Sublime Dark: Fantasy Horror Board Game for 1-4 players
Created by Tristan Hall
A brutal experience in dark terror! Explore the town of Blackfell and uncover the sinister secrets of the eremites.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Sublime Dark Update 13 - November Rained
5 months ago
– Mon, Dec 01, 2025 at 08:17:31 AM
Hello there,
I was supposed to send this last night but… you know, Stranger Things Season 5!
Sublime Tales
Quick update: we’re still ironing out a few of the more ambitious graphical components and testing a couple of new printing techniques that we haven’t used before — and I’m dead excited about them. Our lead monster artist, Carlos Villas, has just sent me another two pieces of disgustingly beautiful art. There are hundreds of written concepts in Sublime Dark that are left to the reader’s imagination, but I wanted these particular moments visualised — and Carlos has delivered the goods in fine fettle, as always.
And here they are no—just kidding :D
Below is a pic of my locally printed copy of the mahoosiveSublime Tales storybook — the final version will be stitched, not spiral-bound. Over the run-up to Christmas, Francesca and I will be spending much of our time meticulously going through all 40,000 + words of this behemoth, checking for typos, quality, and consistency (and pain and suffering).
Veilwraith in the Top 5
Great to see Veilwraith featured in the Top 20 Solo Board Games for People New to Solo Board Games from the excellent Rolling Solo!
Gloom of Kilforth, People’s Choice
Gloom of Kilforth has now been voted into the People’s Choice Top Solo Games list for seven years running :O A huge thank-you to everyone who keeps adventuring across Kilforth, posting stories, sharing photos, and introducing new players to the world. It means a lot to see the game still played and loved after all this time.
And finally, the big news: my next game — and our first new release of 2025 — Night of Wolves will be launching in time for Christmas! :D
Night of Wolves has been an entirely different design challenge for me. To deliver thematic and intricate experiences, most of my games use semi-complex rules systems — so to switch things up, I wanted to create a game you can grab off the shelf quickly and either rattle through in 30 minutes, or take your time with and journal your adventures, or even build into an RPG experience.
It takes about two minutes to learn, and offers a relaxing, almost zen-like rhythm of card-flipping and adventuring in a choose-your-path environment — another big old homage to Fighting Fantasy and D&D!
Sublime Dark Update 12 - Timeline Update
6 months ago
– Mon, Oct 27, 2025 at 03:01:24 AM
Hello there,
In the dark of Blackfell, the lamps burn low and the fog never quite lifts. Beneath the silence, the Eremites stir — restless, half-formed, awaiting their final shapes. But even nightmares take time to perfect…
Timeline Update: Expected Delivery in Q1, 2026
Given where we currently are with Sublime Dark, and the state of the global shipping and manufacturing industry right now, we’re now aiming for delivery in Q1 2026, rather than Q4 2025. If it’s any consolation, we’re still well ahead of the timeline for OG Gloom of Kilforth — if anyone remembers that… :D
This adjustment allows us to maintain the production quality you expect from Hall or Nothing, while navigating the continued uncertainty around tariffs, freight costs, and scheduling at our manufacturing partners. I’ve already begun submitting files to the printers, but there will be some back-and-forth on these, so it’s not the super-exciting “final files submitted” update just yet. Still, I'm pushing forward and making steady progress — the files, artwork, and layout work are all advancing, and each stage brings Blackfell closer to life.
The Sublime Tales storybook alone is the largest written work I’ve completed since my first novel — presently at roughly four times the word count of the Kreel Manor storybook. Beneath all the blood and fog, Sublime Dark has drawn quietly from many wells — from Sartre’s gaze and Nietzsche’s cycles of becoming, to the body horror of Clive Barker and the melancholy beauty of Hidetaka Miyazaki. All those echoes surface somewhere in Blackfell, reshaped through a sort of fevered logic.
As mentioned previously, Sublime Dark is too important to rush or compromise. The extra time ensures every component — from the Eremite Behaviours to the Caro Boards — lands exactly as intended.
Meanwhile, over in the world of Kilforth, Return to Kilforth fulfilment is complete — thank you all for helping make it our fastest campaign turnaround ever.
And for those following our upcoming releases — the 2025 launch of Night of Wolves is fast approaching. Expect more news on that front soon...
Thank you again for your patience and continued support. Every step brings us closer to the moment when you’ll finally descend into Blackfell and face both the Sublime and the… well, you know.
