Quick Look: Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig
Designers: Matthew O’Malley, Ben Rosset
Artists: Laura Bevon, Agnieszka Dabrowiecka, Bartłomiej Kordowski, Noah Adelman Publisher: Stonemaier Games Year Published: 2018
No. of Players: 3-7
Ages: 10+
Playing Time: 45-60 minutes.
Foreword:
I was sent this review copy by Stonemaier Games and brought it to my FLGS to try it out with some friends. This review is based around this initial playthrough and experience. I want to note that making a game a 3-player minimum always seems like an odd choice to me in the design space, but the reason why becomes immediately apparent once you play the game. It’s required in order for the game to function as intended and became wrapped into my favorite part of the game.
From the Publisher:
Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig is published by Stonemaier Games as part of a collaboration with Bezier Games.
The king demands a castle! You are a world-renowned master builder who has been asked by the Mad King Ludwig to help design his castles. Projects of such significance require the expertise of more than one person, so for each assignment you are paired with another master builder to execute your grandiose plans. Will your planning and collaborative skills be enough to design the most impressive castles in the world?
Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig is a competitive tile-drafting game in which each tile is a room in a castle. You work together with the player on your left to design one castle, and with the player on your right on another castle. On each turn you select two tiles from your hand, reveal them, then work with your partners to place them. To win, you have to share your attention and your devotion between two castles.
Disclaimer: The publisher provided the copy of Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig The opinions expressed in the review are completely my own.
Review:
Initial Impression/Components:
Any Stonemaier game you purchase will feature top quality components and a purposeful design and this title is no exception. With a custom 4-piece Game Trays insert, unique wooden castle tokens, and an abundance of thick unique tiles, it looks and feels as good as it plays.
Components:
147 unique room tiles
83 other tiles
20 bonus cards
7 player aid cards
7 wooden castle tokens
1 full-color, double-sided, 100-sheet scorepad
4-piece Game Trayz custom insert
1 rulebook
Favorite:
I absolutely love how you work together with two of your neighboring opponents in order to build a castle on each side. Your cooperation and combined efforts will determine your final score, but with a further twist – you take the lowest score of the two. That means that if you don’t give them both equal priority, as well as your opponent, you’ll come up short at the final scoring.
Least Favorite:
I’ve got to say the player count. Getting 3 people to the table is a very hard task for me. At minimum to me that makes the game become 4 (I know that sounds odd, but it I generally play with 1-2 at home or with another couple) and I won’t get it to the table as often as I’d like. I’m eager to play this again and will take it elsewhere to see that happen. For the game itself, I suppose it should be mentioned you can have an opponent sabotage your chances of winning by doing a bad job on your shared castle.
– Highest-Lowest Scoring concept
– Shared construction of your castles
– Component quality and visual appeal
– 147 unique castle rooms is impressive
– Combos that can be created by tile choice and castle placement
– Quick gameplay
– Replayability
– A unique-feeling game experience
– Simple concepts that can pay off in a big way if you are a “min-maxer”
– Great approach at a semi-cooperative game.
– Tile placement rules/ways to earn points
– Point balance
Areas they could have improved:
– The Kingmaker, or rather the non-Kingmaker, concept can exist in this game as your final score is not determined by you alone.
Interesting moment:
I think this game is always going to have a big finish as you will have an idea of how you are doing on either side but the final scores of all castles and the overall winner will likely surprise you. In one play of the game, I had done way better on one castle than the other and its score was way higher than any other castle, however, I didn’t actually win the game as my second castle was not the highest-lowest scoring castle.
Overall:
For its delivery of a true semi-cooperative game, I’ve got to give this game the credit its due. This was one of the most enjoyable game experiences I’ve had in a while and the atmosphere it creates is just a joy to be a part of. It is approachable to any experience level and can be enjoyed with family and friends or game groups equally.
Final Thoughts:
Check out more information on this game on Stonemaier’s website or other content available on the title. I think this will be a winner in your collection and has the recipe for an exciting game night!
I’ll see you next time, back here at The Game Table,
After reading Brad’s review, if this sounds like a game for you at the time of this posting Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig is currently sold out in some countries. But you can get notified on when you can get yours HERE.
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Brad Hiscock, aka “Zerility”, is a construction project manager and electrician by trade who was the owner of a 6-time award winning electrical company. His passion for board games has led him from playing hundreds of original titles to creating a design and publishing company of his own, Convivial Games. As an up and coming collaborator on many projects, he is always eager to try new games and meet new people.
