Overview

Castle Combo is a card tableau game by Grégory Grard and Mathieu Roussel, illustrated by Stéphane Escapa (Catch Up Games, 2024; Pandasaurus Games in English).

Each player recruits 9 characters and places them in a tableau of 3 by 3 cards. Cards come from two places, the Castle and the Village, and the Messenger pawn shows where you can recruit. Each character has an immediate ability and a scoring scroll counted at the end of the game.

It's all about combos: shields, banners, positions in the grid, Gold stored in purses.

2 to 5 25 min
Goal

Have the 9-card tableau that scores the most points.

Victory

  • ✓ After 9 turns, the player with the most points (cards + 1 point per Key) wins.
  • ✓ In case of a tie, the tied player with the most leftover Gold wins; otherwise the victory is shared.

Defeat

  • ✕ No specific loss: only the score counts.

Turn sequence

  1. 1
    1. Spend a Key (optional)
    1 Key at most: move the Messenger to the other location, or discard the 3 cards of its location and reveal 3 new ones.
  2. 2
    2. Buy a card (mandatory)
    One of the 3 cards in the Messenger's location, paying its cost minus your discounts, or face down for free for 6 Gold and 2 Keys. It goes straight into your tableau.
  3. 3
    3. Apply its ability (mandatory)
    Right after placing it, the card counting itself (except for discounts).
  4. 4
    4. Messenger and displays (mandatory)
    Move the Messenger according to the card's icon, then fill each display back to 3 cards.