the frustration plateau.
Mechanism
Physical: Isometric core and leg engagement to stabilize on the hydrofoil, plus subtle weight shifts, resulting in full-body muscular endurance. Mental: The immediate, unavoidable consequence of attentional drift (falling) creates a powerful biofeedback loop that forces the rider into a flow state, eliminating rumination.
Personal experience
I have nearly killed myself on an e-foil in the Bahamas last. ... I have become addicted to e-foiling. ... It took me about 8 hours of falling. So like I don't have a teacher. ... I actually watched this one YouTube video that changed everything for me. [The teacher] said, 'The only two things I've ever said is, 'You're not far forward enough and you're not going fast enough.' That's it. ... I changed those two things and suddenly I popped right out of the water and floated there for two hours.
It is essentially like doing a situp for two hours straight. Like if you stop working your core at all, you will fall in the water.
Also said
“All I can do is focus on I'm flying. I need to keep flying. I'm going to focus on that for the next two hours.”— Emphasizes the forced single-mindedness that makes it meditative.
“It is peaceful and meditative. And what I love about it is it's really hard. like truly truly hard as you know from almost killing yourself.”— Explicitly equals e-foiling to meditation.
18-hour intermittent fasting with nutrient-dense window
WhatStop eating at 6 p.m., resume at noon the next day. In the six-hour eating window, strictly avoid sugar and simple carbs to manage high blood pressure and cholesterol.
WhenDaily, with eating window 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Dose18-hour fast, 6-hour feeding window; practiced for about 3 years.
For whomIndividuals with metabolic markers (high cholesterol, high blood pressure) looking to avoid or minimize medication; active people who can schedule workouts to end near the eating window.
WhyDoctor-prescribed alternative to lifelong medication for high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Elan reports it entirely resolved his cholesterol issue and stabilized energy and alertness.
CaveatsTricky with a workout schedule — intense exercise before breaking the fast may increase hunger and muscle breakdown risk. Elan times his gym session to finish within an hour of noon so he can refuel promptly. Requires gradually adapting; not advisable for those with disordered eating patterns without medical supervision.
After hitting a stress-induced health wall, Elan's doctor gave him a binary choice: six lifetime prescriptions or comprehensive lifestyle changes. He chose the latter, focusing on sleep, exercise, and diet. The centerpiece became an 18-hour fast combined with near-zero sugar/carbs. He's been doing it for three years and says the combination 'has 100% fixed my cholesterol problem.' He also notes that eliminating sugar 'has completely changed my life' — he has energy, is awake and alert, and no longer feels sluggish. To manage the conflict with post-workout protein needs, he schedules training at the end of the fast. He credits a supportive, forward-thinking physician who guided him into a pseudo-keto approach.
Mechanism
Prolonged daily fasting lowers insulin and upregulates fatty acid oxidation, which can improve lipid profiles and blood pressure. Sugar/carb restriction further reduces insulin spikes and inflammation, likely a major factor in his cholesterol turnaround.
Personal experience
I have high blood pressure and I have high cholesterol. So, I'm trying very hard to keep the medications to a minimum, which means I have to focus a lot on diet. ... I try to fast for 18 hours a day also. So, I'll stop eating somewhere at around 6 p.m. and I won't pick it up again until noon the next day. ... This is very tricky with a workout routine cuz like I need protein so badly after working out. But I try to time my workout so that I can end somewhere within an hour of 12.
Eliminating sugar has completely changed my life. Like I have energy. I am awake. I am alert. I know I don't get sluggish anymore. I I don't understand how I spent so many years putting that poison into my body.
Also said
“I've been doing it for about 3 years now and um, it has 100% fixed my cholesterol problem.”— Concrete outcome data he attributes directly to the protocol.
“My stress level was through the roof and he [the doctor] was like look you have two choices. I'm going to either have to write you like six prescriptions ... or you're going to pay attention to me and we're going to change how you sleep, how you work, how you exercise and how you eat. And I was like, yeah option B.”— Gives the medical context that led to the protocol.
Morning no-device window
WhatNo phone or screens for the first two hours after waking.
WhenImmediately upon waking until two hours have elapsed.
Dose2 hours daily.
For whomAnyone who feels compulsively attached to their phone upon waking and wants to reclaim morning autonomy.
WhyPrevents immediate dopamine hijacking and gives the morning a calm, intentional start. Helps with overall screen discipline despite being a self-confessed tech addict.
