Castle

Play cards into the courtyard, battlements, towers or outside the walls and be first to empty your hand.

Designers: Serge Laget, Bruno Faidutti
Published by: Descartes Editeur
Editions by: Hobby World, Heidelberger Spieleverlag, Eurogames

Bruno Faidutti returns to the medieval world of Ohne Furcht und Adel, this time with a card game about getting rid of your hand. Castle gives you square cards that you play onto a table with a cardboard castle layout, into one of four regions: the courtyard, the battlements, the towers or outside the castle. Most cards trigger a special action unique to them when played. The first player to empty their hand wins, which sounds simple until your own cards and your neighbors start getting in the way. It won the 2000 Concours International de Créateurs de Jeux de Société. Two to five players, about half an hour.

Four regions around a cardboard castleEach card has its own special actionFirst to empty their hand wins

Who it's for

You like a Faidutti card game with quirky powers, and you have three players and half an hour for a race to shed your hand.

Not for you if…

You want long-term planning or a heavy game. It is a short race built on card tricks.

Vibe's take

Brisk, scheming and a little chaotic. Every card has its own trick, so your plan to shed your hand keeps getting tangled in everyone else's.