Tides of Madness v1.6 is now live.

This is the most significant update since launch. The bones of the voyage are unchanged (three phases a day, conditions to manage, omens to read) but the Captain, Crew, and Ship have been rewritten from the keel up.

What’s New

Every role now carries six traits, built to echo, contradict, or collapse under pressure:

• The Captain balances Virtue and Shadow

• The Crew hides Faultlines beneath Beliefs

• The Ship speaks its Self-Name, if you listen

Old d6 tables have been replaced with 2d6 prompts that dig deeper and haunt longer. These aren’t just flavor, they’re the logbook in waiting. Each one wants to be written.

There’s also:

• A new Self-Name table for your ship (some names should not be said aloud)

• Renamed traits across the board (Strengths → Virtues, Burdens → Shadows, etc.)

• All terminology and layout cleaned up to match the current tone of the game

• Trait order aligned between the rules and the playsheet

No new mechanics. Just more space to unravel.

For Returning Captains

If you’ve played a previous version, you don’t need to learn anything new. You’ll notice:

• The logbook entries come faster

• The crew feels more alive (or worse)

• The ship makes more decisions than it used to

And if you haven’t played yet, you're in for a treat.

What’s Next

I’m heading into Kickstarter prep. v1.6 is the foundation for the printed release. This will include:

• A full-color player-facing map

• Revised and illustrated playsheet

• Possibly a companion logbook or sea-worn journal

The rulebook itself will stay lean, haunted, and mostly free. That’s the whole point.

Got Feedback?

I’d love to hear from you.

[Submit a log entry or report strange sightings here]
Or just email me: hezitantgames@gmail.com

Until then, keep the lamp lit, don’t say your name twice, and if the ship sings back… write it down.

—Carl / Hezitant