Bought this game based on other reviews as an alternative to the board games that were creating chaos when played as a family due to the poor gamesmanship of my children. Opened it on Christmas Day and within 30 minutes (and watching a few you tube videos) we were immersed in a positive, collaborative game that my kids could not get enough of. It quickly became the only game that my kids wanted to play, my 6 year old son was explaining strategy moves for the next player and my nine year old was trying to figure out which powerful cards were still left in the card deck.
Games generally lasted 1 1/2 - 2hrs. I was delighted that instead of bickering and getting upset about winning, my kids were actively working together and enthusiastic about problem solving to defeat the monsters.
My buddies and I have been doing game night on and off for a few years, but we normally would play Risk, Ticket to Ride and some of the Catan games. I was looking for something a little different, and to break in some of the more gamer like games. This is the perfect game. I've seen a lot of people say they got board in this game and I dont know how that would happen. It's co op so we were always working together and trying to get the best situation possible.
We played 4 times and only won once. I assume playing with 4 or 5 is going to be a bit easier, but none the less we enjoyed our time.
We first borrowed this game from our local public library and fell in love with it. When there was a big sale on games on Amazon last week, I decided to take advantage of it and purchase a copy of our own. Our family has so much fun with this game. I love that it is cooperative, so even though it says it is for older kids, my sons who just turned 5 and 8 can easily play, as we can guide them if they need help. But he actually has caught on pretty quickly and doesn't usually need a whole lot of help. It's a challenging game without being too complicated. You can even play it as a single player game, which I actually did one night after my kids were in bed, before I taught it to them, so I would have an idea how to play when we played together the next day. You definitely need to keep the instruction manual handy, because there are a few different monsters with different abilities that you have to remember, and I never can without looking it up, but the overall gameplay is pretty straightforward once you get the hang of it. It's really fun being able to work together for a common goal instead of competing against each other. However, if you still want to compete, you can declare the person who has the most points from destroyed monsters the winner.
(wife reviewing) So my husband and his family really like strategy games, and can get quite serious and competitive. I come from a family where I could write IOU's in Monopoly, and if we didn't like rules we'd just change them. lol This has lead to a gaming issue when we all get together. I don't like having to rack my mind trying to come up with different card combos, figure out which resource I should get near before my in-laws or husband, or having to think what other people might do on their turns a round in advance. Ugh, talking about it nearly gives my stress! Haha! Worrying and stressing about games isn't fun to me, so I found myself opting out of playing when they would pull out a game. So I decided to go on a hunt for cooperative games. No competition. At all. ;)
I had previously found out about such games by playing Forbidden Island(another highly recommended game by me!), and after some searching on a board game review site, found out about this one and so decided to purchase it.
I love this game! Super easy to learn and teach people, and the game play is really smooth. No waiting 10 minutes while someone figures out which cards to put down or purchase like some games(Dominion anyone?). The standard game-play has a slight competitive aspect to it, in that whoever has the most "monster points" at the end is the "Master Slayer"(the rule book seems to downplay it by the way). These points are earned by who finishes off a monster. The first time we played it, my father-in-law was sort of trying for that, and if I remember right he did earn it. But after that time, no one really set out with a purpose to become the Master Slayer. Why? Because in this game, truthfully if you wanna win, you literally have to work together 98% of the time. The other 2% is just for the times when you can choose between two monsters to kill, so you may have a chance to kill one who has a higher point value. Otherwise, the whole time is taken up by working together. Ahh....what a nice game. :)
Overall, totally love the game. Due to the simple nature of the cards and rules, I could see kids as young as maybe 6 being able to understand it without help. But don't be fooled! Even us adults found this game entertaining and as much game time as it's already got in the last couple weeks, I'm positive it'll get more table time. :)
This game was a ton of fun. It's premise is simple, defend your castle towers from monsters. This is a co-op game so you work together to defend with your various cards. But things can go downhill quickly depending on what monsters you draw. It's exciting in a good way.
While an older child could find the medieval, knights and monsters theme engaging and fun, this game is also a bit challenging. There is an entire pile of monster tiles and you only win if you can get through them all. If you pick monsters or obstacles in just the right order things get difficult fast. But for us that was part of the fun. We were unlucky our first game and lost our last tower with a 1 in 6 chance dice roll. But we set the whole board right back up and tried again.
I'm not sure about replay value, as I've only played it a few times. That was a concern and I noticed other reviews claiming that the game gets old eventually. I'd say the random draw of monsters would keep this game fun for awhile, though I can see merit in giving a bit of time between replaying.
I think it's a fun game, exciting without being stressful, and would recommend it to friends. Especially if they have kids who like fantasy. But it's not something you can play every night and it had a longer play time.
Feature Product
- supports 1 to 6 players, ages 10 and up, for 60 minutes of cooperative fun
- a great "gateway" game for people who haven't played board games in a while
- fun for people who enjoy a less competitive experience
- rules variations allow for customization of difficulty
- may be played as a solitaire game
Description
Castle Panic is a cooperative tower defense board game for 1 to 6 players, ages 10 and up. The co-op element makes Castle Panic a great family game and the perfect kick-off for your weekly game night. You must work together to defend your Castle, in the center of the board, from Monsters that attack out of the forest, at the edges of the board. Trade cards, hit and slay Monsters, and plan strategies together to keep your Castle towers intact. The players either win or lose together, but only the player with the most victory points is declared the Master Slayer. Players must balance the survival of the group with their own desire to win.
