Castles of Mad King Ludwig – Build the most extravagant castle for a crazy king

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King Ludwig II of Bavaria, having built Neuschwanstein, has tasked players in their role as builders to build him the most extravagant and amazing castle ever. You'll have both open and secret goals based on the king's desires, and every round, someone will take a turn as the master builder setting prices for the individual rooms that are available. If they're not chosen, they'll be discounted on the following turns.

Castles of Mad King Ludwig is a superb game. Not only are you having to juggle the layout to determine what you can place in your castle, but you must complete rooms by connecting other rooms to them to earn points and other bonuses. How you price the individual rooms is another strong element when you're playing the part of the master builder. You need to interpret what you think your opponents want to build, and put it just within their monetary reach, since you're paid any money they spend on rooms while you're the master builder.

You'll end up with highly unlikely layouts in the quest to get all the rooms to fit into your castle. Trying to figure out what your opponents really want, and what bonus cards they might have is tough, particularly since more of them can be drawn during the course of play. After several rounds the game ends, and after points are awarded for the secret and the public goals, the most points wins. – James Orr

Castles of Mad King Ludwig
by Bezier Games
Ages 13 and up, 2-4 players, 1-2 hours
$40 Buy a copy on Amazon