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Hocus Pocus Hyperfocus: the ADHD Oracle Game

Created by Allison Kyran Cole

A cozy story game about an absent-minded Witch with a Very Important Thing to do and a lot of little distractions stealing her focus.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Winter Wonderland Update
7 months ago – Thu, Jan 29, 2026 at 11:22:21 AM

Hello Covenmates!

This holiday season sure has been a ride, and the winter adventures abound here in snowy Montreal. We’re insulating our windows and drinking cinnamon tea to keep ourselves warm while we continue to make progress on Hocus Pocus Hyper Focus.


Over December we took time to meet with almost all of our backers who are receiving a custom character card, and Brandy is hard at work using what we gathered to create tiny wonderful worlds and chaotically distractible witches. We’ve also shipped out all of the prototypes to those at tiers who should be receiving them and it’s been a delight to see even these early versions of the game in some of your hands!

In terms of what comes next: We’re planning to get digital files to the production facility we’re working with in the next month so they can create a physical proof of the final product (Ah! So exciting!). Once we have those in hand we’ll be able to either make any small changes to ensure that your game is perfect, or go right into the final production run. Whatever the case is we’ll be sure to share with you all.

Stay warm and cozy,
Allison and Brandy

An Early Update (before the holidays!)
8 months ago – Mon, Dec 15, 2025 at 08:30:38 AM

General Update

Hello everyone!

As always, we want to keep you updated on the game's progress with monthly updates. We're sending this one out a little early so that we can take care of some logistics before we take a break for the holidays (phew!).

Now that our manufacturer is locked in and a contract is signed, we're working to do the same with a fulfillment center. This will make dealing with shipping and shifting tariffs much more manageable for the two people who comprise the Hocus Pocus Hyperfocus team. 

Concurrently, final design continues to progress. A preliminary rulebook layout was completed for the prototypes we've sent out. Things will need to be redone and shifted as the final dimensions are slightly different than those of the prototype, but we are excited with what we have so far (and are extra stoked to get feedback from those of you who are receiving early prototypes!). 

Our next steps are to begin writing our pre-made witches, hand off some written work to our editor, and make some final tuning to the exact distribution of the Deck of Distractions. Things are on track, and we're excited about it!

 

For Tiers that include Prototypes 
 

Surveys went out to most folks who pledged at levels including a custom character, and it's been a delight to meet some wonderful people who have supported this project and start preparing stories based on our time together.

That said, thanks to a diligent backer, we realized that we were short a few addresses to send the prototypes and that it was specifically 'Pledge Over Time folks' who were missing. After reaching out and discussing with BackerKit, this is done by design and is a functionality that can’t be overridden (what do you mean we can't send someone stuff until they have paid in full?!). 

To get around this, we'll be individually reaching out to people in this position this week so we can collect your information, schedule our story meetings, and get those prototypes to you ASAP !

So in short:
* If you paid in full and have already filled out your address, thank you! Your prototypes have been sent out!
* If you have yet to schedule your Write You Into the Story meeting on Calendly go ahead & do so (there will be a link in your survey, or message from us).
* If you choose the Pledge Over Time option, we are unable to send a survey through backerkit but will be in touch this weekend 

Wishing you a warm winter solstice,
Allison & Brandy

 

🎵 So, never mind the darkness, We still can find a way. 🎵 (Or: Staying On Track when it's Cold, Dark, & Dreary)
9 months ago – Fri, Nov 28, 2025 at 07:47:44 AM

Hello, Our Bewitched Backers & Curious Coven Contenders,

It's time for an update! (That was written two days ago and forgotten in Brandy's drafts in the fog early evening darkness and frigid, freezing rain. #adhdlife)

  • Allison has conquered the labyrinth that is the backend, sorted out, and set up the Pledge Manager (Backer Kit)! (Small test is out, and all will be along shortly after we've confirmed things are working.)
  • If your tier included a prototype, you should have received a survey: 📝 Please fill those out!
  • We've worked through quotes and specs, and 🥁 our manufacturer is locked in!
  • Now that we've lined up the manufacturer, the design files are switching over from prototype dimensions to final specs. Colours adjusted. Clarity accounted for. Perhaps, most importantly, protection spells conjured for our Canadian' u's.
  • We've begun the interviews for those that backed at the "We write you into the game" tier and everyone is so lovely. They are going to be so lovely. (I'm totally not crying.)

Except to hear from with more updates (and perhaps some sneak peak designs🤞next month.

Until then find some hot cocao and good books. 🕯️
(Nothin' lasts forever / Even cold November rain)

- Brandy & Allison

♫ This was a triumph / I'm making a note here, "Huge Success" 🍰It's hard to overstate my satisfaction
10 months ago – Tue, Oct 28, 2025 at 06:12:42 PM

💫 We did it! You did it. Thank you for backing, sharing, and believing in us. 💫

Image: Marvel, Agatha All Along

Welcome, and this Update marks the end of the 🔮 Hocus Pocus Hyperfocus: The ADHD Oracle Game 🎴Kickstarter Campaign, and RL debut. 
(Well, 'campaign proper', more on that...) 

