Set in Sideshow's original dark-fantasy world, Court of the Dead: Dark Harvest, is a strategic bidding game for 3-6 players, in which each player is vying for power in the Court of the Dead and struggling to save as many souls as possible from annihilation in the Celestial War.

Each game round in Court of the Dead: Dark Harvest has an income phase and two main phases of gameplay:

1. Income, in which players receive souls and influence to spend.
2. The Court phase, in which players will attempt to win the favor of powerful members of the court to aid their cause,
3. The Harvest phase, in which players will attempt to satisfy the demands of the Celestials while saving as many doomed souls as they can.

At the end of the game, the player who is able to shepherd the most souls to safety, behind their player screen, will win the game.