CardcoreGamer
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BoardgameGeek: mattersmasher
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« on: 04 May 2012, 01:20:49 » |
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This game is best considered as a sort of medieval Space Invaders; There's a castle in the middle of the board comprised of 6 towers protected by walls which are surrounded by four concentric rings, each divided into three pairs of coloured arcs. In the game, monsters will march toward the castle from the outer-most 'forest' ring until they coming knocking on (and knocking down) the walls and towers. The players will play cards which correspond to specific colours and rings, for example a blue swordsman card can only hurt monsters in the blue arc of the closest ring (swordsman) to the castle. If the towers are destroyed, then the players lose, but if they can fend off all the monsters, then individual monster kills are counted and one player is named the Master Slayer and wins the game!
Castle Panic is a semi-co-op game which throws up an interesting duality in that the players must work together or they all lose, simultaneously trying to gain the most monster kills for themselves. The game can be played fully co-operatively and even has optional rules for a player to control the monster horde. Monsters come in three basic types with some special 'boss monsters' who throw special rules into the mix, but chances are that you will see every card and every monster in a single play-through.
I would say that the basic game is a light, fun game best suited to casual play and family gaming. It's very quick to learn and play, but suffers in lack of replayability; some of the 'panic' is lost once you beat the game the first time. More serious gamers will find it too light-weight and may even feel that it plays itself and has no real decisions to be made. The production is excellent with a very nicely finished board, sturdy cards and thick card tokens. Printing is bright and easy to follow, there are even 'cheat sheets' for turn order and the 'boss' abilities printed on the corners of the board. The rules are very well laid out and worded in a very accurate manner with few ambiguities.
All in all, a great filler game, family game and lightweight co-op. Gamers who like the feel of the game, but find it lacking would do well to play it with the 'Wizard's Tower' expansion for a more complete and 'heavier' experience.
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