Tabletop Tuesday - Castle Dice

Welcome to another edition of Tabletop Tuesday - Your weekly exploration into games of dice, cards, luck and more of the Tabletop world.

This week's game...the game of barbarian raids and stones laid that is Castle Dice.

Players: 1-4
Time: 60-90 minutes
Genre: Strategy



If you love the thrill of rolling dice, look no further than Castle Dice which boasts a whopping total of 64 custom dice!  Players are each tasked with building the greatest castle, of which they will earn points based on the following criteria come the end of the game: Points based off the star value of each castle part built; 1 Point for the player with the most Villagers; 1 Point for the player with the most Animals; and extra Points for other cards such as Minstrels.  The game is divided into seven days / rounds, where each player draws / discards cards to be built and then gathers their resource dice to be rolled.  Each round has certain resource dice indicated to be collected for that round, as well as a few dice to be freely selected as seen fit by the player.  Players then all roll their dice together, keeping any barbarians on their card sheet.  The rest of the resources then form a world resource pool, to which players will then take turns drafting which resources they wish to collect.  The drafting process requires careful and thoughtful selection so as to gather your needed resources, but also not let other coveted resources slip into other hands.  Once the drafting has completed, players can then build their cards using their newly acquired resources.  Keep in mind any barbarians kept in the wings will raid one of each resource for each barbarian come the end of the round.

So. Many. DICE! Each die has varied resources, animals, barbarians, and values depending on the color.

There are many other factors that go into consideration for each round.  For instance, there are four animals in the game to which any player that owns the most of that animal is granted a special ability, such as going first in the round or having extra cards in their hand.  Villagers built can also be assigned to four different roles which also have various effects, such as generating extra resources or protecting your resources from barbarian raids.  And each castle part built can vary in cost and function, from their value in points to providing extra resource dice each round to roll.  There are so many variables to consider in Castle Dice that it borders a fine line between luck and calculated odds.  But the open-ended nature of this game allows players to change strategies as needed and keeps every game in a close and often unpredictable race to the finish.  And each player is free to enjoy building their own castle with a relative carefree and relaxed nature.  I recommend this game for those who love tangible components and enjoy light drafting mechanics.

If you have any questions about Castle Dice, let me know in the comments below.  Otherwise, stay tuned to future installments of Tabletop Tuesday.  And happy gaming!