Happy Birthday versus Nightmare Edition

Seems there’s some confusion about what Little Fears Nightmare Edition is and what Happy Birthday, Little Fears is and what’s compatible with what and isn’t Nightmare Edition just the original game, anyway?

Let me try to clear things up.

Little Fears
Little Fears is the original version of the game, released in 2001. It used a very simple system and had a very dark world. The world of Closetland is ruled by the Demagogue and his Kings. There were a few online supplements released but no physical products beyond the core rulebook. It went out of print in 2003/2004 but shows up on the secondary market, usually at a premium. It was never released in PDF (though PDFs certainly exist, they are not official).

Little Fears Nightmare Edition
Little Fears Nightmare Edition is the latest version of the game, released in 2009. It uses its own system—entirely separate from the original game—and is much more fantastic in its horror than the original game. There are no Kings of Closetland and no Demagogue. Closetland still exists though. It was released in print and PDF. So far, one physical product (Book 2: Among the Missing, also available in PDF) and three electronic products (the Campfire Tales episodes) have been released for it.

Happy Birthday, Little Fears
Happy Birthday, Little Fears is the tenth anniversary edition of the original game. It’s the same text as the 2001 release (though edited and updated a bit) and includes some commentary by me, some rules clarifications/additions, and all the supplemental material released by me is included. It uses all-new art but is otherwise similar to the 2001 release. It is slated for release in PDF on July 5th and in print sometime in August. You can pre-order it at a discounted price until June 29th. You can read about the pre-order here.

I hope that clears things up. If you have any other questions, drop them in the comments or email me at jason@littlefears.com.