The White Castle

A heron glides silently over Himeji while the Daimyo watches his servants go about their duties — gardeners tend the pond with its koi, warriors patrol the walls, and courtiers crowd the gates hoping for an audience. When the sun sets, lanterns are lit and everyone returns to their clan. Now, back at the table, you control one of these clans to score more victory points than your rivals. Over three rounds, your clan members are sent to the gardens, to defend the castle, or to climb the court's social hierarchy. Each action costs dice — and which die you spend changes everything. The central board is the castle in all its glory, divided into zones: the interior with the Thousand Carpets Room (where courtiers seek the Daimyo's favor), the pond and gardens, the outer walls, and the three bridges where dice accumulate. Each player also has a personal domain to store resources and keep worker reserves. The White Castle comes from the duo Llama Dice (Sheila Santos and Israel Cendrero), who already surprised us with The Red Cathedral. It's a solid euro: resource management, worker placement, and dice positioning to execute actions. Rules are accessible and the polished design hides strategic depth that reveals itself gradually. It fits well with different groups, but shines especially with three players.