Castles

Basic Info

• Type: Victory-Castle
• Cost: 3-10 (varies)
• Lineup: Humble ($3, 1 VP) → Crumbling ($4) → Small ($5) → Haunted ($6) → Opulent ($7) → Sprawling ($8) → Grand ($9) → King's ($10, 8 VP).

Rating

Unique Empires VP mechanic. 8 unique Castles in one pile, stacked by cost. Only the topmost can be bought. Buy-order locked.

Tier S on strong boards / Tier C on weak. VP efficiency rivals Province but order is rigid.

How to Play

Early: $3 buy Humble. 3/2 split safe pick.

Mid: $4-7 Castles (Crumbling, Small, Haunted, Opulent) sequentially. Each has buy/trash/gain effects.

Late: Sprawling → Grand → King's for big VP. King's = 8 VP > Province.

Each Castle Briefly

• Humble ($3): 1 VP. (At end-game, 1 VP per Castle owned.)
• Crumbling ($4): 1 VP, on-gain +1 VP token.
• Small ($5, Action): Trash to gain a Castle. 1 VP.
• Haunted ($6, Action): On-gain forces opponents to 6-card hands. 2 VP.
• Opulent ($7): 5 VP. On-gain reveal Castle/Victory for +$2.
• Sprawling ($8): On-gain VP-tokens = Castles owned.
• Grand ($9): 5 VP. On-gain gain a non-Province VP from deck.
• King's ($10): 8 VP.

Key Combos

Castles + Engineer: Engineer-gain next Castle.

Castles + Small Castle: Trash Small to next.

Castles + Sprawling: More Castles = more tokens.

Castles + Draw: Reveal Castles for $2 (Opulent).

Castles + Crown/Throne: Double action-Castles.

Synergies

• Engineer: Cost+1 gain.
• Draw: Reveal-treasure.
• Crown/Throne: Action-castle doubling.
• Remodel/Expand: Upgrade.
• +1 Buy: Sequential.

Counters & Bad Matchups

• Heavy trasher: Trash Humble/Crumbling but breaks unlock chain.
• Short games: Don't reach King's.
• 4-player: 1 pile, fierce competition.

Advanced Tips

True target: King's + Sprawling. King's 8 VP + Sprawling tokens = 2-3 Provinces.

Mirror: First-mover starts the chain.

Engineer chain: Engineer-gain next Castle → next unlocks → repeat.

3-pile: 8-card pile easy to empty.

Province compare: Province 6 VP × 8 = 48 vs Castles 24 (1+1+1+2+5+x+5+8). Less total but cheaper buy slots.