CaveatsRequires alternative morning activities; can be difficult if the phone is also the alarm clock. He acknowledges he doesn't always succeed perfectly but tries hard.
Elan admits he is 'completely addicted to technology' with six screens in his room, but applies deliberate boundaries. The two-hour morning rule is his attempt to carve out a buffer before the day's digital onslaught. He couples this with a general effort to turn off devices at night and maximize face-to-face time with his kids. While not a zealous Luddite, he's constantly negotiating his relationship with screens, and this morning protocol is his non-negotiable.
Personal experience
I'm not allowed to touch my phone 2 hours between when I wake up. Like for the first two hours of my day, I don't touch anything. Um I try very hard to turn it off at night. I try to spend as much face to face time with my kids as possible.
I'm not allowed to touch my phone 2 hours between when I wake up.
What's new
Personal practice updates, fresh positions, predictions
5 items
Quitting Xbox and the digital-to-physical pivot
After seeing his niece and nephew hypnotized by an Xbox game he designed, Elan realized screen-based entertainment was building barriers, not connections. He resigned within two weeks and shifted to creating physical games that demand face-to-face engagement.
Why this matters: A lead designer on Halo and the first six Xbox games abandoned a dream career because of a personal epiphany about what entertainment should do. This runs counter to the industry's pursuit of more immersive digital experiences.
Background
At Microsoft, Elan was mentored by Jordan Weissman to think deeply about 'what's fun and why.' He loved the work, but visiting his brother's house shattered that: two kids didn't look up from the screen, and it was his own game on that screen.
Elan didn't merely dislike what he saw; he framed it as a moral failure. The kids weren't just distracted — they were isolated. The Xbox, his crowning achievement, had turned a family gathering into a room full of parallel solitaire. He describes the moment as realizing 'something very fundamental has gone wrong' and immediately feeling complicit. That guilt drove him to resign, start five startups (building each to ~15 people before selling), and eventually shun all-digital work to create analog games. The pivot wasn't anti-tech; he still loves gadgets and struggles with his own screen addiction. Instead, he wanted products that 'should be bringing us together instead of building barriers.' This began with a Sharpie-modified poker deck that became Exploding Kittens.
Personal experience
I walked in the door. I was so excited to see my niece and nephew. And I walk in and I'm like, 'Hey, how's everyone doing?' And they are staring at the screen, controllers in hand, and they don't even look up to say hello. I remember thinking like, 'Something's broken here.' Like some something very fundamental has gone wrong. And uh to add sort of insult to injury, I look at the game they're playing and it's one of the ones I designed. And I thought like I am there's no way to avoid the statement I am part of the problem. Like I am I I built this. I made this happen. And so within about two weeks of that experience, I resigned.
I am part of the problem. Like I am I I built this. I made this happen.
Also said
“I wanted to just focus on like these entertainment products, be them digital, physical, whatever they are, they should be bringing us together instead of building barriers between us.”— Articulates his post-resignation north star.
Crowdfocused instead of crowdfunding — the Kickstarter campaign that traded money goals for community stunts
When Exploding Kittens hit $3M then flatlined after exhausting its initial audience, Elan and co-creator Matthew Inman replaced dollar-based stretch goals with absurd community challenges — asking backers to submit photos of '10 Batmans in a hot tub' or 'real taco cats' to unlock upgrades. This crowdsourced play re-ignited virality and drove the campaign to 219,000 backers.
Why this matters: This inverts conventional Kickstarter logic: stop asking for more money and start creating participatory experiences. The campaign became the most-backed in history at the time, proving that shifting the focus from funding to crowd can unlock exponential word-of-mouth.
Background
Kickstarter creators typically rely on stretch goals: if we raise $20K, add 10 cards; $50K, a fancy box. After day three, they had $3M from Matt's pre-existing fan base, but volume crashed. Facing a choice to quit while massively ahead or try something unprecedented, they invented 'crowdfocused' goals.
Elan's core insight was linguistic: 'It's not crowdfunding. It's just crowd, right?' He noticed the industry was obsessed with the 'funding' half, but the real power was the 'crowd.' By detaching rewards from monetary thresholds, they gave backers a reason to recruit friends not to give money, but to participate in goofy communal art projects. The asks were deliberately absurd — 10 Batman's in a hot tub, a cat in a burrito shell. Backers who'd never heard of the game saw friends' photos and jumped in. The campaign soared from $3M to $9M, with 219,000 backers. Elan believes this participatory layer, rather than the game itself, was the engine that kept the campaign alive for 30 days and set a record.
