The "Missing" Hanahaki card

So you bought yourself a copy of Hex Effects (or Side Effects) and you played and you thought, “wow, what an awesome game! Let me study this further to dissect the subtle genius behind the breakdown of these cards.” Or... maybe you thought something else, who knows! But you came to the conclusion many of your contemporaries came to: there seems to be a missing card!

You’re wrong! (Most likely)

When designing an Effects game, a little bit of balancing is necessary. In Hex Effects, the Disaster punishment for Hanahaki is so severe that only having four of those cards in the game helped balance this severity. The same goes with the Madness card in Side Effects. 

Card Counts

HEX EFFECTS

Hexes

Hanahaki = 4

Beetlepox = 5

Polymelia = 5

Piper’s Plight = 5

Kiss of Narcississ = 5

Sinister Spores = 5

Evil Alter Ego = 5

Whisper Worms = 5

Total = 39

Remedies

Powder of a Thousand Moths = 5

Interdimensional Honey = 5

Sentient Slime = 5

Li Shou’s Ocarina = 5

Mandrake Milk = 5

Eau d’Acide No. 7 = 5

The Brain Drainer = 5

Everfrost Eardrops = 5

Total = 40

Action cards

Disaster = 10

Snake Oil = 3

Jinx = 2

Total = 15

Grand Total = 94

SIDE EFFECTS

Disorders

Depression = 5

Anxiety = 5

Impotence = 5

Gambling Addiction = 5

Suicidal Thoughts = 5

Tremors = 5

Anorexia = 4

Madness = 4

Total = 38

Drugs

Treatment for Depression = 5

Treatment for Anxiety = 5

Treatment for Impotence = 5

Treatment for Gambling Addiction = 5

Treatment for Suicidal Thoughts = 5

Treatment for Tremors = 6

Treatment for Madness = 5

Total = 36

Action cards

You’re Having an Episode = 10

Therapy = 5

Total = 15

Grand Total = 89

You’ll also notice that because Tremors cannot be treated with Therapy, there is one extra Tremors treatment in the deck and because Anorexia can only be treated with Therapy, there is one fewer. 

If it isn’t following the pattern, it might be on purpose

We tend to do this quite a bit (asymmetrical card counts) with our games and have noticed a difference it makes in the gameplay, so it’s important not to jump to conclusions when you notice one fewer card (or one extra card) in your deck. However, mistakes can happen in the factory so if something looks very, very wrong, do let us know.

And if you've purchased a copy of Hex Effects and saw Deus Hex Machina in the rulebook, please read this blog post.

Hope this solves the mystery of the "missing" cards.

Enjoy the balance!