The Castles of Burgundy

Plan, trade, and build your Burgundian estate to prosperity and prominence!

The Castles of Burgundy is another one of the most notable games in my collection, as it sits at #17 of the best board games of all time on BoardGameGeek (BGG). Though it used to live in the top ten, it is exceptionally well done mechanically. It is also one of the oldest games (2011) still at this rank. We may get this game to the table less than I would like, but it still comes out a few times yearly!

In the game, you are an aristocrat in the Burgundy region of France, building up your estate. Different areas of your settlement require fields for animals to graze or mines to accrue silverlings. You will also build many varying castles to draw travelers to your land. Lastly, you must hire ships to ensure abundant tradelines in your estate. With so many areas to attend to, the estate that scores the most points at the end of the game wins!

Mechanics & Categories: Dice rolling, Tile placement, Worker placement, Territory building

CLASSIC MEDIEVAL ART

With natural, subdued color tones, players feel the ambiance of the real world. Each tile is colored based on the location where it should reside in the princedom. The artwork is relatively tiny but gives a nice aerial view of your territory.

You can watch your princedom evolve with the myriad of castles you construct in all shapes and sizes. You can see how many cows and pigs you have. You can watch your ships port out to sea. Both the layout of the board and the art on the tiles aim to create a rustic experience for the player.

If you like more vibrant and modern art, remastered versions and a highly successful crowd-funded special edition are out there!

REWARDING & SATISFYING

There are many options you can take in this game. Even though the die rolls are random, you can choose wisely what to do with each die. Whether you sell goods to make some silver to purchase a tile in the center or steal a tile from another player to place into your city, each decision comes with risk and reward.

Workers allow you to modify your die results, negating some randomness pains felt throughout the game. Carefully thinking through your choices and placing tiles into your princedom can feel very satisfying when you can achieve all you set out to do.

You can take any tile and place it wherever you want, but you will reap more benefits if you can complete cities earlier in the game. Is an immediate effect more beneficial than a worse one that completes a city? Those who can optimize effectively will thoroughly enjoy the experience The Castles of Burgundy provides.

USER-FRIENDLY INTERFACE

The rules are clearly displayed on both the player mats and the main game board. I am a sucker for games that don’t make you have to think. Rule books can be large and daunting when there are so many actions, but this game clearly displays what each action does right off the mat!

Die icons are displayed on the depot spaces to indicate which hex tiles are available to you, your princedom where tiles may be placed, and on the goods tiles so you know what you can sell. The player mats display that two times (once per die), you can choose one of four actions, and it shows that once per turn, you can spend two silverlings to grab one of the hex tiles in the center.

The depot spaces also show what happens when you place a ship or what to do with the white die roll. You can construct many castles, each with its own rules and all the other core tiles like farm animals and more. Each artwork tile is indicated on your player mat, showing what happens when each is placed. Even the city scoring bonuses are displayed on the main board.

Overall, a rule is explained no matter where you look in the game's interface. Especially when you don’t come back to a game for a while, quick iconography is a great refresher to make setup go much faster.

Final Comments

As mentioned in previous reviews, I enjoy puzzles and optimization games. They often feel like solitaire, but they are a great challenge to constantly beat your previous score. This game does add a decent layer of anticipation for what your opponents will do. Being able to see their die rolls, you can strategize whether or not you should be trying to obtain a hex tile before them or purely just stealing it from them to prevent a completed city.

Don’t let the amount of components in this game scare you off. There is a reason this game has been at the top of the charts for so long. The Castles of Burgundy is a nice, medium-weight, euro game that might be a nice addition to a growing gamer family. No, it’s not super flashy or mainstream, but if you like the nitty gritty of mechanics and puzzles, this is the game for you!

Similar To: Caverna, Bora Bora, The Voyages of Marco Polo

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Publisher: Ravensburger

Game(s) Pictured: The Castles of Burgundy