1-99 Players
Designer: Martin Van Rossum
Artist: Luis R. Blanco
Publisher: Rolling Rhino Games
As part of the crowdfunding campaign for Artic Roll, Rolling Rhino made available their previous games, including Chateau, a game about building castles in Europe. It looked good, so I decided to try it out. Is it just a fancy exterior, or does it have a good foundation?
Gameplay
Each player gets a castle sheet, and needs a writing utensil. Interesting that, unlike most roll and writes, each player gets a different sheet with their own layout and special powers, which is interesting. You also need two dice.
At each turn, a player rolls both dice, and players use them to add shapes to their castle. 1s are actually marked in the castle of the player to your left, 2s and 3s are shapes that can be used over and over again, 4s and 5s and shapes that can be used only once, and 6s you choose a symbol and mark off all of those symbols. If you ever can’t, or don’t want to, mark a shape, you mark a single one. Each castle also has their own unique power that can used in addition, usually a few times per game. The first player to completely fill their castle is the winner.
Solo Gameplay
Single player is almost the multiplayer version, and you’re trying to fill your castle in the least amount of turns. Everything is the same, except the 1s need to marked in the most open space possible.
Components
What initially caught my attention was how beautiful the maps are. All of them are actual castles, and the drawing is based on their actual layout using a top-view depiction. Each map also have a beautiful picture on the back with what the castle actually looks like, and all of them have a little snippet in the rules about their history, which I appreciate.
Speaking about the rules, they are well laid out and explained, leaving almost no issues to be had. It is indeed a simple game, but the rules do a good job encompassing all nuances of each map. Aside from the history, each map also get a little snippet of strategy.
Conclusion
The first time I read the rules, the game seemed actually a bit too simple for my taste. There aren’t a lot of restrictions on the placement, other than the obvious ones. But once I tried my first map, it left me with an important question in mind: WHY CAN’T I STOP PLAYING THIS?
It is rules light, yes, but there is a lot of planning and thought behind it. You need to see what shapes you want to use and when, what spaces you leave open and when to use your castle power. It’s a quick game, but so satisfying.
I’m so glad to get that, it is a very fun addition to my collection, one I can’t wait to have more people play and explore. Also, I’m not a great in balancing powers, but all castles do seem to be very well balanced, so kudos to Rolling Rhino
Score: 9/10
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