Personal experience
We sat down. I had this conversation with him. I was like, 'Look, we got two choices here. we can either sort of ride off into the sunset and say, We raised 3 million bucks. That's incredible. Let's go build our game or we can try something that no one's ever done before.' And Matt said, 'What's something no one's ever done before?' And then I explained this idea of stretch goals... when people think of crowdfunding, they keep focusing on that funding part. I hate that. I said, what if instead we were crowdfocused?
It's not crowdfunding. It's just crowd, right? Like, let's focus on the crowd. That's the most important bit.
Also said
“What we did instead was we said, 'Okay, stretch goals... each one is no longer tied to a dollar amount because we do not care about money. We've already made more money than we could possibly spend than we need to make the game. We're fine. Instead, all we're going to do is throw the world's largest party and everyone's invited for free.'”— Shows the deliberate rejection of financial targets in favor of community engagement.
“I think that's a lot of why it had such staying power and why everyone told their friends about the page.”— Hypothesis that the participatory experience, not the product, drove virality.
Making players entertaining, not games
Elan’s company mission is 'we do not make entertaining games, we make games that make the players entertaining.' Every card in Exploding Kittens forces a direct interaction with another player; there are no solo actions.
Why this matters: This directly challenges the dominant board-game trend of 'multiplayer solitaire,' where players optimize their own boards in parallel. It re-centers game design on human connection and shared narrative.
Background
Many popular games, even ones with a common board, leave players heads-down managing their own objectives. Elan realized his fondest game memories were not about mechanics but about the interactions — alliances, cheating, kicking under the table.
After the Xbox epiphany, Elan and co-founder Matt Inman codified their design litmus test. They refuse to publish any game where players are essentially racing to finish individual puzzles. Exploding Kittens was deliberately built so every card — 'skip,' 'attack,' 'favor,' etc. — requires you to target another person. There is no card you can play that doesn't involve someone else. This forced sociality is what Elan credits for the game's longevity and family-bonding power. He argues that the loneliness epidemic can be countered by designing entertainment that makes people interact face-to-face, with eye contact, alliances, and even betrayals, because navigating those real-time social dynamics becomes the true entertainment.
Personal experience
When investors asked for a mission statement, Elan and Matt wrote: 'We do not make entertaining games, we make games that make the players entertaining.' He recalls, 'I remember the interactions. I remember hey we're going to form an alliance or uh like growing up I remember my sister kicking me under the table... I remember throwing food and and and cheating. I remember the interactive nature of the game because it was my siblings and my friends that were actually entertaining.'
We do not make entertaining games, we make games that make the players entertaining.
Also said
“If you look at Exploding Kittens, right, our first game ever, every single card when you play it, every single card is designed to create an interaction between you and another player. There are no solo cards in that game. There is no solitaire in that game.”— Explains the practical implementation of the philosophy in their flagship product.
Rejecting traditional children's games and co-designing with his four-year-old
Elan despises games like Candyland that require no decision-making or interaction. When his daughter turned four, he began designing games with her using markers and stickers; four of those prototypes were eventually published, including the bestselling 'Hurry Up Chicken Butt.'
Why this matters: He frames the problem as an insult to both kids and parents: a computer could play these games, so why are humans in the room? His solution was to co-create games with his child, where adults genuinely want to play and can still lose to a four-year-old.
Background
After his daughter was old enough to play 'real' games, Elan bought many commercial titles and was uniformly disappointed. His daughter noticed his frustration, and they began custom-making games together.
The traditional kids' game industry, Elan argues, is built on 'roll a die, move a piece' loops that remove agency, strategy, and interaction. He calls it 'mindless' and says you 'might as well not even be in the room.' The alternative he and his daughter discovered was iterative, hands-on design using household supplies. They created roughly 12 games; 4 were good enough to bring to market. The key criterion was that Elan, as an adult, must authentically want a rematch — and even when trying, his daughter could beat him. 'Hurry Up Chicken Butt' achieved that. This positions game design as a family co-creation activity, turning children from passive consumers into inventors.