Let me start by saying that we’re not a hardcore gaming family by any means. My kids are 9 and 12.
Having said that, this game is AWESOME. We played it for the first time last night and I can see why it had so many great reviews. We played it as a family and had a great time. It wasn’t too complicated for anyone but the gameplay was engaging enough to easily keep everyone’s attention. I’m really looking forward to playing it again because I can see how once you get the hang of it a bit you can really see how the collaborative gameplay can get even better.
The thing I also like about it is that the gameplay was set up in such a way that it didn’t allow for an easy win but really pushed you to develop a solid strategy along with a lot of luck to have it all actually work out.
Believe the hype, this game is outstanding.
I own over 2000 board games. I love the hobby and this game reigns high on my list. Why? Because its easy to teach and its fun and intense. Non-gamers, gamers doesn't matter. Its a lot of fun. You must play this game with the Wizard Tower expansion, I would almost say it s must. However, all the expansions added more depth and strategy to the game. So if you play with ALL the expansions id say the game moves to a solid medium starter game. With nothing but the base game its a light, intense game. Add the Wizards Tower and you get a perfect mix with more breadth and depth of options. Buy with confidence, its fun.
This is a fantastic COOPERATIVE board game for friends and/or family. My ten year old daughter grasped it just fine and I feel that children 7 and up should handle it well. The gameplay is simple enough to learn, however there are so many different pieces to the game that it really keeps gameplay interesting. For example, there are many different cards, each with their own abilities, and there are two types of "monster tokens" (monsters and monster effects) within which there are many different tokens, each with their own abilities.
There is an exciting video game aspect to this game as well...there are four "boss" monsters, in addition to the "normal" thee monsters that attack the castle (trolls, orcs and goblins). Regarding the "normal" monsters, trolls are the hardest, orcs are medium and goblins are the easiest of the three because they have the least amount of health.
My family prefers to play this game as a straight cooperative game where there is no "master slayer" so we are always supporting each other. If you play the standard game, the player with the most points is the "master slayer." All players still work together, but there may be some competition to become the "master slayer." The straight cooperative option is to simply not have a master slayer. That's what we do.
I wanted to also point out a potential component issue: The box states that there should be 49 monster tokens. My box came with 50. After viewing Fireside's website and speaking with Fireside customer support, as well as cross-checking my game components, it was determined that my box shipped with an extra "discard one card" monster token. Before calling Fireside, even Fireside's website was incorrect with what the game should include for monster tokens. In speaking with the person that does the website, she stated should would correct it right away. Therefore, if you do not have 49 monster tokens, check Fireside's website and find the bag of monster tokens that you can buy. There you will see the breakdown of what monster tokens you should have and compare it with your box to ensure that you have the correct tokens.
If you like cooperative games, you will surely like this game. It appeals to men, women, boys and girls alike. You can also play solo, and there is also a variation for one person to play as the monsters (called "Overlord"). With so much variation in the game, it is a sure pleaser.
For sleeves for this and the expansions (Wizards Tower and Dark Titan), I got these: http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00EBH3LJU.
My 6 and 8 year old daughters really enjoy this game. It's hard to get my 6 year old invested in strategy games, but for some reason, she really likes this one. As an adult it's fun too.
One piece of advice for parents. While this is a cooperative game, the rules allow for there to be one winner. If the team kills all the monsters, then everyone wins...but the person that killed the most monsters is the real winner. This adds a nice layer of strategy to the game that encourages people to not be so eager to help others on their turn and makes the game harder. BUT, don't tell your children about this rule at first. Treat it as a cooperative game and play 10-20 times...you'll win about 80-90% of the time. THEN, add in the "one winner" wrinkle and the success rate will fall to 50-60%. It's a good learning lesson for them that sometimes it's better to share to have everyone win something instead of holding out to be the one winner and winning nothing.
I played this game with my 3-year-old daughter for the first time today. We had a great time and I'd recommend this game to anyone who want's to introduce strategy games to younger children. I will cut to the chase and give my opinion of the best and worst of this game.
Pros:
Easy to learn
Although rated 8+, younger children can enjoy it
Can be played solo
Cooperative gameplay!
Cons:
Shallow strategy
Won't hold the attention of older audiences
Most of this game is luck-of-the-draw, and there isn't much real strategy involved. That being said, the game is extremely approachable and a great introduction to strategy games overall. Let me explain. Enemies will advance one space per turn (omitting certain random draws that can cause them to advance multiple times), and whether or not you can attack them depends on what cards you draw. Sure, you can trade a card with a friend, and you don't have to attack if you don't want to, but for the most part you will be attacking with whatever you have, and enemy placement is random.
If you are looking for a deep strategy game, go somewhere else. If you want a game you can play alone, or if you have younger (or less 'advanced') players, this is a game worth consideration. Like I mentioned above, my daughter is 3 and she loved it. I had to lay out her choices, but she loved choosing which monsters to kill (even though we lost). I dislike games like Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders, but this game has just enough choice involved to enjoy with my family.
I recommend it.
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