Cheers, and have a ruddy brilliant Halloween!
Tristan
P.S. Hit me with your best music recommendations — what are you listening to today?
Sublime Dark Update 11 - The Shape of Things
7 months ago
– Fri, Sep 26, 2025 at 02:03:24 AM
Hello there,
Progress continues, though there is little dramatic to report at this time. Behind the scenes, I’ve been trialling a redesign of the Caro Boards — making them more ergonomic and functional for play. The emotion wheels have proven a little clumsy in practice, so I've been testing cleaner tracking counters that slide neatly along each track. It’s a small change, but one that should make the experience smoother at the table, without losing any of the thematic weight of charting your descent into the Harrowing.
Alongside this, I'm polishing the design edges, confirming logistical details, and waiting on art files before everything is locked and sent to the printers. Steady steps, each one bringing us closer to the moment when Sublime Dark moves from files and proofs to the sumptuous box of goodies that you can finally get to play.
And, since some of you have asked what fills the quieter moments between these milestones — in my downtime I’ve finished designing Night of Wolves, a brutal, simple to play solo card game in the vein of classic gamebooks. That one is now complete and will be launching soon. Night of Wolves has far fewer components (i.e. one deck of cards, albeit big, beautiful cards) and is all ready to print, so if we get the timing right, we can manufacture it alongside Sublime Dark and have everything ship out all at once. But rest assured, Sublime Dark remains my main focus.
Thank you for your patience and support in this liminal space while we keep pushing towards opening the creaking gates of misty Blackfell...
Cheers,
Tristan
PS. The Return to Kilforth sale closes on Tuesday. International backers can use the code HONKICK25 for a mega discount via our website here: https://hallornothing.net
Sublime Dark Update 10 - Forging Ahead!
8 months ago
– Thu, Aug 28, 2025 at 06:26:38 AM
Hello there,
Progress on Sublime Dark continues apace, and we have been working tirelessly behind the scenes. I had hoped to align delivery with Halloween this year—an evocative date that felt fitting for the horrors awaiting you in Blackfell. Unfortunately, this milestone won’t be possible. The realities of production, compounded by ongoing uncertainty around US tariffs on board games manufactured in China (see this recent article from The New York Times), mean we are now looking at delivery closer to Christmas.
Despite this, we are forging ahead. Sublime Dark is too important to wait for tariff negotiations to settle. The project is moving forward and production planning is continuing so that Blackfell’s nightmare will be in your hands as soon as possible.
In the meantime, a huge thank you to everyone who supported our recent Return to Kilforth campaign, which was a resounding success. Fulfilment has nearly completed already, with most games shipping out right now. If you missed out, late pledges are still available for a limited time here: https://return-to-kilforth.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders.
Thank you as ever for your patience and support as we bring Sublime Dark to life. We remain committed to making this the most ambitious and haunting game we’ve ever created. And for those of you eagerly awaiting our launch of Wyvern Moor – The Dungeon Crawl Card Game (sequel to Kreel Manor), rest assured it’s coming. But I want the Sublime Dark files on their way to the printers first before that happens.
As always I’ll be keeping you abreast of developments as we go. Have a brilliant rest of the week, and I hope you get to play lots of games!
Cheers,
Tristan
Sublime Dark Update 9 - Return to Kilforth!
10 months ago
– Tue, Jul 15, 2025 at 04:00:48 AM
Hello there,
Sublime Dark is still scooting along nicely behind the scenes. Like everyone else, we're still waiting to see what tariff the US puts on goods from China next, so we're maintaining a holding pattern on printing until we know more. As always, I'll hit you all up as soon as we have the next milestone in place.
Return to Kilforth
In the meantime we're raising funds to ease the burden and make room in our US warehouses for Sublime Dark when it lands. To that end our latest beautiful Kickstarter is now live:
Return to Kilforth: US & Canada Vault Sale, Tariff Free!
After 10 successful Kickstarter campaigns, we’re doing something different. This time, it’s not a new game. It’s a celebration of the games that built Hall or Nothing — and a chance for US and Canadian backers to grab copies of our original Kickstarter editions at insane discounts.
✅ No customs, no tariffs ✅ Heavily discounted ✅ Still sealed, still beautiful
There are some truly excellent choices in this Top 20 Single Session Solo Games video from the mighty Colin Degnan of Meet Me At The Table. So it is a great privilege to see Kilforth coming in at number 6! :D
