Epilogue: Finish your Story

You wake up in an endless desert, with only a door on the horizon. What happened?! Is this - the great beyond? Why are your friends here? And HOW ON EARTH did you get here??

In Epilogue you'll form words using fragments to cooperatively tell the story of your group's final moments. Was it shenanigans? Tragedy? Or a whole factory of banana peels? How does your story end?

Epilogue began as And then We Died, a small project from Emma Larkins, back in 2018. When Violet Daisy Games' AnnaMaria approached Emma about developing a game cooperatively, she mention that this little gem could be expanded and given a new lease with killer illustration and layout. 

Arnel Baluyot joined the team as artist and developed the idea for the first 'ghosties', and things really took off when Estefania Rodriguez took the graphic design reigns. For the past year we've played, tweaked, play tested, and had many day long brainstorming sessions to make this incredible updated version of a fantastic game. 

Violet Daisy Games is a Bellingham, Washington based publishing house focused on creating stories: epic tales of fantastical adventures, subtle journeys filled with deep meaning, laughter filled amusements that add to a gathering or celebration.
We believe what's on the table should be a way of connecting with those around the table. 

 Welcome to Epilogue. In this game players will cooperatively improvise a story about how they all died based on connected word fragments between cards.

Players are encouraged to support each other through the story and find a way to connect their storylines. (Not everyone might as comfortable as others creating a cooperative narrative at first!)

Shuffle cards, deal one to each player, and create a draw deck depending on how long you'd like to play (3-4 extra cards for a short game, 7 or 8 for a longer one). Example - Emma, AnnaMaria, and Estefania are playing. They will each start with a card and create a draw deck that contains 4 cards.) Set the deck off to the side within reach of all players and flip the top card to lie face up in the center of the table. 

The player who most recently had a spooky encounter goes first. Using a card from your hand, create a word and point to another player. That play will start the story by incorporating that word into the story. (Example - Emma joins an AT on her card to the B fragment on the faceup card and points to Estefania, who begins to tell a story involving a BAT.)

After a player has woven a few sentences into the tale, they will form a word with their own card and point to another player. That player will then continue the tale.



Play continues until the cards run out. When the last card is played that player must wrap up the story. (Example - AnnaMaria plays the last card, forming the word SNAP. She concludes the story with a snapped branch that alerts the party that they are about to have an unfortunate encounter with a wererabbit; the end.)

Epilogue is intended to be collaborative, but players are welcome to award points for best story section, most surprising twist, or longest word. Be creative, have fun, and enjoying creating with your friends!

Epilogue is comprised of 26 Tarot sized cards, each of which contains 5-6 word fragments. There are a total of over 280 fragments, which together make up almost every 3-6 letter word in the English language. 

In addition to the rules page, there are three 'teaching' cards. You can open the box, pull out the deck, and learn to play by following the story through these three cards. It's been an amazing way to demo the game at conventions and events, and we've included them as an accessible option for rules explanations. 

Oh the back of the rules you'll find a section for epitaphs: a spot to jot down stories, words, or prompts from your play throughs. The more you play, the more this section will become a history of your time spent with friends! 

Foam Finger Guy is our pointer ghostie! You'll use this adorable wooden token will point to your current word.  

Epilogue: Ghosties is a saddlestitched, picture book style collection of the art of Epilogue along with stories about the Ghosties. Need to know more about Aerobics Aika or Boo'reguard Buttersworth?  Find out how they met their untimely demises here!

$3 - Thank you for your support! Indie studios like ours depend on our communities and the support of patrons like you who support creative design and art. Your name will be included with the backers in our art book! 

$14 - Print & Play! We'll send you the files, you spend the day crafting a copy! For the budget conscious or those who don't want to try and find space for another box :D And your name in the art book as a backer! 

$26 - The Game! Once she's printed we'll send you the game, complete with all the bits & bobs and stretch goals and your name in the art book!

$200 - The Ultimate Ghostie - become part of the game! We have space for ten more unique ghosties. Back at this level and Arnel will draw a ghostie of you (or a loved one, or your dog) to be added to one of the cards. Additionally, AnnaMaria will reach out for a few prompts and write the story of YOUR demise for the art book! 

Stretch goals include finer finishes for the cards and token, a heavier cover for the book, interior liner printing, and a special exclusive for kickstarter backers - a small screen printed jute bag to contain just the cards, making Epilogue super portable! 

The physical game is expected to be here and ready to send out before Halloween next year! There are always hiccups, but we have all the files complete and a manufacturer already secured - we're ready to push play as soon as the campaign ends! 

Our chart indicates estimated shipping which will be collected when we're closer to fulfillment. Please keep in mind that there is always a small chance that this may change due to circumstances outside our control and we will let you know if that happens! Please message us if you are outside the US/CN/EU/UK and we'll be happy to give you an estimate!

Our Team:
Designer: Emma Larkins
Artist: Arnel Baluyot
Graphic Designer: Estefania Rodriguez
Writer: AnnaMaria Phelps
Social Media: Amanda Panda
Violet Daisy Graphic Design: Cynthia Walker

Special thanks to Ben Phelps for video creation and Ben Wagner for music and VO! 

For licensing inquiries please contact our licensing agents Meeple On Board - Vanguard at michael@mobvanguard.com