A Card Game About Surviving
Your Worst Day

No. MENTAL was made out of my own lived experience with mental health conditions, with input from the community — both mental health professionals and fellow patients. The humor comes from recognition, not ridicule. It's the relief of seeing your weirdest day named out loud, played back as a card you can laugh at because somebody else gets it too. If a card hits close to home, that's the point. If it hits wrong for you, that's completely valid — this game isn't for everyone, and it's not trying to be.

The Kickstarter campaign launches in 2026. If we hit our funding target, fulfillment to backers begins in 2027. Subscribers to this waitlist get early bird Kickstarter pricing and an exclusive promo card you can't get anywhere else.

Final pricing is set at Kickstarter launch, but expect the base game to land around €25–30. Early bird Kickstarter pricing for waitlist subscribers will be a few euros below that. Stretch goals and add-ons (extra cards, expansions, deluxe components) will be optional. Roughly the same cost as one therapy session, but you can replay it forever and your friends are technically free.

Direct from mental.cards after the campaign closes, plus selected tabletop retailers. I have a genuine soft spot for independent game stores — those slightly chaotic, beautifully cluttered places where someone behind the counter actually wants to know what you're playing. If you want MENTAL on a local shelf, please ask. Independent retailers genuinely listen to customer requests, and those requests help us decide who to work with.

Launching in English. A Dutch translation is highly likely (I'm Dutch, and translating my own game into my own language seems like a reasonable use of an evening). Other languages depend on Kickstarter demand — if there's a community asking for German, French, Spanish, or Portuguese, we'll make it happen. Kai's first language ("Toaster") will not be supported. I'm not fluent.

The 16+ rating reflects mature themes (mental health, mild language, dark humor) rather than graphic content. There's nothing explicit, no slurs, no shock value for its own sake — just adult-honest humor about adult-honest experiences. Younger players who handle dark comedy elsewhere will probably be fine, you know your group best. And honestly: I'd rather younger people be talking about mental health, in any form, than not. The age rating is about the game's tone, not the topic.

Yes, and I'm already excited about a few directions. New characters representing more conditions, themed expansions, mechanics that don't quite fit in the base game. I have ideas everywhere. But my focus right now is getting this base version developed, shipped, and into your hands. Expansions only matter if the foundation is solid. So: yes, definitely, but in their own time.

Maybe one day. Maybe very, very far down the road. Right now, designing this game gives me positive energy I've been missing for years, and the magic of tabletop — sitting around a table with friends, watching someone read "Reply All Catastrophe" out loud while staring you dead in the eye — is genuinely my favorite thing about it. A digital version isn't a no, exactly. Life has surprised me plenty. But I'm not chasing it.