The smash Kickstarter success is returning with improved rules and production!

If you missed the first go round, great news! Hideous Abomination is coming back to Kickstarter this August in a new and improved 2nd edition. You can sign up to be notified when the campaign begins right here.

Why the changes? Simply put, the first edition was developed in the 2022 lockdown, which made proper play-testing a bit of a challenge. Plus it was my first game and my first time Kickstarting something, all of which was a confusing landscape to learn - but learn I have! Since that time, I've gotten lots of great feedback from players around the world and I've been hard at work trying to address some of the major concerns and create a more dynamic, fair and fun game. I believe what I've landed on is the definitive Hideous experience.

What's new in Second Edition?

The core of the game is unchanged and the deck of body parts is the same (except for a new font). Here's a list of all the changes:

•  New languages! We're moving into German, Dutch and hopefully more languages soon.
•  New die. There's a new bespoke "monster" die that looks and feels like a bit like a vertebrae. Plus the sides of the die have changed! Notably, the "Bolt" and "Refresh" sides of the die have been removed and replaced with "Dig" and "Award".  
•  You draw TWO. When you're taking tiles, you now get to select two from either the top or the spare parts buffet. At the end of your turn, you'll need to discard down to three tiles, and you'll discard directly onto one of the spare parts piles.
•  The watchful eye is gone. With the new stealing rules, bolts are handed to players when they are stolen from, so stealing no longer feels like such a punishment and the need for the watchful eye is removed.
•  The discard pile is gone. Tiles are now discarded directly onto any of the three spare parts piles. There's a new side of the die called "dig" which allows you to pick a pile without looking at what's in it, then select two tiles to take and put into your hand. So there's an element of memory required to know which piles are the best to dig into.
•  Awards work differently. The game starts will only THREE grand prizes on offer (Done, Showy, and Teensy). As the game goes on and players roll the new "Award" side of the die, a new random award will be revealed that all players will begin working towards. So the objectives change as the game goes on and tiles that were once useless can become invaluable. There are also four NEW awards and Fiddly (which was previously a grand prize) has become a regular award.
•  The secret objectives are gone. The point of the secret objectives was to prevent the game from ending too early, but ultimately they were unbalanced and just a bit confusing. The new rules about Awards now help to ensure the game doesn't wrap up too swiftly.
•  The game ends differently. You're still trying to complete your abomination, but no one can end the game until at least as many rewards have been revealed as the number of players plus one.
•  Aesthetic overhaul. There's a new box (which is flatter for easier shipping and carrying). There's a new instruction manual. There's new fonts used on all the cards. It's just generally more (hideously) beautiful.
•  Production overhaul. We're talking spot varnishes, linen finish cards (for easier shuffling), custom monster die and more.

Do I need to buy it again if I already have it?

Nope! The deck you have is unchanged (except for the fonts), so you can save a few bones and play the new rules with your current edition! You'll need the new awards, so just download and print out the upgrade kit and you'll be good to go. The only reason to buy the new edition is if you want the fancy new box, the linen finish cards, the monster die, or don't like playing with print-at-home components.

It's on its merry way!

Stay tuned in the next few months for updates. I'm aiming to get the Kickstarter rolling this summer and have the games into the hands of players before Christmas. The development and prepping is done, now it's just a matter of collecting a few reviews, building up some hype, and then releasing this abomination on the world!

Take care, speak soon!

- Judson 👻