ICv2 caught up with Jon McClure of Variant Media at Wizard World’s Chicago Comic Con to learn about his new card game FaceEater. Described by McClure as “gin rummy meets Dawn of the Dead,” this “game of hostility, deception, and revenge” has been in development for twenty-seven years, and McClure has now decided it’s ready for publication.
The game includes four standard decks, a total of 192 cards. Two to six players can play; a game takes 15-60 minutes. Drawing on the elements of traditional rummy games, players attempt to meld sets and runs of cards. Eighty-eight special “Power Cards” allow players to attack each other in a variety of unpleasant ways, such as “Nerve Gas,” the “Lobotomizer,” or even “Zombification.” These power cards can be played on an opponent at any time, even if is not the player’s turn.
The game stands to be well-supported with comic books planned for next year. A low-budget Face Eater feature was produced and released on the Internet earlier this year. Longtime Mad editor and EC creator Al Feldstein said of the game, “I think the Crypt Keeper would go 'MAD' to play the putrescent pestilence known as FaceEater."
FaceEater will have a suggested retail price of $24.95. Two booster pack expansions are planned. Each expansion will include eight new cards.
McClure expects to have distribution through the normal hobby channels. FaceEater was made in the
