Game Review - Castle Panic

Castle Panic
Number of Players	1 - 6
Play Time	60 Minutes
Ages	10 Years and up

This week in the spirit of the holiday season I decided to review a family game.  I chose Castle Panic because it is a newer game that can be played solitaire or with up to six players.  There is also a certain level of cooperation required which is always good to engender during what can be a hectic time of year.

Castle Panic is a semi cooperative game where the players are working as a group to defend a castle from goblins, orcs, and trolls that are attacking it.  The player with the most kills it the winner from among the players.  If the castle falls, then all the players lose regardless of how many creatures are killed.

The game board is laid out in five concentric circles similar to a target.  At the center of the board is the castle that the players are defending.  Each larger circle going outward represents a range of attack where player cards can affect a creature.  The circles are divided into three colored areas which are further divided into two areas.  The six smaller areas are designated 1 thru six which are used to determine where new monsters emerge later in the game. 

The players receive a hand of cards at the beginning of the game.  They are used to show which forces inside the castle the player can attack with.  The players then take turns attacking the monsters as they move towards the castle.

A player turn consists of drawing cards to refill their hand, discarding one card and replacing it, trading cards with other players, playing cards, moving any monsters on the board, and adding two new monsters to the board.

The game ends when the castle has fallen, in which case as stated above all the players lose, or when the players have defeated all 49 monsters.

I am usually not a fan of cooperative games.  For example, I fail to see why people like Pandemic beyond trying to succeed in winning the first time it frustrates me because there is very little room of a player to explore their own strategies in the game.

Castle Panic is different in that regard.  A player is free to explore their options on their turn and can do their own thing during their turn.  The do have to focus on the overriding goal of the game which is to defeat the monsters that are attacking so they need to cooperate through trades with other players to prevent the worst from happening in the quest to become the best monster slayer in the game.

Castle Panic is also a simple game to teach which is good for family gatherings.  People generally do not what to spend too much time learning rules to a new game at these kinds of events.  It should take less than ten minutes to teach someone how to play Castle Panic.

While it is not a deep game Castle Panic is an entertaining game to share with your family.  It is not the type of game that lovers of deep strategy games would love.  It could almost fall into the category of a filler game but the game length is a bit too long for that.  It is a good game to use as an introductory game for people that are interested in trying out board games or are looking to try out a lighter cooperative game.

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