Castles of Mad King Ludwig is Unique

I love playing Castles of Mad King Ludwig because it is unlike any other I've ever played!  The whole theme is laying to form a castle of many different rooms and sizes.  First off, the master builder gets to place the different room tiles on the market.  He/she decides what each room tile will cost.  If other players purchase any, the master builder gets the money.  So, as the master builder you must decide if you want money or want to keep the other players from getting certain rooms and pricing them high so they can't afford to buy them.  Other players buy what they want and then the master builder buys but that money goes to the bank.

Each tile has doors that much be connected to the other tiles in order to place the room.  There are some downstairs rooms that require stairs first before they can be placed.  There are 3 common objectives that the King favors.  These change from one game to the next.  It could be certain room types, sizes, or area, etc.  When a room is completed (all the doors connecting to another room, hall or stair), that player gets a special bonus depending on the type of room.  In addition, each player gets two secret objective cards and can get another for each utility room they place into their castle.

I also really like the scoreboard in this game because it's so pretty!  Swan tokens move down the river for scoring.  This game involves lots of decisions--what rooms to buy, where to place them, how much money to save or spend and how to price the rooms when you are the master builder.  Game ends when there are not enough cards to refill the market. 

Player with most points wins.  I like this game a lot because enjoy building games and also castles!  I also have an extension for this with swans, secret passages and moats that make the game a bit more challenging but give more opportunities for points and getting more money.  Either way is fun!

This game is based on the real King Ludwig.