# Castles of Mad King Ludwig: Secrets ## General Info - **Year Published**: 2015 - **BGG Rating**: 7.3 - **BGG Rank**: — - **Players**: 1-4 (Best with: 4) - **Duration**: 45-90 min - **Weight**: 2.72 / 5 - **Designers**: Ted Alspach - **Artists**: Keith Curtis, Ollin Timm, Ted Alspach - **Publishers**: Bézier Games - **Categories**: Expansion for Base-game, Post-Napoleonic, Puzzle - **Mechanics**: Auction: Dutch, I Cut, You Choose, Pattern Building, Set Collection, Tile Placement ## Verdict If you've already built crazy castles and want more options to make King Ludwig even happier (and score more!), this expansion is for you. More rooms, more ways to earn cash and points!More rooms and optionsValuable new swansMoats and secret passagesExpands base strategyRelies on base gameIncreases complexityMore pieces to manageHIGHLY RECOMMENDED ## Description Get ready to expand the architectural madness! Castles of Mad King Ludwig: Secrets brings 30 new rooms for you to fit into your crazy castle, each with a special touch. The novelty is the swans, scattered throughout these new spaces: they can give you extra cash on the spot or yield hefty bonuses at the end of the game if you collect a bunch. Oh, and there's more: moats to protect your constructions and make everything more valuable, new favor options from the King (including one for creating charming courtyards!), and secret passages that connect everything and also muffle noise. This expansion doesn't change the essence of the base game, which is to build a fun and unpredictable castle, but it adds more variety and strategies for those who already master the art of pleasing King Ludwig. If you enjoy the original game and want more options to make your castle even more eccentric and point-scoring, this expansion is a perfect fit. It's like upgrading your private amusement park, with more attractions and challenges to keep the fun going longer. Prepare to face more auctions, more difficult choices, and, of course, more swans to collect! ## How to Play Objective of the Game In Castles of Mad King Ludwig: Secrets, players are tasked with building the most magnificent castle for King Ludwig. The game introduces new elements like hidden Swans, protective Moats, and versatile Secret Passages to enhance castle construction. Players aim to earn the most points by strategically placing rooms, completing special objectives, and collecting valuable Swan tokens. The player with the highest score at the end of the game wins. Preparation (Setup) Use the regular Castles of Mad King Ludwig setup, making the following changes when playing with Secrets: Give each player a starting Barbican. When playing with Barbicans and Moats, you will not use the Foyer tiles that come with the base game. Give each player 3 different Secret Passages: 1 Small, 1 Straight, and 1 Corner. Create and shuffle the room stacks as follows for each player count: 100-300: 3 players: 3 Base, 2 Secrets, 5 Hallways, 5 Moats 4 players: 4 Base, 3 Secrets, 7 Hallways, 7 Moats 6 players: 3 Base, 3 Secrets, 9 Hallways, 9 Moats 350-600: 2 players: 2 Base, 2 Secrets, 4 Stairs 3 players: 2 Base, 3 Secrets, 5 Stairs 6 players: 3 Base, 3 Secrets, 6 Stairs Place the Moats face down. Shuffle the new Favors in with the existing ones before drawing them for placement on the contract board. Place the Swan tokens face down. When turning over rooms, if any room tile has a Swan in the lower right corner of the tile, place 1 Swan token face up on that room. If a room tile has two Swans, place 2 Swan tokens face up on that tile. Fluxo do Jogo Consulte o manual para detalhes sobre esta seção. Ações e Como Jogar Building Rooms and Moats You can only build rooms inside of a completed Moat, except for Outdoor rooms, which can be built inside or outside of the Moat. Outdoor rooms are not allowed to have their fence edges touch the stone edge of the Moat. No rooms may ever overlap any portion of a Moat or Barbican. An Outdoor room that is connected to the Barbican drawbridge is considered connected to a Corridor room. The Barbican is not complete until an Outdoor room is connected to the drawbridge (and the other entrances of the Barbican also have rooms connected to them). Rooms outside the Moat can only be connected to rooms within the Moat via the Barbican's drawbridge. Instead of purchasing a Room tile, Stairs or Hallway (or taking 5000), players may install a new Moat section adjacent to one or two of their existing Moat sections (or next to their Barbican) for 5000. When a Moat is purchased, discard the top Room card (or remove the room tile if one or more is on top of the room deck and place it in the game box). A Moat section may not be placed if it will overlap a previously placed room. No player may purchase more than three Moat sections in a single game. Secret Passages Each player starts with 1 Small Secret Passage, 1 Straight Secret Passage, and 1 Corner Secret Passage. Secret Passages can be used to connect any two rooms. They have two entrances on them, one on either end. Secret Passages cannot connect to other Secret Passages, and Secret Passages cannot be built unless both ends are connected to entrances. Secret Passages can be played at any time on a player's turn, whenever they place a room (or collect a token). They directly connect two rooms that are not directly connected otherwise, and provide double conditional connection bonuses for those rooms. Any number of Secret Passages may be placed during a player's turn, as long as they connect directly to the room being placed. If additional rooms are being placed on a turn, Secret Passages may be placed along with those additional rooms. A Secret Passage cannot be used to connect two rooms which are connected through a different set of entrances. A Secret Passage cannot be placed between two rooms that are already connected. If a Secret Passage is placed between an Activity Room that is adjacent to another room where a penalty is incurred, that penalty is still in effect. However, if a Secret Passage is placed between an Activity Room and a room which is not adjacent but would normally result in a penalty, you do not incur Activity Room conditional penalties (the Secret Passages mute the sound). Secret Passage entrances are placed on top of existing doors, but cannot be placed so that the Secret Passage itself is overlapping any other portion of a room or