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Campaign Survival2015
Kingdom Death: Monster box art

Box art via BoardGameGeek

Campaign Survival

Kingdom Death: Monster

A brutal, gorgeous survival campaign where your people die and the story keeps going.

3.8 out of 53.8/5

Designed by Adam Poots · 2015

Players1-4
Play time90-180 min per session
WeightHeavy
Ages17+
Check price on AmazonAffiliate link · supports the site, costs you nothing extra
The verdict

It's a 50 to 100 hour cult object that's punishing, expensive, and unlike anything else on your shelf. If that sentence excites you instead of scaring you, you already know.

Best for: Dedicated groups (or solo players) who love dark, punishing campaigns and won't quit after a bad dice roll.

The full review

What it is

Here's the pitch. You're naked people who wake up in a plane of stone faces, and you build a tiny settlement that has to survive monsters trying to eat it. Each Lantern Year runs three phases: the Hunt, where random events chip at you on the way to the fight, the Showdown, a tactical brawl driven by a monster AI deck, and the Settlement, where you craft gear and grow your village. It's part dungeon crawl, part RPG, part horror story.

The catch

Now the honesty. This thing is expensive, around $420 retail, and that's before you've assembled a mountain of sprued miniatures or cracked the 235-page rulebook. Players consistently warn it takes several sessions before the rules click, and your survivors die constantly. Often it's a random card, not a mistake you made. One reviewer's friend played one bad event and never came back. If character attachment matters to you, this will hurt.

Who it's for

But the people who love it really love it. Real players rave about the art, the AI decks that make each monster feel alive, and a 50 to 100 hour campaign that turns into a story you tell for months. The Dark Souls and Berserk crowd treats it like a religion. If a punishing, gorgeous, grim survival saga sounds like your idea of fun, get it. If you want a cozy night, run.

What other players say

This write-up is grounded in real reviews and player discussion, not just one opinion. A few worth reading:

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