Castles Of Burgundy: Special Edition Review

Have you ever looked at something and said “Why? Why did someone decide we need this thing?”. Maybe it was NFTs, maybe it was something like Pigs in Blankets flavour ice cream. For me, it was Awaken Realms announcing that they were going to make a blinged-up, big-box version of one of my favourite games of all time – The Castles Of Burgundy. Stefan Feld’s 2011 classic is a masterpiece and in my opinion, was the last game in the world that needed a ton of plastic and minis added to it. I was quite vocal in my WTF reaction. It’s here now though, I have my hands on a copy, and I have to admit that for the most part – I was wrong.

The Castles of Burgundy: Special Edition is big, brash, and over the top, and it’s exactly what the game always needed.

Theory of evolution

By way of a little background here, I’ve owned Castles of Burgundy in one form or another for the past 13 years. I bought the original game back in 2011 and had it in my collection for 11 years. I sold it on because I picked up the confusingly named ’20th Anniversary Edition’. The anniversary is related to the publisher, Alea’s birthday, not the game. I reviewed that game right here, and I loved it for the quality-of-life improvements it added, if not the garish colours.

So now I have the Special Edition too, and it’s a daunting thing. My little, beige, rectangular Alea box full of thin cardboard is all grown-up and now has a box the size of Frostpunk and La Granja Deluxe Master Set. Awww, they grow up so fast!

I get a little trepidation when I open these huge boxes at the prospect of just how much stuff I’ve got to take out, sort through, and then figure out how to get it all back in the box. I don’t like it. This special edition is different however, and I really like how Awaken Realms have done this one. The Vineyards expansion stuff sits in the bottom of the box, then you’ve got the plastic castles and player boards, with everything else in trays on top. If you, too, get the big box fear, you can relax.

By far my favourite improvements are the player boards and plastic hex holders. Each player get a dual-layer board to store their dice, crates, money and workers on, and in the middle, there’s a big open space. The space is where you put your chosen map. From memory, there’s something like 8,000 (actual number may be lower) maps to pick from. On top of the map you drop in a plastic frame which holds your tiles in place, and I love this. No more worrying about bumping the table or shirts demolishing your duchy as you reach across the table.

In the past, I’ve bought little opaque, cloth bags for drawing tiles from, and this new special edition includes them. Fantastic. Nobody enjoys flipping tons of tiles over just to set up every game. These things might all sound like non-essential luxuries, but the truth is they really add to the game. They smooth off the few rough corners left on the finely tooled game that The Castles of Burgundy is.

Expansion

If you were around when the original version of the game came out, you might remember the load of little expansion modules that were released. All of those are in the box, along with the solo challenge board, the co-op game and big, newer expansion called Vineyards. While the majority of the expansion modules just add one or two new tiles to the bags, Vineyards adds a whole new set of pieces to play with. As a long-time Castles player, I was really pleased to see this, and even happier to play with it and realise that it’s really well done.

I mentioned earlier that the box contains a load of plastic castles. There’s no denying that they look awesome, and it feels great to plug them into a hex space on your player board. It adds great table presence and makes the game look a lot more interesting than the old beige original, and in a world where there are thousands of games vying for our attention, this can be important. Personally, though, I prefer to play without them. They just obstruct my view of the other tiles on the board. I know there are addon tiles with 3D terrain etc., but in my opinion the standard tiles are best.

To clarify, the version of the game I’m reviewing is the retail version of The Castles Of Burgundy: Special Edition. This version comes with all the expansion content, plus the plastic castles and player pieces, but does not include extras like the acrylic tiles and 3D terrain.

Me, myself and I

The other big addition in the box which is going to please a lot of people is the new solo mode. There was a solo puzzle mode in the previous version of the game, and that puzzle is still in the Special Edition, but there’s a new one too! Châteauma (I love the name) comes from some well-regarded names including Nick Shaw and David Turczi, and it’s a simple-to-run bot which interacts with the game in the same way a human player would. Its actions aren’t the same as a normal player’s, but the effect they have on the shared board and Vineyard board (yes, it works with the expansion too) are the same as you’d expect with humans. In fact you can add the bot to a two-player game to add a third player, which is always a good thing in my opinion when you play Castles.

The bot has three difficulty levels too, which is great. It’s not a game with masses of interaction between players, so being able to practice your own play while you’re on your own is great. The addition of an automated opponent to play against is something Castles Of Burgundy has been crying out for in the years between its original release and the level of expectation gamers have now. Games without a good solo mode are in the minority now, and it’s another addition which helps keep the game relevant today.

Final thoughts

In closing I really need to address the huge, flashy elephant in the room. Is The Castles Of Burgundy: Special Edition worth the money? Yes, the money, I didn’t mention that yet, did I? This version of the game is just the wrong side of £130! That’s a lot of money. In a world where you could buy Voidfall (review here) for less, why would you spend this much money on a 13 year old game?

This special edition is for people who love Castles. People like me. I’ve played this game goodness knows how many times over the years. I’ve got over 40 plays logged on BGA. After all this time I still love playing the game, and I can’t see my enthusiasm drying up any time soon. If this sounds like you, why not spend the money on the most premium, satisfying version of the game you can? People will spend crazy money on Kickstarters full of plastic they’ve never played and have to wait years to receive, so why not?

If you’re not sure whether it’s the game for you, you can still buy the burgundy box version that I reviewed for less than £40 which is a great option. It’s pretty much the perfect mid-weight Euro which you can – and will – play again and again. If you have the money though, and if you love Castles of Burgundy, this Special Edition is fantastic. It’s absolutely the best way to play Stefan Feld’s classic game, and I’m very happy to hold my hands up and admit that I was wrong. Awaken Realms were right. This game deserves and benefits from the deluxe version.

Review copy kindly provided by Ravensburger UK. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

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