2024 · Medieval
Castle Combo
Players draft characters from two open markets and build a personal 3x3 tableau of villagers and castle dwellers. Each turn a player pays coins to recruit one character and places it into their grid, triggering immediate effects and setting up endgame scoring combinations. Keys allow players to influence a shared Messenger pawn that determines which market spaces are available, while Gold must be managed to afford desired recruits. Placement decisions and timing of recruitments shape both short-term benefits and long-term bonuses; after nine turns the tableau with the highest point total wins.
- Players
- 2–5 best 2
- Playing time
- 10–25 min
- Age
- 10+
- Complexity
- 1.7 / 5
About the game
- Publisher
Expansions
See them in Ludoya
Photos from Ludoya tables
All photos in Ludoya
Where to buy it
Shop prices and second-hand copies, checked every day.
On Ludoya's tables
Full stats in Ludoya- 3,352
- Plays logged
- 1,645
- Players
- 24m 52s
- Average play
- 349
- In collections
- 56
- On wishlists
7.7/10
from 128 Ludoya reviews
Rules questions
Answered from the rulebook by Ludoya's rules assistant.
Can I spend more than one Key on my turn?
No — you may spend 1 (and only one) Key on your turn to either move the Messenger to the other location or discard and redraw the three cards at the Messenger's location (page 6).
If the card I buy gives a discount, does that discount apply to the card I'm buying right now?
No — any discount printed on the card you just purchase does not apply to that purchase; it only applies to future purchases (page 7).
If I take a card face-down do I get its ability or end-game points?
No — a face-down card provides no ability, no end-game points, and no printed information; instead you immediately gain 6 Gold and 2 Keys as compensation (page 7).
Do new cards have to touch my tableau, and can I expand beyond a 3×3 grid?
Every card after your first must be placed orthogonally adjacent to at least one card in your tableau, and you may never add a fourth row or fourth column — your tableau must end up as a 3×3 grid (page 8).
When does the Messenger pawn move? Does buying a card or taking a face-down card move it?
You move the Messenger only if you either spend a Key to move it or you buy a card that has a Messenger icon printed in its banner; taking a card face-down or buying a card without the Messenger icon does not move it (page 6 and page 9).
Does leftover Gold count toward my final score?
Leftover Gold is worth points only if placed on Purse cards at game end; otherwise Gold not stored on purses is worth no points but is used as the tiebreaker (page 10).
Free, on web, Android and iOS
Play Castle Combo with Ludoya
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Game facts (players, playing time, age, credits) from BoardGameGeek.