Castles upon Castles

Today Sam sent out the call for a brief two-player of his new game Castle Dice. Already a huge hit with the youth of today, how would the elders of society take to it. At first, I wasn’t keen but Sam kept mentioning he had beer, so I was finally persuaded.

Castle Dice, a little bit Scripts and Scribes and a little bit Roll Through The Ages. Dice rolls give you resources, that you can spend to activate cards that get you more resources. Meanwhile, barbarians come along after every building round (since the sight of scaffolding sends them into a fury) to remove resources, unless you have guards.

After the dice are thrown, they are all put into the middle where players take turns in picking the dice/resources they want. Thus, if your luck with these little fate boxes is lacking, you can rely on others to roll what you want.

It’s fun and fast moving, plus it’s remarkably easy to learn. I’d love to play it with four, and with cards hidden. As it was, we played everything out in the open to help me learn the rules. And learn them, I did. I got busy with buildings and their victory points with barely a glance at the market.

Andrew 12
Sam 7

After this, we thought about a shortish game, a little under an hour. 7 Wonders was considered, but perhaps a little overplayed of late? Instead we went for A Castle For All Seasons. Last time we played, Adam pointed out that it was just a case of “whoever gets the unbuilt buildings bonus wins” and it was sort of true again here. Sam got two men in that bonus area, and got the win.

Sam 67
Andrew 49

A Castle For All Seasons is an odd game. When it works, it all seems to run smoothly, like a well-oiled bicycle. But one mistake, and it’s as if the chain slips off. The only way to get back on track is to stop completely, and by that time your opponent has sped past you.

But after that I was away. Sam made toast under the grill and I stepped out into the brisk November air. Until next time... which is a whole twenty hours away!