# Exquisite Corpse — draw a body nobody planned

- From: Exquisite Corpse, a game of the Surrealist artists
- Players: 3–6 players
- Time: 10 min
- Made by: The Surrealists in Paris, around 1925
- This version: Three bands (head, body, legs) instead of four

Made with boardgameBuilder 0.14.4. To design from it, open boardgameBuilder and choose Open game: its blocks go on the canvas, and the feelings are left for you to pick.

Each sheet is folded into three. You draw a head, fold it away so only the neck lines show, and pass it on. The next person draws a body without seeing the head. Unfolded, the creatures belong to everyone and no one.

## What it shows a designer

Concealment makes collaboration surprising. It shows how hiding information between players can produce something nobody could have made alone, and a game with no winner that people still want to play again.

## What you need

- a sheet of paper and a pen for each player

## How to play

1. **Fold.** Fold each sheet into three equal bands.
2. **Head.** Everyone draws a head in the top band, with two short lines crossing the fold where the neck goes. Fold the head out of sight and pass the sheet left.
3. **Body.** Draw a body joining the neck lines, add lines for the legs, fold it away and pass left again.
4. **Legs.** Draw the legs and feet.
5. **Reveal.** Unfold all the sheets together. There is no winner.

## After playing, talk about

- What did you do with the two lines you were given?
- Which creature surprised its makers most?
- Would it be better or worse if you could peek?

## Where the rules are written down

- https://www.moma.org/magazine/articles/457
- https://www.nationalgalleries.org/sites/default/files/features/pdfs/Make%20Your%20Own%20Exquisite%20Corpse.pdf

## Its blocks

- Victory condition: no objective
- Player interaction: fully cooperative
- Theme: absurd
- Timing: everyone at once

## Saved state

boardgameBuilder reads this part back when the file is opened.

```json
{"mechanics": {"victory-condition": "no-objective", "player-interaction": "fully-cooperative", "theme": "absurd", "timing": ["everyone-at-once"]}, "chosenFeelings": [], "previousMechanics": {}, "previousFeelings": [], "turnNumber": 0, "locked": false, "turnHistory": [], "answers": {}, "tests": {}}
```