Moat. Swans When a room with a Swan icon on it is placed below the contract board, take a Swan token from the supply and place it face up on that room. If a room has two Swan icons, place two Swan tokens face up on that room. When a player buys a room with one or more Swan tokens on it, he takes those Swan tokens and places them to the side of his castle, face up so that all players may see which Swan tokens he has collected. Swan tokens can be used in two ways: On your turn, exchange any 1 Swan token for 1m, any 2 for 3m, any 3 for 6m, any 4 for 10m, or any 5 for 15m. You may not exchange more than 5 Swans on any turn. Used Swans go back in the box and are not counted towards the Swan Favor if it is in play. Each set of unique Swan tokens at the end of the game is scored by the player who has them: 1 for 1pt, 2 for 3pts, 3 for 6pts, 4 for 10pts, 5 for 15pts. Swans counted for points at the end of the game are counted towards the Swan Favor if it is in play. Room Completion Rewards Activity: 5 points. Outdoor: Take 10000. Food: Take 1 extra turn. Utility: Take 2 Bonus cards, Keep 1 of them. Corridor: Place 3 Foyer Hallway or Stairs. Living: Re-score the completed room's points. When a Living room reward is scored (because all doors connect to other rooms), any rooms connected to the Living room via Secret Passage are included in the re-scoring. Zzz Sleep: Choose 0, 1 or 2 rooms from the stack, place them face down on the Room stack. Downstairs (only for 2nd, 4th, 6th): Re-score the completed Room Completion Rewards. Moat Completion Reward If you complete a Moat by placing 3 Moat sections (creating a completely enclosed area in conjunction with your Barbican), you receive the Moat Reward: you may pick up any stack of rooms and look through it, choosing zero or one room to place immediately, at no cost to you. That room is scored as if you had purchased it in the normal fashion. Then you shuffle the unselected rooms and place them face down from where you picked them up. When a Moat is purchased, you'll score 3 points for the Moat itself, and 1 point for every room in your castle, except Corridor and Outdoor rooms. An additional Moat scores an additional 3 points for the new Moat, and 1 additional point for every room in your castle. Fim de Jogo e Pontuação End Game Trigger If the removal of a card from the Room deck when building a Moat results in depleting the Room deck, the game will end at the end of the current turn. Scoring Moats: When you purchase a Moat, you'll score 3 points for the Moat itself, and 1 point for every room in your castle, except Corridor and Outdoor rooms. An additional Moat scores an additional 3 points for the new Moat, and 1 additional point for every room in your castle. Swans: Each set of unique Swan tokens at the end of the game is scored by the player who has them: 1 for 1pt, 2 for 3pts, 3 for 6pts, 4 for 10pts, 5 for 15pts. Swans counted for points at the end of the game are counted towards the Swan Favor if it is in play. King's Favors: The Swans Favor is based on how many Swan tokens you have at the end of the game (of any type). The Rooms without Swans Favor is based on how many rooms you have in your castle that do not have Swan icons, including Corridors, but not including Secret Passages. Moats are counted as rooms for the "Rooms without Swans" Favor. The Courtyard Favor is based on how many Courtyards you have in your castle. A Courtyard is a completely enclosed area with at least one entrance. A completed Moat creates at least one Courtyard if there is at least one door going into it. Water edges of a Barbican/Moat cannot be used as the edge of a Courtyard. The Moats Favor is based on the number of Moat sections you have in your castle (the starting Barbican tile counts as a Moat section, so if you've built no additional Moats, you'll still qualify for last place). Secret Passages are not counted as rooms for the "Rooms without Swans" or the "Completed Rooms" Favors. Tiebreaker The 1000 square ft size of each moat does count towards the total square footage of your castle for the game end tiebreaker. Secret Passages do not count towards the total square footage of your castle for the game end tiebreaker. Dicas para Vencer Consider strategically completing Moats early to gain the Moat Reward, which allows you to immediately place a room at no cost, and to benefit from the ongoing bonus points for rooms built within the Moat. Utilize Secret Passages to maximize connection bonuses, especially for Living rooms, as they allow for re-scoring and can mute Activity Room conditional penalties for non-adjacent rooms. Manage your Swan tokens carefully: decide whether to exchange them for immediate cash during the game to fund purchases or to save them for potentially larger point bonuses at the end of the game, especially if the Swan Favor is in play. ## FAQ ### Do I need the base game to play? Absolutely! Castles of Mad King Ludwig: Secrets is an expansion and requires the base game Castles of Mad King Ludwig to be played. ### How many players does this expansion support? Just like the base game, the expansion maintains support for 1 to 4 players. ### Does the game become much more complicated with this expansion? It adds more options and a bit more complexity, but the learning curve isn't daunting, especially if you're already familiar with the base game. ### How much time does the expansion add to the game session? The game session length might increase slightly due to the new options and the need to plan with the new elements, but it generally stays within the 45-90 minute range. ### What are the main new elements introduced? The highlights are the 30 new rooms, the collectible swans, the moats, and the secret passages, which add new layers of strategy and scoring. ### Is this expansion worth it for those who already enjoy the base game? If you're looking for more variety and want to explore new strategies for building your castle, yes! It brings a good amount of new content without altering the original game's feel. ## Price Comparison ### Best International Offers - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 27.04 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=4356707&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - See all on BoardGamePrices: https://boardgameprices.com/item/show/15133/castles-of-mad-king-ludwig-secrets?utm_source=boardgamesbot.com