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Tiny Onion’s Exquisite Corpses: The Game Comes to Kickstarter

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Tiny Onion has launched a Kickstarter campaign​ for Exquisite Corpses: The Game, a companion tabletop card game tied to the bestselling comic book series co-created by five-time Eisner Award-winning writer and CEO James Tynion IV and Eisner Award-winning artist Michael Walsh. Fans can now choose from various editions of the party game and additional rewards on the Kickstarter page, with limited time discounts for early bird backers.

Exquisite Corpses: The Game is a casual tabletop game perfect for fans of trading card classics like Magic: The Gathering and party experiences like Ultimate Werewolf. Needing only a deck of cards and some dice, a group of 4-12 players each pick their favorite killer and proceed to attack, bluff, and barter with their fellow killers until just one remains. No two games are alike, so players can immediately play again and again and get different results.

Since the project’s inception in February 2024, Tiny Onion have been designing and playtesting Exquisite Corpses: The Game alongside the comics’ creation. In addition to the standard Civilian Edition, Tiny Onion is producing two deluxe versions of the game: the elevated Killer Cache Edition, and the elite Thirteen Families Edition.

The Civilian Edition includes 12 killer cards, 24 event cards, 6 different status effect cards, and the instruction booklet. The deluxe Killer Cache Edition includes a special Killer Cache box with magnetic clasp, a Kickstarter exclusive reprint of Exquisite Corpses #1 with cover art by Ian Bertram, 12 oversized killer cards with new art, 24 event cards, premium wood status effect tokens, 13 pink resin dice in velvet bag, a pink and orange playmat, and a special Killer Cache edition exclusive event card. The top-tier Thirteen Families Edition includes a Thirteen Families box with a magnetic clasp, a Kickstarter exclusive reprint of Exquisite Corpses #1 with a gold foil cover, 12 oversized killer cards with new art in foil, 24 event cards, premium metal status effect tokens, 13 gold resin dice in velvet bag, a black and gold playmat, and a special Thirteen Families edition exclusive event card. 

Aside from these editions, fans can also get even rarer rewards, including an option to get drawn into Season 2 of the comic book series, original card art by Michael Walsh, and the ultimate Historic Deck, featuring 10 original prototype cards from the first Exquisite Corpses summit, a private Zoom game with Walsh, Tynion, and the Corpse Crew, and all three editions. Retailers can also purchase packs of 25 copies and 100 copies. Fans can also get select add-ons to their orders, including blank sketch versions of the cards. 

In the hit comic book series, the wealthiest families in America play a game every five years on Halloween. Twelve of the deadliest people in the world are dropped into a small town with just one goal: last killer standing wins. They call the game “Exquisite Corpses.”

The Kickstarter campaign will end on June 15th at 12pm ET and the game products are due to be shipped to backers between April 1, 2027 through June 30, 2027.

Tiny Onion reveals a play through of Exquisite Corpses: The Game

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Tiny Onion has added ​a new 40-minute play through video of Exquisite Corpses: The Game to the recently launched Exquisite Corpses: The Game website. The play through video features Eisner Award-winning horror masterminds, James Tynion IV and Michael Walsh, co-creators of the bestselling Tiny Onion and Image Comics comic book series Exquisite Corpses, alongside a “Corpse Crew” of A-list comic book talent.

For the play through video, Tynion and Walsh are joined by Corpse Crew creators writer Che Grayson and artist Adam Hughes, Tiny Onion Director of Production Courtney Menard, and popular ASMR creator ALB, competing against each other. Shot in a studio and directed by ALB, the in-depth video features behind the scenes commentary from Game Master Walsh and the Exquisite Corpses talent. It was produced by Tiny Onion Director of Communications Jazzlyn Stone, shot by Camera Operator Ishkhan Ghazarian, with Aaron Losty as the Script Coordinator.

The Exquisite Corpses: The Game website includes instructions on how to play the social strategy battle royale tabletop card game based on the hit comic book series which has sold over 400,000 copies. The new site has a set of 12 printable Event cards, and fans can get access to a set of 6 printable Killer cards if they sign up for alerts for the Kickstarter. 

Created and developed fully in-house, Tiny Onion’s Exquisite Corpses: The Game will be launching as a Kickstarter campaign in spring 2026 so that fans can not only get the game deck, but also special edition cards and game accessories. Fans can beta test an early version of the game now with cards either collected from the polybagged Variant C editions of the comics (inclusive of the rare foil cards), as well as Event cards found at Tiny Onion’s Corpse Tour. Walsh is no stranger to TCGs; he has illustrated a number of Magic: The Gathering cards.

Exquisite Corpses: The Game is a casual tabletop game perfect for fans of trading card classics like Magic: The Gathering and party experiences like Ultimate Werewolf. Needing only a deck of cards and some dice, a group of 4-12 players each pick their favorite Killer and proceed to attack, bluff, and barter with their fellow Killers until just one remains. This is a widely accessible game with deceptive complexity; each Killer possesses unique skills that can harmonize or clash with the other Killers in play. No two games are alike, so players can immediately play again and again and get different results.

The newly launched website features a section where fans can subscribe to be notified of the upcoming Kickstarter campaign. The site also includes 6 printable Killer cards, 12 printable Event cards, and printable status effect tokens, with a page of information about the dozen Killers in the game. The “How to Play” section includes details about how to get a game going, including a step-by-step guide, information about game actions and status effects, and Event card rules. Under “Resources,” players can find not only the printables, but also a randomizer to determine the order of Killer selection, play order, and whenever an attack, skill, or Event card calls for a roll of the die.

Walsh started designing the game mechanics even ahead of the first story summit in Buffalo, where the Corpse Crew and Tiny Onion team gathered in a writers room to break out the first season. Via dry-erase cards, the Corpse Crew did the first beta test at the summit. To ensure quality gameplay and balance, Walsh has been playtesting the game since early 2024 with a dedicated playtester group, dubbed “The Barn Burners.” The goal was to create a game that is easy to pick up, but hard to put down.

In Exquisite Corpses, every five years on Halloween, the wealthiest families in America play a game. Twelve of the deadliest people in the world are dropped into a small town with just one goal: last killer standing wins. For the citizens of Oak Valley, Maine—this year’s unlucky arena—the goal is much simpler. They must survive the night. The first issue can be read digitally for free on the Image Comics site.

The series came together in a writers’ room led by Tynion IV and Walsh and made up of “Corpse Crew” comics superstars Adam Gorham, Becca Carey, Che Grayson, Claire Roe, Gavin Fullerton, Jordie Bellaire, Marianna Ignazzi, Pornsak Pichetshote, Tyler Boss, and Valentine De Landro. Each issue of the series builds upon the last in a true ‘exquisite corpse’ game style, with a passing of the storytelling baton from creator-to-creator in a collaborative and competitive fashion.