This is what we can do together

Still catching up on old posts, and this one is about Estival, the highlight of my Fallen London calendar.

This annual festival takes place in the northern hemisphere summer, and is a unique story every year. The first three years - 2021, 2022, and 2023 - had escalating drama and world-ending stakes, with players having to fight for the very survival of the city itself. After last year, the Failbetter Games team said they would need to reinvent Estival for the future, since it's impossible to keep endlessly raising the stakes, and players would just get "apocalypse fatigue". The official promo this year said:

Summer of 1899 has come around again, and with it, Estival: a time of celebration, intrigue, and, historically, disaster. This year, something stirs beneath the Labyrinth of Tigers, and London is awash with striped and toothy visitors. Closed to all visitors since the Fall, the Sixth Coil of the Labyrinth is opening at last – and the Court of the Wakeful Eye is holding a grand tournament to celebrate the occasion. The Coilheart Games will soon commence!

The Coilheart Games! An exciting idea to bring Fallen Londoners together, as well as spark healthy competition, in a carnival atmosphere. (Surely nothing can possibly go wrong?) It also took place in August, right around the time of the Paris Olympics, which gave an extra nice resonance.

I love Estival, so I always want to do a giant recap post, but that's probably why I've put it off until now. Anyway, I've just put together some notes and thoughts below. For a day-by-day recap of events:

Timeline of events (on the wiki)
Promo post 1 (before launch)
Promo post 2 (at launch)

( Notes and thoughts )

( Favourite scenes )