# Lanterns: The Harvest Festival

> Tile-placement game of arranging lanterns for Honor in imperial China. (iPhone/iPad app by Dire Wolf Digital.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lanterns-the-harvest-festival/id1155269699 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Dire Wolf Digital](https://appshunter.io/developer/815343758)
- Category: Games, Board, Strategy
- Price: $4.99
- Rating: 4.60/5 from 140 App Store ratings · 76 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 12.0 · 230 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2016-10-31
- Data updated: 2026-08-31
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lanterns-the-harvest-festival/id1155269699/reviews.md

## What is Lanterns?

Lanterns: The Harvest Festival is a beautiful, thoughtful tile-placement game set in imperial China based upon the best-selling and award-winning board game. The app now includes the new expansion Lanterns: The Emperor's Gifts at no additional cost.

In Lanterns, players take turns arranging colorful floating lanterns on a ceremonial lake. Completing sets of lanterns earns Honor, and at the end of the game the player with the most Honor wins.

Vibrant visual effects, skilled AI, meditative environmental music and smooth touch play translate the delightful zen of Lanterns: The Harvest Festival to your phone or tablet.


Praise for the board game:

       • SXSW Game of the Year Nominee
       • Geek & Sundry Top 5 Games of 2015
       • Dice Tower Seal of Excellence
       • Board Game Geek's Most Anticipated 2015
       • Mensa Select 2015 Winner
       • Best Family Game - Dog & Thimble 2015
       • Best Game for New Gamers - Dog & Thimble 2015

"Lanterns is very beautiful and easy to get into, but has depth that can challenge even the most experienced players." - Geek & Sundry

"I think a lot of people are going to be turned on to Lanterns, because you can play it casually, or you can play it very competitively. Both ways it's very enjoyable, and it's hard for a game to do that." - The Game Boy Geek

"Lanterns offers tile-placement and set-collection with a twist, and that twist makes it more interactive than other tile placement games I’ve tried. ... I loved the simplicity and interactivity of the game, as well as the originality." - The Opinionated Gamers


Lanterns: The Harvest Festival offers all of the fun and depth of the tabletop game, PLUS:

       • Online asynchronous matchmaking against old friends and new
       • Strategic solo play to hone your skills against AI players
       • Progressive Challenge system to guide you through gameplay
       • Intuitive tap-and-drag tile placement for fast and easy play


For more information, please visit www.direwolfdigital.com
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter at /direwolfdigital

## Key features

- Tile-placement gameplay
- Set collection for Honor
- Online asynchronous matchmaking
- Strategic solo play against AI
- Progressive Challenge system
- Intuitive tap-and-drag controls

## Chart rankings

- #199 in Top Paid · Board (US App Store)

## What do users think of Lanterns?

Overall sentiment: mixed

**Pros**

- ✨ Beautiful visuals and graphics
- 🎮 Great adaptation of the board game
- 🧘‍♀️ Relaxing and zen-like atmosphere
- 👍 Intuitive and easy-to-use interface
- 🧠 Engaging and strategic gameplay
- 🎧 Pleasant music and sound effects
- 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Good for solo and multiplayer
- 🚀 Smooth performance (generally)
- 💡 Well-implemented tutorial
- 💯 Faithful to the original game rules

**Cons**

- 🐛 Broken final round/dedication
- 🐛 Login and account issues
- 🐛 Multiplayer connectivity problems
- 🐛 UI issues on smaller devices
- 🐛 Game freezes or crashes
- 🐛 Unfair AI behavior
- 🐛 Lack of clear explanations for some mechanics
- 🐛 Battery drain

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Terms and conditions pop-up unclosable
- Final round/dedication is broken
- Game doesn't follow rules after updates
- Emperor's lanterns can be used twice in a turn
- Exiting games are lost after updates
- Minor bugs with localization strings
- Unplayable on iPhone 12 (screen blown up, unscrollable)
- Update has killed friend multiplayer (games disappear)
- Last round is glitched
- Login issues (stuck, errors, old credentials not working)
- App frozen for weeks
- Computer doesn't take its turn in multiplayer
- Takes forever to be notified of turn in multiplayer
- Game freezes when skipping dedication with many cards
- Cannot resume offline games if app is dumped from memory
- No badge notification for turns
- Cannot connect to server to play online
- Inability to continue game when minimizing app
- Misclicks are not reversible
- Difficulty starting new ranked games or playing with friends

**Most requested features**

- Toggle off animations
- More difficult AI level
- Visible timer for multiplayer games
- Ability to communicate with opponents
- Option to mute sound or have sound only
- German language translation
- Dark mode option
- More robust offline game saving/resuming

## Recent user reviews (10 of 76)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lanterns-the-harvest-festival/id1155269699/reviews.md

### 1/5 — Functionality Bad

*2026-01-09*

I recently downloaded this app about a week or two prior to this review. I had created an account with Renegade/Dire Wolf but when the terms and conditions appear on the screen within the app, there is no way to agree/disagree and no way to close the pop up without closing the app and starting from the beginning. This is causing me to be unable to play any multiplayer mode.

