  We introduce the idea of a {\it beable-guided quantum theory}. Beable-guided
quantum theories (BGQT) are generalisations of quantum theory, inspired by
Bell's concept of beables. They modify the quantum probabilities for some
specified set of fundamental events, histories, or other elements of
quasiclassical reality by probability laws that depend on the realised
configuration of beables. For example, they may define an additional
probability weight factor for a beable configuration, independent of the
quantum dynamics.
  BGQT can be fitted to observational data to provide foils against which to
compare explanations based on standard quantum theory. For example, a BGQT
could, in principle, characterise the effects attributed to dark energy or dark
matter, or any other deviation from the predictions of standard quantum
dynamics, without introducing extra fields or a cosmological constant. The
complexity of the beable-guided theory would then parametrise how far we are
from a standard quantum explanation.
  Less conservatively, we give reasons for taking suitably simple beable-guided
quantum theories as serious phenomenological theories in their own right. Among
these are that cosmological models defined by BGQT might in fact fit the
empirical data better than any standard quantum explanation, and that BGQT
suggest potentially interesting non-standard ways of coupling quantum matter to
gravity.