Without your support, we wouldn't be swapping one Very Important Thing (🚀Launch a Successful Kickstarter) for our next Very Important Thing (📃Manage & Execute Fulfillment 📦 of a successful Kickstarter Campaign).

Not going to sugarcoat it. It's been a rough and tough campaign. With two neurodivergents with a plethora of work, projects, commitments, family, friends, responsibilities, and variable health and sensory needs — we planned for / knew things were going to be … challenging, let's say. Things started off with amazing ideas, good plans, solid actions....


⁉️And yet, 

With Murphy's Law of and happenstances, we were trounced. Like, really, truly knocked back. The sheer volume, frequency, and intensity of both big and little obstacles that cropped up in the days leading up to launch, and every single day since. It's not been easy. 

And also, all I (Brandy) could think of the whole time, in moments of clarity—comedy, really—I was transported out of myself. Out of body, and all things corporal, and I see myself. 
The little ADHD witch, with one truly Very Important Thing she has to get done. 
And so very many things to distract and derail her. 


I can't applaud Allison enough for how beautifully, painfully, and preposterously accurate she captured the feeling/mechanic of the "executive function" element of having ADHD in her game design. And I'll be simultaneously crying and cackling about all these Inceptionesque moments of it all the way through to fulfillment!

📦 Speaking of Fulfillment 

  • The game is done. What remains is polishing final designs and custom rewards, and coordinating with the printers/production team to meet their specifications.
  • Fulfillment will be done through Backerkit.
  • We'll be setting up the Pledge Manager in the next 1-2 weeks. (If your tier included an immediate prototype or retailer tier, we'll be in touch.)
  • Late Pledges are live & ongoing! While the Kickstarter 'campaign proper' is over (And we joyfully sold out of our custom tiers! TY!!) 
    Late Pledges can still be made while we work through fulfillment. 
    So tell that friend or coworker you forgot to message until now 
    (cough, we will be too 🫣)
  • Monthly updates will materialize until Fulfillment in Early Summer 2026
  • Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

     

🍂Regardless of whether you're observing / celebrating 🕯️Samhain, 🏵️Dia De Los Muertos 💀, 🎃All Hallows Eve (or none, or multiple) we ADHD witches wish you peace, fun, folly, and most of all please remember...


See you in the Updates,
Brandy & Allison



 

* My satisfaction with my deep cut video game song reference and the joy it brought me. 

🎶You've Got to Pick Up Every 🧶Stitch🎵
10 months ago – Sat, Oct 25, 2025 at 04:04:10 PM

Hello Covenmates!

It is so exciting to be heading into our last 72* hours (which also felt like the last 48* hours because #whatistime) of this campaign. This whole time there has been a lot of magic going on behind the scenes. We are impatiently eager to figure out final numbers so we can place an order with our manufacturer and get the final game proof into our hands. 



As we mentioned in our last updates (where we promised to share the video once it was out), we were privileged to have Lies You’ll Enjoy play through Hocus Pocus Hyperfocus, and it is a true joy to watch, so be sure to check it out. 



We also added a 'how to play' video to the campaign page if you want a more detailed look into the rules and flow of the game.

In regards to our backer rewards: we’re running out of our higher-tier levels (the ones that take us a lot more individual time)-- so if you want a witch scenario card based on your life or a handcrafted mystery box, be sure to grab one soon!

🪄Speaking of Magical Mystery Boxes….
As a little end-of-campaign treat, we wanted to give insight into the mystery boxes we are excitedly preparing for backers at the highest tier. For these backers, we wanted to create a truly ✨special and magical✨ version of the game; we are replacing each physical component with something premium and bespoke. 

The first component we’ve been working on (for several months now!) is the tokens. In the mystery boxes we are going to be replacing (still quite beautiful) plastic tokens with stones and semi-precious crystals that we collected ourselves. This has involved Brandy’s little witchling combing Bay of Fundy beaches for hours picking out the stones she deemed most beautiful and worthy to be in the game, as well as Allison researching how to extract diopside crystals from calcite veins in the forests of Quebec. It’s been a whole new world of learning and ADHD hyperfocus (Allison has integrated herself into the online Rockhounding community and is loving it). We’re excited about each of the new elements we‘ll be adding next!

Creating these boxes is extremely time-intensive, and we hope this gives you an idea of the care we are putting into each one. 

A quick gif of the slippy slicey shale rocks that Brandy skipped around searching for tokens. #worthit

And finally: Please continue to spread the word!

🔗 Here's a Quick Link to make it easy:
https://kickstarter.adhdoracle.com/

Know a local game, gift or esoteric shop you think might be interested in ordering some copies? 
A friend who could use a cool custom t-shirt with a little ADHD witch art on it? 
A family who needs a new game to play together on game night? 
Let them know about us! You got to pick up every stitch 🪡 😅

Between all things work, Kickstarter, ADHD, and life, we're over here fiercely vibing. Costume hunting, rock hounding, tarot reading, and spellcasting.

Must be the 🍂 season of the witch🔮, yeah... ;)

🎃 Music & Mischief 🎼, 
  Allison and Brandy