Hogswallow - 10th Anniversary Edition

10 years ago we published a game... 

A few years before that, I had written this silly little scene in a book about Gandersnitch the Goblin and my readers kept asking, "Where do I buy that Hogswallow game? It sounds cool and I want to play it!" And for years, I simply said "You can't... It doesn't exist in mortal realms." But that wasn't the answer anyone wanted. 

Finally, we decided to just make the danged thing so people would stop asking where they could get it. We funded it on Kickstarter, and took it to Origins and Gencon where it was a hit and sold out in under a year. And then, for the next TEN YEARS, people asked me, "Where can I get this cool game my friend just showed me?"

And again my answer was, "You can't... We didn't know anything about game publishing, so we signed a bad deal and now it's sadly out of print. Sorry. Maybe someday we will be able to reprint it again."

That someday is today! Hogswallow is back!

What is Hogswallow?

Hogswallow is a deck of fifty-one, hand-drawn poker-sized cards featuring abstract, glyph-like illustrations. It was designed to spark the imagination and conjure forth mythic stories.

Designed by Robert Turk (then a professional goblin and now an accomplished ttRPG designer) and illustrated by Dr. Rebecca Turk (a professional costume designer and arts educator) the cards are intentionally pliable, primal, and universal. Much like a Rorschach test, people will see different things in the lines and shapes. There is never a set meaning to any particular card! 

At its core, Hogswallow was designed as a storytelling game, but over the years it has been adapted to other uses by writers, performers, GMs, educators, and artists. This magical deck has been used as an in-world item for RPG campaigns, an impromptu encounter generator, a fortune telling device, a tool for writing prompts, a performance prop, a focus for daily meditations, and much more.

What's new in this edition?

We aren't making the exact same deck from 10 years ago. That version was cool, but we've got a few changes lined up to make it even better!

• Ten new glyph cards!
• All new card backs!
• A convenient tuck box!
• Printed in the USA!
• Bonus mini-stickers!
• Limited Edition: only 500 copies planned!

Over the years of playing this game, and watching our kids and others play it, I discovered a few things we could improve upon: 

• For the Anniversary Edition, we are using embossed card stock from a US manufacturer. These cards received a lot of physical use and abuse. And while the original cards have held up surprisingly well, those were printed in China. This time we are keeping it all 100% in the USA and using a better grade of card stock.
   
• We have adjusted the composition of the deck to remove duplicate cards and improve the flow. Humans don't tend to play games the same way fictional goblins do. In order to accommodate the strange, poker-like version of the game found in the goblin book, the original deck had four copies each of the "elemental" cards. Those extra cards bogged down the pure storytelling aspects, which is not how we wanted things to go. So, goodbye extraneous duplicates!
   
• We added new cards to expand the storytelling possibilities! In the original Kickstarter project, there were a few classic concepts that never really seemed to make their way into stories told with the deck. Ten new cards were designed to help fill those holes and provide even more pathways for imagination. These new cards were hand drawn in 2026 by Rebecca and Raine Turk.
   
• We commissioned new art for the card backs from Melissa Robb and designed a snazzy new tuck box! There wasn't a box for the original deck and the card backs were really boring. This worked well for an in-world prop at a festival or fair, but wasn't as ideal for sitting on a game shelf or being played around a table. Now the cards look great on the front and the back, and they will be safe inside their snug little box.

What do you get?

Each deck of Hogswallow includes:

• 51 hand-drawn, poker-sized cards (including one "blank" or empty glyph)
• 1 extra "blank" card (with border and card back) to create your own personal glyph.
• 2 "instruction" cards. One with guidelines for the storytelling game and another for using the cards as a meditation or inspiration tool.
• A printed tuck box to keep your cards safe.

Plus, bonus mini-stickers for all backers!

Collectible card decks often feature special box seals, which you have to cut to access the cards. Since we want folks to actually use these cards and play with them, we decided not to create box seals for the deck. Still, we know that a LOT of our backers love stickers... So we found a compromise!

Every physical pledge comes with two 1" wide, glossy vinyl, mini-stickers showcasing the new card backs for the 10th Anniversary deck. These things aren't as small as deck seals, but they are pretty close. And since they aren't already stuck on the boxes, you can put them on anything!

In addition, for our Early-Bird backers: If you pledge within the first 48 hours, you will get the two mini-stickers with the black logo, plus a special KS-exclusive sticker featuring our classic white logo!

Who is Hogswallow for?

• Kids
• Adults
• Storytellers
• Authors
• Educators
• Role-players
• Game Masters
• Designers
• Performers
• Tarot Readers

Limited Edition!

The plan right now is to only print 500 copies of the new deck. That's the number of decks this kickstarter goal will get us to. Some of those will go to Studio 2, most will go to our backers, and a few will be left over for sales at Lexington Comic Con and maybe next year's Acadecon.  This is not a product we are adding back into our regular lineup, so now is your best chance to get it.

Zero AI

No AI was used for this project. We do not allow the use of generative AI in any step of our creative process. All of the writing, editing, layout, and art included in our books and games is 100% human created.

Shipping

Shipping charges will be calculated and collected by Kickstarter's pledge manager after the campaign completes. All shipping is via USPS and will be tracked and insured. Due to taxes, tariffs, and international regulations, we are only offering shipping to US addresses.

• Single and double deck pledges will ship in a padded envelope. 
• 3+ decks will ship in a small box.

Stretch Goals

The game is done and we are already adding a bunch of new glyph cards, so there is really only one stretch goal worth shooting for: fancy inks! The funding goal is enough to cover the new decks and KS fees. But if we raise enough extra we will be able to add metallic inks to the card backs and tuck box!

• $3250 - Initial Funding (...)
• $4750 - Metallic Inks! (locked)

Retailers

We currently distribute our games through Studio 2, but we do have a retail pledge level for verified brick and mortar stores only. Message us directly if this is something you are interested in and we can send the link to the retailer pledge level.