What is Lanternfair?

Lanternfair is a free theme park tycoon game you play in your web browser. You start with an empty field, a park gate and a little money, and you build a park that people want to visit: paths, rides, food stalls, gardens and your own rollercoasters. Every guest is a little person with their own needs, money and opinions, and the park rating comes from how they feel. It runs on phones, tablets, laptops and Chromebooks, with nothing to download or install.

How to play

• Paths. Guests only walk on paths. Draw them from the entrance: on a phone tap where a line starts and where it ends, on a computer click and drag. Paths can climb gentle slopes and cross water as bridges.
• Rides. Pick a ride, tap where it goes and press Build. Ten flat rides to discover: a critter carousel, a sky wheel, spinning cups, a toy train, bumper cars, a swing spinner, a swinging galleon, a saucer twirl, a spooky dark ride and a sky drop tower. Every ride has an entrance and an exit: draw a queue line from the entrance to a path, or press Connect to path and the park lays one for you.
• The coaster builder. Place a station, then add track one piece at a time with big buttons: left, straight, right, up and down, with a chain lift, brakes and tight or wide curves. Buttons that won't fit tell you why. When the track nears the station, Close loop finds a way back for you. Then run a test: a train goes round with real physics and you get excitement, intensity and nausea ratings, the top speed, the biggest drop, the g-forces and tips to make it better. Ride along in first person with the ride cam.
• Guests and their thoughts. Tap any guest to see how hungry, thirsty, tired or queasy they are, how much money they have left and what they are thinking: "That coaster was amazing!", "The queue is too long", "I can't find the exit", "This path is so dirty". The Park panel collects what everyone is thinking so you can see what to fix.
• Prices and money. Set the park entry fee and the price of every ride and snack. Guests decide whether a ride is worth it from its excitement: charge too much and they walk away. Take a loan when you need to grow, pay it back when you can, and run marketing campaigns to bring in crowds. Graphs show cash, profit, guests and rating month by month.
• Staff. Handymen sweep litter and clean up after queasy riders, mechanics fix breakdowns and inspect rides, entertainers cheer people up in long queues, and security stops vandals.
• Research. Fund research to invent new rides, coaster types, track pieces, shops and scenery over time.
• Weather and events. Rain empties outdoor queues and sells umbrellas, old rides break down, and unhappy guests may smash benches.

Scenarios

Eight hand-made parks, each with a goal and up to three stars: Clover Field teaches the basics, Willow Bend splits your land with a river, Hillcrest asks for a coaster with real thrills on rolling hills, Old Pier Revival hands you a tired seaside park and a big loan, Drizzle Dale is the rainiest place in the land, Pocket Park squeezes you onto a tiny plot, Open Gates has free entry so rides must pay for everything, and Lantern Festival wants the best park of all. Earn a star in one scenario to open the next.

Sandbox

The sandbox has no goals and no money limit, and everything is unlocked from the start. Choose a flat meadow or rolling hills and build whatever you like.

FAQ

Is Lanternfair free? Yes. It is free to play, with no ads and no in-app purchases.

Do I need to download anything? No. It runs in your web browser. Open the page and press Play.

Does it work on a Chromebook or a phone? Yes. It works on Chromebooks, Windows and Mac computers, iPhones, Android phones and tablets. On a phone everything is done with taps and drags, with big buttons at the bottom of the screen.

Can I build my own rollercoasters? Yes. The coaster builder lets you snap track pieces together, add lift hills, drops, turns and brakes, close the circuit and test the ride. Every coaster gets its own excitement, intensity and nausea ratings. Three coaster styles to research: family, timber and steel.

Is there a sandbox mode? Yes. Sandbox mode has unlimited money and every ride, shop and scenery item unlocked.

Does it save my park? Yes. Your park saves automatically every month and when you leave, and you can keep three more parks in save slots.

Is it like the classic theme park games? It is an original game in the same genre: build a park, design coasters, look after guests and balance the books. All the rides, art and sounds were made for Lanternfair.

Credits

Path, stall and coaster car models from Kenney's Coaster Kit and Food Kit (CC0). Rides and scenery were modelled for this game. Sounds are synthesised in the browser.