# El Grande Big Box

El Grande Big Box is a board game for 2–5 players. It plays in 90 minutes and is meant for ages 12 and up. Ludoya players call it best with 5. It is rated 8.2 out of 10 by 31 Ludoya reviewers.

- **Players:** 2–5 (best with 5)
- **Playing time:** 90 minutes
- **Minimum age:** 12+
- **Complexity:** 2.8 out of 5
- **Year published:** 2015
- **Categories:** Renaissance
- **Mechanics:** Auction / Bidding, Area Movement, Open Drafting, Hand Management, Area Majority / Influence, Memory, Simultaneous Action Selection
- **Ludoya rating:** 8.2 out of 10, from 31 reviews
- **Owned by:** 59 Ludoya players
- **Plays logged on Ludoya:** 143
- **Unique players:** 233

**Designers:** Wolfgang Kramer, Richard Ulrich

**Artists:** Doris Matthäus

**Publishers:** Hans im Glück

## Similar games

- [El Grande](https://www.ludoya.com/games/el-grande)
- [El Grande: Decennial Edition](https://www.ludoya.com/games/el-grande-decennial-edition)
- [Notre Dame: 10th Anniversary](https://www.ludoya.com/games/notre-dame-10th-anniversary)
- [Endeavor](https://www.ludoya.com/games/endeavor-2)
- [Lorenzo il Magnifico: Big Box](https://www.ludoya.com/games/lorenzo-il-magnifico-big-box)
- [Shakespeare](https://www.ludoya.com/games/shakespeare)
- [Shogun Big Box](https://www.ludoya.com/games/shogun-big-box)
- [Orléans: Big Box](https://www.ludoya.com/games/orleans-jubilaumsbox)
- [Black Rose Wars](https://www.ludoya.com/games/black-rose-wars)
- [Fresco: Big Box](https://www.ludoya.com/games/fresco-big-box)
- [Bruxelles 1893: Belle Époque](https://www.ludoya.com/games/bruxelles-1893-belle-epoque)
- [Wallenstein (Second Edition)](https://www.ludoya.com/games/wallenstein-second-edition)

## Rules questions

### Can I ever place or move Caballeros into the King's region?

No — the King's region is taboo: nothing may be placed in, removed from, or moved into/out of the King's region at any time (no exceptions). (p.5)

### When is the Castillo emptied and where do the Caballeros in it go?

During a general scoring you first choose a secret region, then the Castillo is scored, and then each player's Caballeros are moved from the Castillo to the region they chose (if a player chose the King's region those Caballeros return to that player's Court). (pp.6–7)

### If an Action card says 'place X Caballeros', do I have to place exactly that many?

No — Action cards specify a maximum: you may place up to that many Caballeros from your Court and may place fewer; if you lack enough Caballeros in your Court the remaining placements are forfeited. (pp.3,9–12)

### How are ties handled in region and Castillo scoring — do tied players both get first-place points?

Tied players receive points for the next lowest position (e.g., a tie for first scores second-place points); special player-count exceptions apply (in 2-player only first scores, in 3-player first and second score). The King's-region bonus is not awarded on a tie. (pp.6–7; King bonus p.5)

### Can I move Caballeros out of the Castillo with move actions?

No — you may not move Caballeros out of the Castillo during normal move actions (you may move Caballeros into the Castillo, but they cannot be removed except when the Castillo is lifted for scoring or by the Castillo-specific special action). (pp.4,11)

## Links

- [This page](https://www.ludoya.com/games/el-grande-big-box)
- [El Grande Big Box in the Ludoya app](https://app.ludoya.com/g/el-grande-big-box)
- [BoardGameGeek entry](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/171908)

_Data from Ludoya, updated 2026-09-18. Ratings, ownership and play counts are Ludoya's own._