Desperation: Dead House & The Isabel – Gothic Survival Horror Cards 🃏❄️

Two haunting mini-RPGs, one dark engine.

From the brutal Blizzard of 1888 to the unforgiving seas, play villagers or sailors pushed beyond endurance. These GM-less, card-driven storytelling games let you choose “who” says the things that must happen—unfolding lyrical horror with every draw.

❄ Dead House – Winter’s Cruel Embrace

Survive—or perish—in a tiny Kansas town during the Great Blizzard of 1888. As sanity and supplies vanish, who ends up in the “dead house” is decided by you.

⛈ The Isabel – Secrets and Storms at Sea

Aboard the schooner Isabel in the Gulf of Alaska, secrets leak like the deck. Storms rage—will you survive—or surrender to the waves and what’s hidden among the crew?

Inside the Box

• Two 64-card decks (Dead House & The Isabel)
• Two rulebooks
• One magnetic storage box

Why Desperation Stays with You

• 🃏 Card-based GM-less design—choose the “who,” not the “what.”
• 🌿 Atmospheric, history-steeped horror—both grounded in 1888 tragedies.
• ⏱ Intense one-shots—60–120 minutes of emotional, suspenseful gameplay.
• 🏆 Award-winning—2023 IndieCade Tabletop Design Award.

If you appreciate card-based theater games like For the Queen or The Quiet Year—and don’t shy from dark, ruthless storytelling—this duo is your next descent. Gothic, gripping, unforgettable.