The game is set in the Burgundy region of High Medieval France. Each player takes on the role of an aristocrat, originally controlling a small princedom. While playing they aim to build settlements and powerful castles, practice trade along the river, exploit silver mines, and use the knowledge of travelers.
The game is about players taking settlement tiles from the game board and placing them into their princedom which is represented by the player board. Every tile has a function that starts when the tile is placed in the princedom. The princedom itself consists of several regions, each of which demands its own type of settlement tile.
The game is played in five phases, each consisting of five rounds. Each phase begins with the game board stocked with settlement tiles and goods tiles. At the beginning of each round all players roll their two dice, and the player who is currently first in turn order rolls a goods placement die. A goods tile is made available on the game board according to the roll of the goods die. During each round players take their turns in the current turn order. During his turn, a player may perform any two of the four possible types of actions: 1) take a settlement tile from the numbered depot on the game board corresponding to one of his dice and place it in the staging area on his player board, 2) take a settlement tile from the staging area of his player board to a space on his player board with a number matching one of his dice in the corresponding region for the type of tile and adjacent to a previously placed settlement tile, 3) deliver goods with a number matching one of his dice, or 4) take worker tokens which allow the player to adjust the roll of his dice. In addition to these actions a player may buy a settlement tile from the central depot on the game board and place it in the staging area on his player board. If an action triggers the award of victory points, those points are immediately recorded. Each settlement tile offers a benefit, additional actions, additional money, advancement on the turn order track, more goods tiles, die roll adjustment or victory points. Bonus victory points are awarded for filling a region with settlement tiles.
The game ends when the last player finishes his turn of the fifth round of the fifth phase. Victory points are awarded for unused money and workers, and undelivered goods. Bonus victory points from certain settlement tiles are awarded at the end of the game.
The player with the most victory points wins.
The rules include basic and advanced versions.
This game is #14 in the Alea big box series.
Buy The Castles of Burgundy on Amazon
Stefan Feld’s masterpiece, The Castles of Burgundy, has received the app treatment. How does it stand up to the physical game? Read our review to find out.
Although only 8 years old, The Castles of Burgundy has become a classic staple of board gaming. Read our review of The Castles of Burgundy to find out why.
This is everything you ever wanted to know about the Spiel des Jahres board game awards, including a complete list of every winner, nominee, and recommendee...
Join us as we review the 2019 Best Reprint nominees for Meeple Mountain’s 2nd Annual Diamond Climber Board Game Awards.
Ten years is a long time in board gaming! Join us as we look back on the smart, influential, weird and crazy things that emerged from the last decade of games.
Are you a Sagittarius? Do you wonder what your astrological sign says about you as a board gamer? Read our Board Game Horoscope: Sagittarius feature to find...
Join Meeple Mountain as we welcome Elizabeth Hargrave, designer of the hit boardgame Wingspan! We talk about birdwatching, flowers, the Spiel des Jahres, The...
The golden age of tabletop gaming has consequently led to a similar surge in mobile applications that can easily adapt board games to phones and tablets. New...
Check out our Top 6 list of games that would be better with just a little TLC. The games on this list are fantastic on their own merit, they could gain legions...
Have you ever had to try to describe a game in a single phrase? Here’s a satirical look at some honest game descriptions of our favorite (or least favorite)...
Ah, Monopoly. For many people out there, this is what automatically comes to mind when they hear the word “board game”. Where do you go from there? What’s a...
You got your dice game in my Euro. No, you got your Euro in my dice game! Andrew thinks that these two tastes definitely taste great together! Check out our...
Have you had your fill of Exploding Kittens? Is Codenames losing its luster? Are you looking for something more challenging and more fulfilling than a quick...
The perfect game night? What if you could play any 6 games in a row, in a single night? Board gamers from all over Twitter tell us what they'd pick, and why.
