The Castles of Burgundy Review

Intro

Stefan Feld's The Castles of Burgundy has been quietly winning over strategy gamers since 2011, and honestly, it's about time more people discovered this gem. You're playing as an aristocrat in medieval France, building up your princedom by placing hexagonal tiles that represent everything from castles and cities to mines and livestock. It's a dice-driven Euro game that supports 2-4 players over about 90 minutes, though it really shines with just two people.

With an impressive 8.15 rating on BoardGameGeek and a recent induction into their Hall of Fame, this game has serious staying power. The complexity sits right in that sweet spot where anyone can learn it, but there's enough depth to keep you coming back. Think of it as moderately crunchy without being overwhelming.

How It Plays

Each game unfolds over five phases, with five rounds per phase. You start each round by rolling two dice, which determine what actions you can take on your turn. The core loop revolves around using those dice values to either grab settlement tiles from the central board or place tiles from your personal staging area onto your player board.

Your player board shows your princedom divided into different colored regions. Each region only accepts specific types of tiles, and you can only place tiles adjacent to ones you've already placed. It's like building a puzzle where the pieces keep changing and you never quite have the right dice rolls when you need them.

On your turn, you get two actions from a menu of four options: take tiles, place tiles, deliver goods for points, or collect workers that let you modify dice rolls later. You can also buy tiles with money as a bonus action. Every tile you place triggers some benefit, whether that's immediate points, more goods, money, or special abilities that help throughout the game.

The genius lies in how everything connects. Completing regions gives bonus points. Certain tiles reward you for having specific other tiles. The turn order shifts based on how aggressively you pursue it. Meanwhile, goods tiles appear randomly each round, creating opportunities you'll want to capitalize on before someone else does.

Highlights

The dice mitigation in Castles of Burgundy feels just right. Yes, you're at the mercy of your rolls, but you're never completely stuck. Workers let you adjust dice values, the central depot lets you buy tiles regardless of dice, and smart planning means you usually have multiple productive options each turn. Bad luck stings for a round or two, not entire games.

What really hooks you is the combo potential. Certain tiles give you bonuses when you place other specific tiles. Some generate ongoing benefits throughout the game. Others reward you massively at game end if you've built the right engine. Finding these synergies and building toward them creates those satisfying "aha!" moments that keep you strategizing between games.

The multiple paths to victory mean you're rarely locked into one approach. Maybe you focus on completing regions quickly for bonus points. Perhaps you build a goods delivery engine. Or you might pursue knowledge tiles that provide end-game scoring opportunities. Different player counts and tile draws reward different strategies, which keeps things fresh.

For a game with this much depth, turns move surprisingly quickly. You roll dice, scan your options, make your moves, and pass play along. There's minimal downtime, and even when it's not your turn, you're usually planning your next moves or watching for tiles you want to grab.

Criticisms

Let's be honest about the visual presentation. The original edition looks like it was designed by an accountant having a particularly dull day. The artwork is functional at best, and the color palette makes everything feel a bit sterile. The 2019 edition improved things somewhat, but this still isn't a game that wows people when you first open the box. It grows on you, but first impressions matter.

The randomness factor bothers some players, especially those coming from more deterministic Euros. Yes, there's dice mitigation, but sometimes you really need specific numbers and just can't roll them. The tile draws can also feel swingy—getting the right tiles at the right time versus watching helplessly as tiles you need get snatched up. It's not game-breaking, but it can be frustrating when you have a plan that dice or tile availability derails.

With more than two players, there's definitely more blocking and competition for tiles, which some groups enjoy but others find stressful. The game can feel a bit multiplayer solitaire at times, where you're mostly focused on your own board with occasional glances at what others are doing. If you're looking for heavy player interaction, this might leave you wanting more direct engagement.

Conclusion

The Castles of Burgundy rewards players who enjoy optimization puzzles and don't mind working within the constraints that dice provide. If you like games where every decision matters, where you're constantly weighing short-term gains against long-term strategy, and where you can see your engine building momentum over the course of play, this game delivers in spades.

It's particularly perfect for couples or gaming pairs who want something with real strategic depth that doesn't overstay its welcome. The fact that it's maintained such high ratings and passionate player support over more than a decade speaks to its fundamental design strength. Sometimes the best games aren't the flashiest ones—they're the ones that keep surprising you with new possibilities every time you play.