Peter Batterton
United States
Georgetown
Texas
I owe my my youthful appearance to clean living . . .
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My review of Castle Panic and first game results:
I should state that my first experience with this game was at the hands of the designer Justin De Witt. We (my wife and 8 year old son) had a chance to play at Dragon’s lair, in Austin, while Justin was there to promote his new game. He gave a brief introduction to the rules and the pieces and we were off.
And that is one of the best features of this game. The game is very easy to pick up and play. The rules are straight forward and so simple you’d have to try hard to find either a contradiction or a conflict (I couldn’t).
The game is very nicely presented. The box holds everything easily and has some simple but charming artwork. The contents of the box are as follows:
1 Game board
1 Rulebook
49 Castle Cards
49 Monster Tokens
6 Walls
6 Towers
1 Tar Token
2 Fortify Tokens
5 Order of Play Cards
12 Plastic Stands
1 Die (D6)
The game board is printed in brilliant color and is fun to look at. A series of 5 concentric rings divided into 6 pie slices. These are further colored, in pairs, red, blue and green. These sections (numbered 1-6) serve as the entry points for the hoards of monsters that are hell bent on destroying your towers.
This design contributes, really makes, the overall feel of the game. The monsters are closing in on every side. Closer and closer they come until they reach the outer perimeter wall. The sense of attack and impending doom is conveyed perfectly.
In addition there are, on all four corners of the board, reminders of play sequence, monster abilities etc. No need to look through the rule book. Another nice touch.
The cards are of average size, glossy and in full color (as opposed to partial color? ) and nicely illustrated. The cards represent Archers, Knights and Swordsmen (among other events). These guys do the “fighting” in the game.
There are NO dice rolls for combat. The cards are used to fight the monsters. One card is equal one point of damage to the monster- A very clean and smooth game mechanic. There are a small number of cards that will differ from the rest and they will have a different impact on the players and monsters.
The monster Tokens, towers and walls (and the two Fortify tokens) are thick compressed cardboard and in full color as well. The monster tokens are triangular and cleverly, monsters damage points are is on the points of the triangle. Monsters have between 1 and three damage points (Health in other words). As they take damage you simply rotate the token to the next lowest number (keeping the point towards the castle towers). Monsters that have only 1 damage point are removed (and saved by the player for later victory determination).
The rules are printed in large font, in full color and have more, great artwork. There are many examples of play as well. There is a sense of fun throughout the game insofar as the illustrations are concerned.
The only complaint I have about the contents is the die, a D6. It’s cheap- Operational, but cheap. And if this note influences your purchasing decision, you are a ninny. 
The game box states about 1 hour playing time and it’s right on. Also stated is the minimum age for children to play is 10, but my 8 year old got it no problem.
So play is straightforward-
Draw cards, discard a card, trade a card, play card(s) move monsters and draw monsters.
Play is fast but there are lots of decisions to be made. The cards are used to “attack” monsters at various “distances” from your towers- Archers the furthest, then knights and finally swordsmen. If the is a monster in the Archer ring and you have the corresponding color archer, and then the monster takes one point of damage. The card is discarded and the monster is as well if he had only one point of health. Otherwise the token is rotated to show the next lowest number on the token. Trading cards in encouraged and somewhat of a necessity to thwart the monsters.
The player then advances the monsters one circle inward and draws two additional tokens. That’s where the die comes into play. There are 6 numbered sections and the die roll determines where the monster appears.
If a monster reaches a wall, both the monster and wall are destroyed (if the monster has only one damage point). In other words, monsters take a damage point when destroying a wall or tower section. If they survive the wall they will move clockwise inside the walls and destroy towers. This is a bad thing as towers cannot be rebuilt. Walls can be rebuilt during a players turn by playing a “Brick” and “Mortar” card together.
Cooperative play is encouraged. There are three options for play style: Standard, Co-op, and Overlord.
Within the monster tokens there are 4 Boss monsters and several other nasties. I won’t spoil the surprise.
The game is won if the players have just one tower remaining when the monster tokens have been depleted.
As far as our game went, my wife helped  the monsters whenever she could by drawing bad things and at the worst time. The game was close! In fact we lost our last tower to the last monster with only one damage point remaining! So close.
Great time. Great game. I would have bought it on the spot, but its not available for about two weeks.
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Nick Bos
Denmark
Copenhagen Ø
Sjælland
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Thanks a lot for the great review!
Do you think this game holds up well for repeated plays?
Thanks a lot!
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Larry Welborn
United States
Anderson
South Carolina
My new 36g aquarium -- Danios, Platies, Corys, and Ottos.
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Thanks for the review. My son wants this for his 8th birthday, which is near the end of this month. Do you think it works well for that age?
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Peter Batterton
United States
Georgetown
Texas
I owe my my youthful appearance to clean living . . .
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Faerun wrote: Thanks a lot for the great review!
Do you think this game holds up well for repeated plays?
Thanks a lot!
Absolutely. The game board and towers and walls are the only constant. Drawing cards and token will vary greatly from game to game.
I favor card/token games for this very reason.
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Peter Batterton
United States
Georgetown
Texas
I owe my my youthful appearance to clean living . . .
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Larry Welborn wrote: Thanks for the review. My son wants this for his 8th birthday, which is near the end of this month. Do you think it works well for that age?
I would think so. My son is 8 and he not only enjoyed the game but understood the timing and use of the cards for greatest effect.
Happy Birthday!
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Robert Johnson
United States
Allen
Texas
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Picked this up today - smash hit w the kiddos. Didn't take long for the boy to say... Hmmm why do I just want to weaken the Orc so you can steal him from me!
Love the boulder mechanism.
Super kid game me thinks....
Update - tried the Overlord rules today - just a blast w the kiddos. Having an 8 and 12 yr old screaming for joy as they drew the "Push him back" card to save the remaining castle wall was a hoot!
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Christopher
Belgium
De Panne
Bachten de Kupe
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Ok, this does it, it put it on my wishlist!
Thanks for a nice review!
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Peter Batterton
United States
Georgetown
Texas
I owe my my youthful appearance to clean living . . .
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txrobpam wrote: Picked this up today - smash hit w the kiddos. Didn't take long for the boy to say... Hmmm why do I just want to weaken the Orc so you can steal him from me! Love the boulder mechanism. Quote:
As far as our game went, my wife helped the monsters whenever she could by drawing bad things and at the worst time. That's the one that got us. She pulled it twice. First time it took out a tower, the next was the oppsite direction and took out another tower!
Super kid game me thinks.... Update - tried the Overlord rules today - just a blast w the kiddos. Having an 8 and 12 yr old screaming for joy as they drew the "Push him back" card to save the remaining castle wall was a hoot!
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Barry Kendall
United States
Lebanon
Pennsylvania
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Sounds like a great little game for kids.
Also sounds like a good "training game" to prepare people for "Stronghold."
Two very promising-sounding "Siege" games in the same game season? Amazing! We are besieged with attractive choices.
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I owe my my youthful appearance to clean living . . .
