Castles of Mad King Ludwig

You have to give Bezier Games and designer Ted Alspach credit for them giving Castles of Mad King Ludwig such a memorable title, but it’s actually an incredibly accurate one. This is a tile-laying game in which players are each attempting to build an extravagant castle that will impress King Ludwig II of Bavaria in the 19th century. Ludwig, however, is a bit mad, because he doesn’t care how practical the castle is — instead, he has specific needs that each player will attempt to meet when constructing their own chateau. Perhaps he wants lots of rooms for entertaining, or maybe he wants lots of dungeons (this will change, from game to game).

Each player starts with some cash and their own foyer tile with entrances leading out of it. You’re looking down at the rooms from a bird’s eye view, like building blueprints. Players take it in turns each round to be the Master Builder. They will draw cards that show which of the various shapes of room are available to build this round, and then the Master Builder reveals said rooms (they are all different types of room too, as well as shape), before deciding the price that each room will cost to construct.

Then other players can decide if they want to ‘pay’ the Master Builder to acquire certain rooms for their own castle. Once all players have chosen whether to buy a room, the Master Builder can then pay the bank the appropriate cost to purchase one of the remaining rooms, too. It’s all about deciding prices for rooms so you’re not giving anyone a bargain, but not to price rooms too expensive or no one will pay you, the Master Builder, to acquire them! You’ll also want to somehow guarantee the room you want is still up for grabs, and at a price you can afford…

Rooms have to line up next to previously built doorways. As well as earning points just for placing a tile, players also score for completing any room or corridor (a room at the end of each exit); there are combos (or penalties) for placing room types next to each other; players start with secret personal scoring targets; and there are public, shared scoring targets.

As well as the player interaction, part of the fun that comes with Castles of Mad King Ludwig is seeing the wacky, weird and wonderful castles that you’ll build each time you play. Rooms are named and colour coordinated, meaning you’ll get a real kick out of seeing your final masterpiece. The game ends once the deck of building cards runs out, so everyone’s going to have quite a creative castle by the finale!

If you love Castles of Mad King Ludwig, then perhaps you’ll also enjoy The Palace of Mad King Ludwig, also by Ted Alspach and Bezier Games (another tile-laying, palace-building game), or perhaps the likes of Isle of Skye (again with the I-price-you-pay mechanism, but on a smaller, quicker scale).

Player Count: 2-4
Time: 90 Minutes
Age: 13+