This is a series of posts where I play 100 boardgames.
Game: The White Castle
Designer: Isra C. & Shei S.
Year: 2023
Country: Spain
Publisher: Lautapelit.fi
Power and authority reside in the Himeji Castle, and the players each control a clan attempting to gain influence through whatever means they have at their disposal. Whether by courtiers, soldiers or gardeners, the clan which manages to engage the dice placement mechanics most successfully wins.
The White Castle is a complex, rich Euro-style game in which you roll all the dice at the start of a round. They’re then placed on bridges, and each player has to pick a die from one end or the other to use on the board. Activating a zone may require a red die of three or higher, for example. If you use a one, you have to pay the difference in coins, and if you use a six, you gain the difference in coins. The dice placement system is particularly neat, featuring distinct 3D cardboard bridge components.
Having now played The White Castle once, I feel like I’ve only barely scratched the surface of potential tactics. The key to winning is chaining actions together so that the placement of a single die activates one thing, which when activates another thing, and so on. The ability to do this successfully depends on knowing and understanding the interdependencies between the various zones. For example, the placement of the courtiers is essential for gaining the maximum benefit from the soldiers.
This sense of a rich game mechanical space was the reason why it felt like The White Castle is one of those games you have to play over and over to understand all possible options.