Castle Panic

Castle Panic

Review: Board Game

Ages: 10+

Players: 1-6

Price: $25

Play Time: about an hour

Release Date: 2009

Rating: ****

Amazon

            One gets their money’s worth with Castle Panic.

Theme

           Players work together to defend their kingdom against troll, goblin, and orcs.  Once the players run out of monster tokens, the players win.  However, if the castle towers are destroyed first, game over.

Difficulty

            The game took a while to understand, but once one has read through the pamphlet and played through it a tad, then the game is fairly simple.  The deck includes “game play” cards to remember the six steps to everyone’s turn, which helps beginners tremendously.  Though my teammate and I had to look back at the pamphlet a few times as we played, the game was still quite accessible.

            I even played with my 10-year-old cousin who was doing well with the game.  She struggled a little with sticking with the steps.

Age Appropriateness

            As I mentioned, my 10-year-old cousin seemed interested and was able to understand it alright.  Though it could be somewhat a challenge to discover technique, I think it is friendly for teens to young adults.  Older adults, depending on their personality, may not be interested in a such a fantasy game.  It may even get too simple for them.

Time

            The game takes about an hour to play.  In order to win the game, one has to kill off all of the monsters, and there are a lot of them.  However, if one wanted a quicker game, they can play with fewer monsters.  They can also twist the game a little by putting more monsters on than required. 

Alternate Versions

            Besides co-op, where everyone works together against the monsters, there are two other versions.  In one, a player controls the monsters and plays against the other players.  In another, one can play by themselves.  There are also ways to bring “more panic” to the game by adding various challenges.  These versions allow the player to get the most out of the game they purchased; they are able to try more out and hopefully never get bored.

            One can also buy an expansion pack, which comes with more playing cards, monster cards, and a tower!  This, of course, must be bought separately.

Conclusions

            Buyers can get the most out of their money with this game because of its variety and age appropriateness whether one person plays or eight.  The game is geared for the fantasy and strategy lovers, as one has to decide how to use their cards and what monster to attack too.  The game also encourages working together with others, a lesson appropriate for children, teens, and adults.