Personal experience
When my daughter, she's now seven, when she turned four, she was finally old enough where I could like play real games with her. And I was so excited. We went out to the store and we bought all the games... And they sucked. Like just every single one of them was such a disappointing experience. And she looked at me and she's like, 'Why Why are you sad?' ... She looked at me and she said, 'Let's fix it.' And so, for the next year, I sat down with my daughter and we got out the markers and the stickers and we got out the little cards and and scissors and we built ... four of them were really good and we eventually actually published all four.
You will play this game against your four-year-old, and you will not let them win, and they will beat you anyway.
Also said
“I hate kids games. Hate them. I think they're the worst. Like if I have to play Candyland again, I am going to kill someone. Like it's just they're mindless and you might as well not even be in the room, right?”— Raw articulation of the problem that motivated the father-daughter design project.
E-foiling as a forced-meditation workout
Elan replaced meditation with daily e-foiling, an electric hydrofoil surfboard that requires constant core engagement and absolute focus; letting your mind wander means falling in the water. He now does it every day for up to two hours, claiming it puts him in the best shape of his life and quiets work stress completely.
Why this matters: Frames a high-tech water sport as a genuine mindfulness practice — not as a relaxation aid but as a demandingly present activity that makes mental distraction physically impossible. Contrasts with seated meditation, which he finds less effective for him.
Background
Elan loves technology but struggles with screen addiction. After trying conventional wellness routines (gym, walks), he discovered e-foiling and found it solved both fitness and mental stillness in one activity.
E-foiling, as Elan describes it, is a surfboard with a downward mast and underwater wings propelled by a tiny electric motor. At speed, it lifts above the water. The physical cost is extreme: 'a situp for two hours straight,' as your core must remain engaged to stay balanced. If your mind drifts to a stressful thought, you lose control and crash into the water. This enforced presence — you can only concentrate on flying — effectively replaces his need for meditation. He can do it in relative silence, feeling like flight. The initial learning curve is steep; he endured about 8 hours of failing before a YouTube instructor's mantra — 'You're not far forward enough and you're not going fast enough' — crystallized the technique. He now goes out daily after dropping off his kids, and considers it the single best thing he's done for his physical and mental health.
Personal experience
I have become addicted to e-foiling. ... It is essentially like doing a situp for two hours straight. Like if you stop working your core at all, uh, you will fall in the water. ... All I can do is focus on I'm flying. I need to keep flying. ... It took me about 8 hours of falling. So like I don't have I don't have a teacher. ... I actually watched this one YouTube video that changed everything for me. ... [the teacher said] 'You're not far forward enough and you're not going fast enough.' ... I changed those two things and suddenly I popped right out of the water and floated there for two hours.
All I can do is focus on I'm flying. I need to keep flying. I'm going to focus on that for the next two hours.
Also said
“It has gotten me in some of the best shape in my life just doing this literally every day at this point.”— Highlights the fitness benefit beyond the mental component.
“It is peaceful and meditative. ... If I think about work, if I think about family stress ... for even a moment, I'm in the water immediately.”— Directly frames e-foiling as a mindfulness/meditation substitute.
Recommendations
Products, supplements, and tools mentioned in the episode
3 items
Eight Sleep mattress (cooling bed)
Product
Used for sleep quality improvement; his side stays freezing cold.
Elan credits the cooling feature of his Eight Sleep (he calls it 'eightle mattress') as a game changer. He keeps it at maximum cold and finds it 'incredible.' The context is his broader sleep protocol: no screens in bed, conversation with his wife, and a cold sleeping surface. While he bought the mattress himself and doesn't mention any sponsorship, the product integration is personal.
Personal experience
I bought an eightle mattress, so my my my my side of the bed stays freezing cold. I've like got it maxed out to the coldest temperature it possibly gets, and that has been incredible.
I bought an eightle mattress, so my my my my side of the bed stays freezing cold. ... that has been incredible.
Used as a sleep aid to filter all ambient blue light one hour before bed; very effective for knocking him out.
During a period of sleep trouble, Elan found these glasses to be a simple, effective hack. They filter blue light from every source, not just screens, and he describes the effect as instantly drowsiness-inducing. He calls them 'birth control for your head.' He no longer needs them, suggesting the intervention was temporary and successful.
vs alternatives
Unlike phone screen filters (like the red-light trick), these glasses block blue light from the entire environment — lamps, overhead lights, other people's screens — providing a more comprehensive stimulus control.