### 3/5 — Great game BUT

*2024-12-19*

The user interface, and especially the tutorial, need serious upgrades.

### 5/5 — As good or better than the physical

*2024-02-16*

Great version of the original. I just wish you could toggle off the animations. also would be great to have one level more difficult AI, but all in all it’s great

### 5/5 — Enjoy this game

*2023-09-22*

I have really enjoyed this game and rated five stars, but I’ve only played it solo against the app. But I like it so much that I’m going to try to get the physical copy again even though I’ve traded away once before.

### 5/5 — Beautiful

*2022-10-02*

A great translation. The audio, the visuals, the intuitive interface….I wish all tabletop games were done this well in digital.

### 5/5 — All The Signs of a Classic

*2022-03-05*

This is a good example of how an app can breathe new life into a great card game. The bookkeeping is all done for you, all the color and beauty remains. The two player game is the most strategic. It is really just an abstract card game, simple rules and a bit of a take that attitude.

**Developer response:** Hi Thomas!

Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review! We are so happy to hear you are enjoying it! 

If you have any feedback or run into any issues, feel free to drop us a line at support@direwolfdigital.com !

### 1/5 — Last turn broken

*2021-11-15*

When you’ve set yourself up perfectly to make the game winning dedication on the last turn and the current version of the game is broken so you never get that last turn, it takes all the joy out. Fix the last turn already! Clearly it has been broken for 6+ months. It isn’t too much to ask to expect that the digital version follows the rules of the game.

**Developer response:** Hello JennCali 2.0, 
Thank you for leaving a review! If you are still experiencing trouble with this, please email us directly at support@direwolfdigital.com so we can learn a bit more from you about what you're seeing. Thank you so much!

### 5/5 — Great play of the card game

*2021-11-06*

Amazing graphics and plays very well as 2/3/4 player. Nice that it follows the card game thoroughly.

### 5/5 — Great Fun

*2021-10-23*

Dire Wolf have delivered another great conversion of a board game into the digital realm. This is really simple to play, quick and fun game with great presentation.

### 2/5 — Unplayable on iPhone 12; final round rules wrong

*2021-07-07*

Update: still unplayable on iPhone 12 pro max and iPhone 12 pro after update.

On both iPhone 12 pro max and iPhone 12 pro, the screen is all blown up and you can’t scroll around. Support responded once a month ago and then radio silence. Plays well on iPad. But, final round is broken as many others have reported. Very disappointing for a $5 app.

**Developer response:** Hello Afitnerd! Thank you for reaching out. This issue should be resolved after our most recent patch, so if you are still encountering this issue, please let us know in the email thread you've begun with support. Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention, and have fun playing!

## Frequently asked questions about Lanterns

### What is Lanterns: The Harvest Festival?

Lanterns: The Harvest Festival is a digital adaptation of the award-winning board game. Players strategically place colorful lantern tiles on a ceremonial lake to complete sets and earn Honor. The player with the most Honor at the end of the game wins.

### What are the key features of the app?

The app features intuitive tile-placement, set collection mechanics for earning Honor, online asynchronous matchmaking, strategic solo play against AI, and a progressive challenge system. It also includes vibrant visuals and meditative music.

### How much does Lanterns: The Harvest Festival cost?

The application is a paid download. The description indicates that the new expansion, Lanterns: The Emperor's Gifts, is included at no additional cost.

### What platforms is Lanterns: The Harvest Festival available on?

The description mentions that the game translates the experience to your phone or tablet, suggesting compatibility with both iOS and Android mobile devices.

### Who would enjoy playing this game?

This game is ideal for players who appreciate beautiful, thoughtful games with strategic depth. It's suitable for both casual players looking for a relaxing experience and competitive players seeking to hone their skills.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2.3.2 — 2026-06-24

Fixes an issue with some dialog buttons not appearing.

### 2.3.1 — 2025-10-03

Fix for shader issues on the playmat.

### 2.3.0 — 2025-09-23

General bug fixes and compatibility updates

### 2.1.1 — 2021-07-14

Patch 2.1.1 contains a fix for an issue where users on certain devices defaulted to Landscape Mode.

### 2.1 — 2021-07-06

Bug Fixes:
-Fixed an issue where users on certain devices defaulted to Landscape Mode.
-Players can now exchange and make dedications at the end of the game.
-The ‘Next Game’ button now appears in Multiplayer matches.

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## More apps by Dire Wolf Digital

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All apps by Dire Wolf Digital: https://appshunter.io/developer/815343758

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-31.*