Get To Playing The Castles of Burgundy
The Big Picture
This guide covers just enough to start playing. Have the game in front of you and follow along!
Castles of Burgundy is set in medieval France. Everyone is building an estate by collecting and placing hex tiles. The goal: score the most victory points over 5 phases by completing regions on your estate.
The Boards
There's a main board in the center -- this is where tiles get drafted from. It has 6 numbered sections called 'depots' (numbered 1-6), each holding several hex tiles.
Each player also has their own estate board with colored hex spaces. Notice the numbers 1-6 on the estate too -- these correspond to dice rolls, which is how tiles get placed.
Starting Resources
Each player starts with:
- A personal estate board
- 2 dice in your color
- 1 castle tile (already placed on the center dark green space)
- 1 Silverling (the game's currency)
- 3 worker tiles
The goods tiles for Phase A go face-up on the 5 goods spaces on the main board. Bonus tiles for each color go near the board.
A Round in 30 Seconds
Each round is simple: everyone rolls their 2 dice at the same time. Then, in turn order, each player uses those 2 dice to take 2 actions.
2 actions
The 4 Actions
Each die can do one of these four things:
- Take a tile -- grab a tile from the depot matching your die number, put it in storage (you have 3 storage slots) storage
- Place a tile -- move a tile from storage onto your estate, on a space matching your die number storage on estate
- Sell goods -- sell all goods of the type matching your die number for Silverlings and VP
- Take 2 workers -- use any die (number doesn't matter) to grab 2 workers
The first two -- taking and placing tiles -- are the heart of the game.
Bonus: you can also buy any one tile from the central black depot for 2 Silverlings once per turn -- no die needed.
Placing Tiles -- The Key Rules
When a tile goes onto the estate, three things must be true:
- The space number matches the die used space # =
- The space color matches the tile color color = color
- The space is next to a tile already on the estate (adjacency rule)
Remember, workers can adjust dice by +/-1 to reach the number you need.
Ready to Play!
That covers the essentials. A few things to keep in mind:
- The game is 5 phases of 5 rounds each (25 rounds total). Depots refill with new tiles at the start of each phase.
- At game end, leftover goods, Silverlings, and worker pairs are each worth 1 VP. Knowledge tiles may add end-game scoring.
- Tip: try to complete small regions early -- the phase bonus drops from 10 VP in Phase A to just 2 in Phase E.
Tile Colors
Each color represents a type of tile:
- Castles
- Animals (pastures)
- Ships
- Buildings (8 different types)
- Knowledge (special abilities)
- Mines (income)
Tiles can only be placed on matching-color spaces on the estate board.
Example Turns
Say you roll a 3 and a 5:
- Take a brown building tile from depot 3, put it in storage storage
- Place a tile from storage onto space 5 on your estate (color must match, must be adjacent) storage on estate
Two actions, one per die -- that's a whole turn.
Say you roll a 1 and a 4:
- Sell all goods matching depot 1 for Silverlings and VP
- Take 2 workers (any die works, number doesn't matter)
Not every turn is about tiles -- selling goods and stocking up on workers are smart plays too.
Workers
Worker tiles adjust dice results. Each worker spent changes a die by +1 or -1.
+/-1
They even wrap around -- a 1 can become a 6, and vice versa.
<->
Multiple workers can be spent on the same die. So if you really need a specific number, workers make it happen.
When Nothing Matches
If a die can't be used for placing -- or nothing looks appealing -- use it for something else:
- Take a new tile from a depot
- Sell goods
- Grab 2 workers
There's always something to do with a die. Workers help a lot too -- spending 1-2 workers to adjust a die and make a placement happen is almost always worth it.
How Regions Score
The big points come from completing regions -- filling every space in a connected group of the same color.
Region size -> Victory Points:
Tiles
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
VP
1
3
6
10
15
21
28
36
Timing bonus -- complete regions early!
Phase
A
B
C
D
E
VP
+10
+8
+6
+4
+2
Finishing regions early is a big deal.
Color Completion Bonus
There's also a race: the first player to fill ALL spaces of one color across their entire estate claims the large bonus tile for that color. The second player gets the small bonus tile.
These are worth a handful of VP depending on player count -- nice to grab but not worth chasing at the expense of region scoring.
What Tiles Do When Placed
Each tile color triggers a special effect when placed on the estate:
- Castle: Immediately take a free bonus action -- like having a third die of any value. Very powerful.
- Ship: Collect all goods from any one depot. Also move up on the turn order track.
- Animal: Score VP based on the animal shown. If the same animal type is already in that pasture, those score again too.
- Mine: No immediate effect, but earns 1 Silverling at the end of every phase for the rest of the game.
- Building: Each of the 8 building types has a unique effect.
- Knowledge: Grants an ongoing ability or end-game scoring bonus.
The 8 Building Types
Each does something different when placed:
- Warehouse -- immediately sell any one goods type
- Carpenter -- take any building tile from the main board
- Church -- take any mine, castle, or knowledge tile from the main board
- Market -- take any animal or ship tile from the main board
- Boarding House -- take 4 worker tiles
- Bank -- take 2 Silverlings
- City Hall -- immediately place another tile from storage (as if you had an extra die of any value)
- Watchtower -- immediately score 4 VP
One important rule: no duplicate building types in the same connected brown region.
The Black Depot
There's a central black depot on the main board. Once per turn -- in addition to the 2 dice actions -- anyone can spend 2 Silverlings to buy any one tile from it. No die needed.
This is great for grabbing a specific tile you need without hoping for the right die roll.