Personal experience
When I was really having trouble falling asleep, I bought construction glasses... I would wear those for about an hour before I went to sleep... Um it would knock me right out.
Jigsaw puzzles with a hidden 'magic' twist and extra pieces; Elan has completed about six and eagerly recommends them.
Elan connected these puzzles to his own upcoming Exploding Kittens board game's paper-engineering feats. He's a fan who's bought multiple sets, considers the founders friends, and applauds their innovation. The puzzles are designed with an Easter-egg mechanic that reveals new content after completion. He hasn't stated any financial partnership.
Personal experience
I actually know the founders of that company. I think I've done like six of theirs and I've got the next three sitting on my shelf.
I actually know the founders of that company. I think I've done like six of theirs and I've got the next three sitting on my shelf.
A game designed with his four-year-old daughter that allows adults to play seriously and still lose to a young child. Bestselling game globally.
DisclosureCo-created by Elan Lee and his daughter; published by Exploding Kittens Inc.
Elan Lee co-designed this game with his daughter Avalon as part of a series of experiments to create non-patronizing games for kids. It was one of four prototypes that became commercial products. The game's key trait is that an adult playing to win can still be beaten by a young child, solving the common complaint that parents have to 'let their kids win.' He calls it 'the bestselling game in the world' at one point. The game appears in Target and Walmart with his daughter's name on the box.
vs alternatives
Positioned against traditional children's games like Candyland that are mindless, require no strategy, and bore adults. This game creates genuine competition across age gaps.
Personal experience
You will play this game against your four-year-old, and you will not let them win, and they will beat you anyway.
You will play this game against your four-year-old, and you will not let them win, and they will beat you anyway.
Also said
“I hate kids games. Hate them. I think they're the worst. Like if I have to play Candyland again, I am going to kill someone.”— Motivation behind creating an alternative.
The original Kickstarter phenomenon; a Russian roulette-style card game where players avoid exploding kitten cards using interactive cards that target other players.
DisclosureCo-creator and founder of Exploding Kittens.
Elan's first game after leaving digital entertainment. Designed to force constant interpersonal engagement — no solo card exists. The game started as a Sharpie-modified poker deck called 'Bomb Squad', but co-creator Matthew Inman (The Oatmeal) renamed it to Exploding Kittens, turning a scary bomb into a cute, adorable threat. It raised $9M on Kickstarter with 219,000 backers, and remains a top-selling game worldwide. The design philosophy ensures that every evening becomes a social event with alliances, betrayals, and face-to-face interaction.
vs alternatives
Compared to games like Ticket to Ride or other 'multiplayer solitaire' titles, Exploding Kittens has no head-down optimization — every turn involves another player directly.
Personal experience
I started a card game with a friend of mine. We put it up on Kickstarter trying to raise $10,000 and raised about 9 million instead.
Every single card when you play it, every single card is designed to create an interaction between you and another player. There are no solo cards in that game.
Also said
“Our first game ever, every single card when you play it... is designed to create an interaction between you and another player.”— Reinforces the unique design principle.
Elan Lee's free game design masterclass on YouTube
Service Sponsored · disclosed
A YouTube series teaching how to build games, what goes into design, and behind-the-scenes of Exploding Kittens. Created because he saw 'no good reason for that content to be behind a paywall.'
DisclosureElan Lee is the creator and host; no paywall, content is free.
Invited to do a paid masterclass, Elan decided instead to publish everything for free on his YouTube channel. He covers game design principles, the creative process, and the nuts and bolts of building hit games. The masterclass is available publicly, and he invites anyone with questions to engage further. This aligns with his ethos of openness and community.
vs alternatives
Most comparable courses (Skillshare, MasterClass) require subscriptions or purchases. This is completely free and directly from a practitioner.
Personal experience
I thought I can think of no good reason for that content to be behind a paywall. So uh I'm doing a master class and it's totally free uh on I've just started publishing it on YouTube.
I can think of no good reason for that content to be behind a paywall.
Also said
“If you've ever wanted to learn how to build a game, what goes into design, find me on YouTube and you can watch all the content for free.”— Clear call-to-action and location.
Reading is free for everyone. A free account adds the personal layer: save protocols, follow experts, and see how the other experts weigh in on this same topic.
Educational summary of the cited expert source — not medical advice. Open the source recording linked above and consult a qualified physician before acting on any protocol.
