Kingsport Festival
- Players
- 3-5
- Best withThe player count this game plays best at.
- 4 players
- Play timeHow long a full game runs once everyone knows the rules.
- 90 min
- AgeThe minimum age printed by the publisher.
- 12+
- ComplexityHow demanding the rules are, from 1 (very light) to 5 (very heavy).
- 2.6 / 5
- Year
- 2014
About the game
Kingsport Festival casts players as rival cult leaders in H.P. Lovecraft's Kingsport, competing to invoke Elder Gods and reap their otherworldly gifts at the cost of their own sanity. Over twelve rounds, players roll and allocate dice to summon gods, build up their cult's domain through connected buildings, and face periodic Raids from investigators trying to stop them. Managing Sanity against the pull of ever-greater power is the central tension, as you push your cult toward apocalyptic goals. It's a dice-driven worker-placement game steeped in cosmic horror atmosphere.
Hobbli's Notes
Playing as the cultists rather than the investigators is a fun inversion of typical Lovecraftian games, and the dice-allocation-for-gods mechanic creates satisfying tension between short-term gifts and long-term sanity loss. Twelve rounds is a substantial structure, and newer players may find the building and raid systems take a session to fully click. It rewards fans of both worker-placement euros and cosmic horror theme.
What we like
- Fresh 'play as the cultists' spin on cosmic horror themes.
- Dice allocation for summoning gods creates real strategic tension.
- Twelve-round structure gives a satisfying campaign-like arc in one session.
- Strong Lovecraftian atmosphere and production.
Keep in mind
- Longer 90-minute playtime with real rules overhead to learn.
- Sanity management can feel punishing for cautious players.
- Downtime can build with a full five-player table.
Who it's for
Suited to Lovecraft and horror-theme fans ages 12+ who enjoy dice-driven worker placement, in groups of 3-5.
