
- BGG rank
- BGG #6,727
- BGG rating
- 7.0
Deep State: New World Order
- 1–5 players
- 40–75 min
- Complexity 2.5/5
- 2019

Rules assistance for Cult: Hastur & Marzanna
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

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Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Cult: Hastur & Marzanna is an expansion for Cult: Choose Your God Wisely released in 2018 for 2–5 players, 45–90 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Konstantin Seleznev and its main mechanics are Auction / Bidding, Area Majority / Influence, and Worker Placement.
Two extra gods for Cult choose your god wisely. They were originally included in the Kicstarter version Marzanna Light: Starvelings’ Revolt Sacrifice Cost: Discard 1 card and pay 1 coin.Instead of gaining alms, each Cult that loses in the Active Location gains 1 Follower and increases strength of any Priest by 1.Discard a card of any type and return 1 coin into the common reserve. After the winner in the Active Location is determined, each Cult that loses there takes 1 Follower from the reserve, returns 1 of their Priests to the reserve, and takes a Priest of their color with 1 strength higher. Players may not return a Patriarch or a Priest with strength 5 when under effect of this ability. Time of Harvest Sacrifice Cost: Return 3 of your Followers into the common reserve and pay 3 coins.The winner in the Active Location can gain its benefit twice. Gain 3 Followers.Return 3 of your Followers and 3 coins into the reserve. After the winner in the Active Location is determined, they get that Location’s benefit two times. Then you take 3 Followers of your color from the reserve. Dark: Tenebrious Benefaction Sacrifice Cost: Discard 1 card and pay 1 coin.Move a Priest placed on any Cult sheet to the Active Location. That Cult loses 1 Follower.Draw 1 Intrigue card.Discard a card and return 1 coin into the common reserve. Choose a Priest of any Cult that was used for a Ritual ability this round. Move that Priest from its Cult sheet to the Active Location. Then that Cult loses 1 Follower and you draw the top card from the Intrigue deck. Macabre Dance Ritual Cost: Place your Patriarch with strength of 13 or more onto your Cult Sheet.All Cults with any Influence in the Active Location are considered winners and lose 2 Followers each. Draw 1 Miracle card.You may use this ability only if you have a Free Patriarch with at least 13 strength. Place the Patriarch on your Cult sheet. Instead of determining the winner in the Active Location, all Cults with Influence there gain the benefit. Then each of them returns 2 Followers to the reserve. Draw the top card from the Miracle deck and add it to your hand. Hastur Echoes of the Void Light: Sacrifice Cost: Pay 4 coins.If there are no Priests or Altars in the next Location, gain a Priest with strength 1 and place it there.Return 4 coins into the common reserve. If the Location right after the Active Location contains no Priests or Altars of any Cult, take from the reserve a Priest token of your color with strength of 1 and place it in that Location. Lapse of Sanity Sacrifice Cost: Discard 3 cards.Remove any 3 Priests from the Active Location to build an Altar there.You can only use this ability if the Active Location contains at least 3 Priests (of any Cults). Discard 3 cards. Return 3 Priests from the Active Location to their players. Then flip 1 of your Priests in the Active Location to the Altar side. Dark: Realm of Madness Sacrifice Cost: Return all your coins (can be 0)into the common reserve.Play up to 3 cards from your hand. Gain 2 Followers for each card played this way.Return all your coins into the reserve. If you have no coins, you may still use this ability. Play up to 3 cards from your hand and take 2 Followers of your color from the reserve for each card played this way. You may not have more than 9 Followers. Choir of Hollowness Sacrifice Cost: Return all of your Followers(can be 0) into the common reserve.Double your amount of Influence in the Active Location.Return all of your Followers into the reserve. If you have no Followers, you may still use this ability. When determining a winner in the Active Location, your amount of Influence is doubled.
Cult: Hastur & Marzanna supports 2–5 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Cult: Hastur & Marzanna is 45–90 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Cult: Hastur & Marzanna for ages 12 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Cult: Hastur & Marzanna belongs to these categories: Horror, Religious, and Expansion for Base-game. Its main mechanics are Auction / Bidding, Area Majority / Influence, and Worker Placement. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Cult: Hastur & Marzanna are: Konstantin Seleznev. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Cult: Hastur & Marzanna as an expansion for Cult: Choose Your God Wisely. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need Cult: Choose Your God Wisely to use it. Check that your edition of Cult: Choose Your God Wisely is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.