Leopards Ate My Face Board Game Review
Leopards Eat Your Face, written by Lucas Falk and published by Bläckfisk Publishing in 2025, is a 16-page collaborative storytelling game built around Adrian Bott’s viral 2015 tweet about voters surprised when the policies they backed start affecting them. Players portray patriots trying to reform society and radicals pushing back, with events unfolding through improvisation and dice rolls. This review covers what the game contains, how it plays, and who will get something out of it.
Leopards Eat Your Face Overview
The game sits closer to a story game or rules-light RPG than a traditional board game. There is no board, no win condition, and no GM. The author openly states in the introduction that the game was written in anger and may need fixing, which sets the tone for a system meant to be hacked rather than followed strictly.
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
| Designer | Lucas Falk |
| Inspired by | Adrian Bott’s 2015 viral tweet |
| Publisher | Bläckfisk Publishing |
| Year Released | 2025 |
| Format | 16-page PDF (A5, 148 x 210 mm) |
| Players | Flexible, GM-less group (typically 3-5) |
| Age Range | Adult (political and satirical content) |
| Playing Time | Open-ended, group-paced |
| Game Type | Collaborative storytelling / Story game |
| Complexity | Light (rules-lite) |
What’s in the Leopards Eat Your Face PDF
Since Leopards Eat Your Face is a digital release, there are no physical components to assess. The package is a single 16-page A5 PDF you can read on screen or print at home.
- 16-page rulebook in English
- Introduction explaining the design intent
- Rules for framing scenes and resolving conflicts through dice
- Prompts and improvisational triggers
- Brief guidance on playing patriots and radicals
- No character sheets, maps, or supplementary handouts
Anyone running the game will need to supply their own dice and something to take notes on. A single set of polyhedral dice or even a few d6s is enough.
Pros and Cons of Leopards Eat Your Face
Pros
- Pay-what-you-want pricing makes it easy to try, with a suggested €5 supporting the publisher
- Theme is sharp and timely, drawing directly from a phrase that has circulated for a decade
- Short page count means you can read the whole game in 20 minutes
- GM-less structure removes prep time and lowers the barrier for one-shot sessions
- Open-ended rules invite groups to hack, expand, or rewrite the system to fit their table
Cons
- The designer admits the rules may not work as written, so groups must do part of the design work themselves
- No clear win condition or session structure can leave players unsure when to stop
- Political satire will not land for everyone, and some groups will find the framing too pointed
- Requires confident improvisers; quiet tables will struggle to keep the story moving
How to Play Leopards Eat Your Face
Setup
Read the 16-page rulebook with the group before the first session. Each player picks a side, choosing whether they will portray patriots working to reform society or radicals resisting those efforts. No character sheets are required; descriptions are kept loose and verbal.
Scene Structure
The group frames scenes together. Players take turns narrating events, introducing complications, and pushing the fiction forward. When the outcome of an action is uncertain, the rules call for a dice roll to determine which way events tip.
Using Dice as Prompts
Rather than gating success and failure with hard numbers, the dice work as improvisational triggers. A roll might call for a sudden plot twist, a new character to enter the scene, or a consequence the players had not anticipated.
Ending the Game
There is no formal scoring or final showdown. Sessions end when the group decides the story has reached a natural stopping point. Some tables play single sessions of 90 minutes; others run multi-session arcs.
Leopards Eat Your Face Game Mechanics
The mechanics are deliberately minimal. The system functions as a structured improv framework rather than a tactical game. Dice generate randomness to keep players from steering toward expected outcomes, but they do not produce numerical victories.
The split between patriots and radicals creates the central tension. Both sides have legitimate goals within the fiction, and the friction between them drives most of the narrative beats. Groups who enjoy story-driven party games with light rules will recognize the shape of the design.
Comparable systems include Microscope, Fiasco, and The Quiet Year. All three share the GM-less collaborative format, though Fiasco is more structured and The Quiet Year uses a card-driven framework that Leopards lacks.
Where to Buy Leopards Eat Your Face
| Platform | Format | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bläckfisk Publishing | Suggested €5, pay what you want, direct from publisher | |
| itch.io | Pay what you want including free download | |
| RPGGeek | Listing only | Community discussion and ratings, no direct sale |
The game is not currently sold as a print copy, so buyers receive a digital file that can be printed at home as a small booklet.
Who Should Play Leopards Eat Your Face
The game suits experienced tabletop groups who already enjoy GM-less storytelling, political satire, or one-shot story games. Improv-friendly tables will get the most out of it, especially groups that share enough political common ground that the satirical edge does not cause friction.
Skip Leopards Eat Your Face if your group prefers tactical board games with clear win conditions, if anyone at the table will be uncomfortable with the political framing, or if you need a finished, polished rules set that runs out of the box without modification.
This is a short, sharp piece of design that asks the group to do half the work. Treated as a discussion starter or a hackable framework, it delivers on its premise. Treated as a complete published game ready to run cold, it will frustrate.
FAQ
Is Leopards Eat Your Face a board game or an RPG?
It functions as a rules-light tabletop RPG or story game, not a traditional board game. There is no board, no tokens, and no win state. Players narrate events and roll dice as prompts. RPGGeek lists it as an RPG item, which reflects how the design actually plays at the table.
How long does Leopards Eat Your Face take to play?
Playtime is entirely group-dependent. Most one-shot sessions run 60 to 120 minutes. The rulebook does not set a fixed length, so groups choose when the story reaches a satisfying close. Some tables stretch the game across multiple sessions; others wrap it inside a single evening.
What’s the best player count for Leopards Eat Your Face?
The rules do not specify a strict range, but the patriot-versus-radical structure works best with three to five players. Two players can run it as a duet, though the dynamic loses some of its tension. Larger groups of six or more risk losing focus, since everyone needs scene time.
Is Leopards Eat Your Face worth buying?
At pay-what-you-want pricing with a €5 suggested donation, the entry cost is low. The 16-page rulebook delivers a clear thematic premise and a flexible framework. Groups expecting a finished tactical experience will be disappointed; groups that enjoy hacking story games will get fair value.
What games are similar to Leopards Eat Your Face?
Fiasco by Bully Pulpit Games shares the GM-less satirical framework with more structure. The Quiet Year uses cards to drive a collaborative story about a community under threat. Microscope handles long-form historical storytelling. All three sit in the same shelf of rules-light story games as Leopards.
