Between Two Castles’ digital edition is free to download and keep on PC this weekend
From March 26th to 30th.
Between Two Castles, the board game spin-off to both the Between Two Cities and Castles of Mad King Ludwig series, is free on PC this weekend.
The tabletop original, Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig, is a family board game that sees players becoming master builders in King Ludwig’s court, tasked with designing and constructing new and ever-more beautiful castles for the capricious monarch. A tile-drafting and -laying game for two to seven players, Between Two Castles has players working with their neighbours to build two castles from a selection of room tiles.
Every turn, players must draft two room tiles into their hand, before placing one in the castle on their left and the other in the castle on their right. Certain room tiles fit better than others, scoring differently depending on how their individual traits work and what rooms they are adjacent to, forcing players to think carefully about where to place which tiles.
Despite the fact that players must rely on their neighbours in order to create the best possible set of castles, they are still competing against all other players - so they’ll need to ensure they don’t maximise either neighbouring castle too much, or otherwise risk giving away the victory.
The digital board game version of Between Two Castles contains the same gameplay mechanics as the tabletop original, but adds unique visuals and new ways to play - with both online multiplayer and options to play against varying difficulties of AI.
The tabletop version of Between Two Castles, co-designed by Ben Rosset and Matthew O’Malley, is a crossover of board game series Between Two Cities and Castles of Mad King Ludwig. Alongside Morten Monrad Pedersen, Rosset and O’Malley co-created Between Two Cities, while Castles of Mad King Ludwig and its spiritual sequel The Palace of Mad King Ludwig were designed by Ted Alspach.
Between Two Castles was co-published by Between Two Cities maker Stonemaier Games - the company responsible for releasing some of the best board games out there including Wingspan and Scythe - and Mad King Ludwig studio Bezier Games, creator of party board game One Night Ultimate Werewolf.
According to an announcement on PC platform Steam, Between Two Castles: Digital Edition developer Daisu Games is giving the digital board game away in response to the current COVID-19 pandemic and the impact it has had on players’ ability to enjoy board games with one another.
Stonemaier co-founder and designer of legacy board game Charterstone Jamey Stegmaier recently released a free roll-and-write game called Nine Worlds, which is available to download and play now.
Between Two Cities: Digital Edition will be free to download and install on Steam from March 26th to 30th. If you add the game to your library between those dates, it will be free to keep forever.