This New Game Lets You Build Your Own Ski Resort From Scratch

If you’re anything like me, you have, at some point, looked up at an unmanicured mountainscape and thought, “How cool would it be if there were a chairlift up there?”

The risk of disturbing wilderness areas and the enormous cost of chairlifts put an obvious damper on those dreams. We can’t go around plopping down ropeways willy-nilly. 

But a new video game that recently hit Kickstarter aims to make that fantasy real, at least on a screen. Fittingly called Skingdom, the game puts a slew of tools at the disposal of would-be ski resort developers as they try to create the best mountain they can.

Tap or click below for the game's trailer announcement. Keep reading for more. 

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There are multiple lifts to choose from: t-bars, fixed-grips, high-speed chairs, gondolas, and cable cars. To house guests and create a steady stream of income, you’ll be able to plop down lodging that ranges from hotels to swanky cottages. Off the slopes, building restaurants, bars, and shops enhances the visitor experience. Bathrooms, too, are an essential part of ski resorts—unless you’re cool with angry guests who can’t find a place to take a leak.

What about the actual skiing, though? Skingdom involves constructing ski trails of varying difficulty. According to the game’s Kickstarter page, players have to consider a trade-off in designing their ski resort’s slopes. Steep runs might lead to more accidents among beginners, but advanced trails with gentler sections can leave expert skiers bored.

In short, Skingdom aims to simulate the decisions ski resort managers face. That includes choosing—or not—to secure a loan and rapidly expand. The game also involves running marketing campaigns to attract more visitors to your mountain, as well as hiring staff like ski patrol and snow groomers.

Skingdom’s developer, Dissident Studio, noted that the game draws inspiration from Ski Park Manager and Planet Coaster. The former is a lesser-known ski resort tycoon game from the early aughts. The latter, Planet Coaster, served as a spiritual successor to the popular RollerCoaster Tycoon 3.

Beyond Ski Park Manager and parallel games focused on theme parks or cities, there’s also Winter Resort Simulator 2, which has positive reviews and lets you build officially licensed Doppelmayr chairlifts.