I first came across Castle Combo, the 2-5 player tableau-building game by Grégory Grard and Mathieu Roussel and published by Pandasaurus Games, on Board Game Arena, the online board gaming platform. Although it wasn’t the first time I had seen it done, it was the first time I chose to engage with a game I hadn’t heard of being previewed there before its physical release at Essen.
I decided to give it a try and, luckily, I have a group of unfussy friends that I can invite to play any BGA game, even if they don’t know the rules, and they’ll quickly learn it and join in. What began on a whim turned out to be my favorite light filler 2-player game of the year.
Gameplay Overview:
Castle Combo’s gameplay is quite simple. In essence, you are gaining a card each turn to add to what will ultimately be a 3×3 card tableau. These are the actions one takes on their turn:
- Spend a Key (optional)
- Buy/claim a card & add it to your tableau
- Apply the card’s immediate ability
- Move the Messenger pawn (if indicated) and fill the display for both locations
I’ll come back to #1 momentarily. The main action of a player’s turn is that they can either buy a card for the price listed in the top left corner and gain the benefits of the card, both instant (gain resources) and end-game (points), or choose to not pay and flip the card over, still using up a space in their tableau, but instead only gaining six coins and two keys.
Cards are split between two different deck types, castle and village. Each deck has a different distribution of card factions, represented by six different shields, and each deck of cards will always reveal a row of three face-up cards to choose from. The player may only select a card from a given row if the messenger is present.
Prior to selecting a card, the player may spend a key to do one of two actions: refresh the row where the messenger is with three new cards, or move the messenger to the other row. This can only be done once. After that, the player must select a card, which means each player will have nine turns before their tableau is completed.
Cards score in different ways, some giving points for a particular representation of shields, either within a single row or column in the tableau or within the entire tableau. Others score coins that are stored on the cards at the end of the game, or for other characteristics represented on the cards. Once every player has taken nine turns, each of their cards are scored, along with one point for each remaining key, and the player with the most points wins.
Game Experience:
Wow, I was not expecting to love this game as much as I have. I have played Castle Combo now over 30 times, mostly on BGA, and mostly as a 2-player game. I’ve played it three times as a 3-player game, four times as a 4-player game, and once as a 5-player game (the latter enough to know that this is by far the worst player count). While I enjoyed the game as a 3- and 4-player game, the enjoyment drops with each added player. I will make the argument here that this is a 2-player game. The game is phenomenal as a 2-player game, buoyed by the fact that, including its lightning-quick set-up, it will take 20 minutes to play. I would happily play this as a 3-player game in person, as you can actually take a moment to observe your opponents’ moves more clearly than when you play asynchronously online. I think this a 5-star game with two players, and I think it drops a star with each added player.
The sneaky depth to this game that really allows it to shine at two (and still feel solid at three) is that it demands a bit of attention and defensiveness from the player. You want to see what cards your opponents are taking, because ultimately, a successful tableau relies on synchronous cards that enhance each other’s point values. In trying to win, you can’t simply focus on picking the best cards for your tableau; this is not a multiplayer solitaire game. You must also seek to deny your opponents cards that will help them score points. This is one reason a 4+ player game of Castle Combo lacks bite. It becomes more of a solitary game where you wait and see what your options are after three or more other players have taken a turn. It turns your brain off during the downtime. The game shines when it’s a delicate ballet of deftly reacting to the shenanigans of—or point-blocking—one or two other players.
In my many plays of the game, I did identify a few aspects of the game that some might view as negative, but I simply view them as knowledge gained from familiarization. Several cards are fairly powerful, but not in a vacuum. Coin purse cards, which score you points for coins you have left over at the end of the game, can be uniquely powerful, particularly if one player manages to pick up a lot of them and fill them, and especially if someone gets the Banker card, which increases the value of those coins.
Some cards fill those coin purse cards mid-game, which are massively important for pulling off the coin purse strategy. Some cards provide a discount for future card purchases, which is incredibly useful in the game, and if paired with the Alchemist, which gives four points for every such “discount” card a player has acquired, can yield a bounty of points. Additionally, in my experience, the cheaper Village cards appear to, on average, be more powerful than the usually more expensive Castle cards, though many of the latter come with the promise of more points. There are several cards like this to look out for that, if a player is aware of them, hold a distinct advantage over a neophyte. But that really comes with the territory of any card-driven game, so in the end, I view this as an element that gives the game more depth.
The caricaturish art has received mixed reviews from my game group. Some love it, some hate it. I lean more towards the positive end of the spectrum. The game basically feels like a cross between Sardi’s and Medieval Times, which gives the game a feeling of frivolity that matches its lightness and brevity. The overall production quality is solid, with nice thick cardboard keys and coins, and a thick wooden messenger token. The one gripe I have is the paper cards. While they are decently thick cardstock, I do wish Pandasaurus would have gone one step further and given them a linen finish to protect them. I’m not a card sleever, but for those who are, my guess is sleeving the cards will make the stack too tall for the box to close. I realize it’s an additional manufacturing cost, but it’s a touch I hope that publishers of games that are primarily a deck of cards will do.
Final Thoughts:
I will be shocked if Castle Combo isn’t in my top three games of the year, it would really require something special to knock this out of that stratosphere. The speed with which one can play, the lightness of the rule set, the approachability of the artwork, and the deceptively rewarding depth, particularly at lower player counts, make this a big winner.
Final Score: 4.5 Stars – A delightful tableau builder that plays in 20 minutes and approaches perfection at two, is very good at three and then falls off a cliff at four and five.
Hits:
• A perfect 2-player game
• A fast step, teach, and play
• Delightful artwork
Misses:
• Is mediocre-to-bad as a 4- and 5-player game
• Wish the cardstock was nicer
