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The Castles of Burgundy: Special Edition box art

Base game

The Castles of Burgundy: Special Edition

Kritiku rating

Early

7.5

Published
2023
Reach
Under the radar
Players
1–4
Play time
70–120 min
Weight
Medium light
Ratings
1

How it plays

Develop your estate to earn the most victory points through buildings, animals, mines, ships, castles, goods, and completed regions. On your turn, use two rolled dice to take tiles, place tiles in matching numbered spaces, sell matching goods, or gain workers that adjust future rolls. After five phases, add end-game bonuses to points earned during play; the highest score wins.

Main mechanics

  • Dice rolling
  • Set collection
  • Tile laying
  • Worker placement
  • Dice rolling: Dice create swing and force you to adapt.
  • Set collection: Scoring comes from completing the right combinations.
  • Tile laying: You build a shared or personal board tile by tile.
  • Worker placement: You claim limited action spots before anyone else does.
Full publisher description

Castles of Burgundy is a legendary Board Game design created by Stefan Feld. In this 1-4 players tabletop experience, you will take on the role of an aristocrat controlling a small princedom. Trying to build a settlement with powerful castles, practice trades, exploit silver mines, and use the knowledge of travelers. Now, this timeless game is coming back with an extremely polished, high-end special edition resulting from a collaboration between Ravensburger and Awaken Realms. In this special edition, you can expect a complete re-design of art and layout to ensure that every piece will have great art and enhance in-game usability. Only the best materials (cardboard, cart paper, box, insert, etc.) will be used to provide endurance, and a premium feel. Many extra components will bring the gaming experience to the next level, such as double-layered player boards, special bags for hexes, 30% bigger tiles, or metal coins. The Castles of Burgundy is set in the Burgundy region of High Medieval France. Each player takes on the role of an aristocrat, originally controlling a small princedom. While playing, they aim to build settlements and powerful castles, practice trade along the river, exploit silver mines, and use the knowledge of travelers. The game is about players taking settlement tiles from the game board and placing them into their princedom, which is represented by a Duchy board that is placed in the Player board.

Criterion breakdown

ComplexityDepthSkillInteractionTable ExpProduction
  • Kritiku average
Criterion
Kritiku
Complexity

Simple

2.0
Depth

Robust

3.0
Luck vs Skill

Balanced

3.0
Player Interaction

Competitive

3.0
Table Experience

Memorable

4.0
Production

Stunning

5.0