The Strange was published in 2014 by Monte Cook Games, as a result of a crowd funding campaign in 2013.

[2] The Strange is set in modern-day Earth but allows a GM to take their stories through many different "recursions", worlds based frequently on literary creations.

Character creation has been simplified by having players fill in the blanks to the statement: The Strange uses the Cypher System, developed for Numenera and is played primarily using a d20, but is used to determine if the player has beaten the difficulty of the task.

The GM sets the initial difficulty and will relay that to the player prior to the roll to help them determine their course of action.

The Strange won the 2015 Silver Ennie Award for "Best Interior Art", "Best Game", and "Best Setting".