The Hidden

The Hidden is built as one continuous campaign world.

A crew may begin in one region and travel into the next without leaving the same living America behind. Every regional book expands that world, adding new roads, communities, folklore and ways of life while preserving everything the crew has already carried with them.

Travel is never skipped. Choosing where to go is only the beginning. Crews must find passage, earn it, steal it, bargain for it or call in favours — and what happens along the way becomes part of the campaign.

The road does not simply connect stories.

The road creates them.

The Hidden launches on Kickstarter this October. You're not backing an idea — you're backing a finished game, ready to move into production.

The Hidden is also supported by a growing set of tools designed to keep campaigns moving and preserve what happens along the road.

The Hidden Archive is the public home of official material from the world: downloadable routes, documents, recordings, maps, newspapers, notices and other campaign content.

Some printed routes and campaign material lead players there during play through QR codes, opening a recording, letter, broadcast, photograph or other fragment as part of the journey.

Every Storyteller also has a private Archive unique to their own campaign.

The Toolkit helps them build stops, people, rumours, routes, favours, debts, documents and recordings, then keep those things together as the campaign grows. It is designed to reduce preparation and bookkeeping while leaving judgement, tone and ownership entirely with the Storyteller.

Shem is a Shepherd of The Hidden roads and an optional companion for Storytellers and players.

He can answer rules questions without pulling the table out of the world, help prepare rumours, people, locations, crews and encounters, support continuity across a campaign, and help a Storyteller recover when the crew leaves the prepared route.

He never replaces the Storyteller. He supports when asked, helps when needed, and then steps back.

The Hidden includes lower-preparation tools, reduced bookkeeping and optional support for players and Storytellers with additional accessibility needs, including partial sight.

These choices are part of the game from the beginning, not additions made afterwards.

From the beginning, we wanted The Hidden to be more than something experienced around a table.

America has always carried its stories in song. Folk music, blues, gospel, railroad ballads and old recordings travelled from town to town long before many people ever read them.

The Hidden follows that tradition.

Music is not simply background to the world. It is another way the world remembers, another way stories survive, and another way the road speaks.

The people below are helping bring that voice to life.

Bella is a Colombian singer, songwriter, music producer and vocal coach based in Bogotá. Alongside her own music, she collaborates with artists around the world.

When we first heard her voice, we knew she was the artist we wanted travelling these roads with us. Her performance on Hums Me Back has become an important part of The Hidden's identity.

She is not simply performing a song for The Hidden. She is a valued creative collaborator, helping give the world a voice as distinctive as the setting itself.

Go behind the scenes as Bella records Hums Me Back, the official theme song for The Hidden.

Explore more of her work and support her as an independent artist.

The music of The Hidden is produced in collaboration with Bladud Flies, an independent record label specialising in beautifully crafted, limited-run vinyl releases.

For the Kickstarter, Bladud Flies will press the First Pressing of Hums Me Back — the first and only vinyl edition of the official theme song for The Hidden: America.

This exclusive collector's edition includes the official single together with an exclusive B-side, available only to Kickstarter backers.

This vinyl release will only ever be pressed for Kickstarter backers.

Once the campaign has ended, no additional copies will be manufactured or offered for sale.

While the music itself will remain available digitally, this first pressing will always remain exclusive to those who helped bring The Hidden into print.

From the very beginning, we wanted The Hidden to feel authentic.

Every creative decision has been guided by one simple question:

For the book's interior, we chose carefully researched historical photography and public-domain archive material rather than generative AI imagery. Much of this comes from remarkable collections such as the Library of Congress and other public archives, helping us present a version of 1930s America that feels grounded in history while leaving room for the folklore hidden beside it.

Where The Hidden called for original creative work, we chose to collaborate with talented independent creators. From Bella's performance of the official theme song to the artwork, graphic design and specialist production partners, every collaboration has been chosen because it strengthens the world of The Hidden.

We set out to create a world that feels genuine, immersive and lasting — worthy of the stories players will tell within it.