On Board / DM HandbookGame references & teaching notes
Game reference

Castle Combo

CategoryCard drafting · Tableau buildingPlayers2–5 playersDurationAbout 10–25 minutes

Full rulebook (English PDF · mirror) ↗

01

Overview

Recruit characters from the Castle and Village to build a nine-card tableau. Abilities provide resources during play; scoring scrolls reward combinations at the end.

Edition scope. Catch Up Games 2024 English base game. Use the cards and icon reference supplied with the shop’s copy for individual abilities.

02

Objective

Build a 3×3 tableau with the highest total score.

03

Setup

  • Shuffle Castle and Village separately. Reveal 3 cards from each deck to form two market rows.
  • Place the Messenger beside the Village row. Give each player 15 Gold and 2 Keys.
  • Leave room for a 3×3 tableau. Choose a starting player at random and play clockwise.
04

How to play

Optional 1 Key → recruit and place → resolve ability → Messenger / refill. Score after everyone has 9 cards.

Player actions and turn sequence for Castle Combo. The complete rules are provided in the adjacent text.
Player actions and turn sequence for Castle Combo. The complete rules are provided in the adjacent text. Open full size. Illustrative symbols are not official game components.

  1. Optional Key

    Before recruiting, spend at most 1 Key: either move the Messenger to the other market OR discard and replace all cards in its current market. Choose one.

  2. Recruit and place

    Take 1 card from the Messenger’s market. Pay its Gold cost, reduced by applicable existing discounts. Place it orthogonally adjacent to your tableau, staying within 3×3. Do not rearrange placed cards.

  3. Resolve the ability

    Resolve the ability after placing the card; it usually counts itself. A new discount applies only to future purchases, not to its own cost.

  4. Messenger and refill

    Move the Messenger as indicated by the bought card’s icon; without an icon, it stays. Finally refill both markets to 3 cards each.

Worked example

Legal: share an edge. Illegal: touch only a corner, or extend a row to four cards.
Legal: share an edge. Illegal: touch only a corner, or extend a row to four cards. Open the figure for full size. Original AI-generated teaching diagram.

You already have a 1-Gold Village discount. A Village card costs 4 Gold, so you pay 3 Gold. Even if the new card also grants a discount, you still pay 3 this time.

Point to the cost, then the ability, then the scoring scroll. Teach these as three separate pieces of information.

05

Ending & scoring

Finish when everyone has 9 cards. Allocate leftover Gold to purse cards without exceeding their capacities, then score each scroll. Each remaining Key is worth 1 point; face-down cards score 0. Gold outside purses scores nothing. Highest score wins; break ties with Gold remaining outside purses, then share the win if still tied.

Ending and winning conditions for Castle Combo. The complete rules are provided in the adjacent text.
Ending and winning conditions for Castle Combo. The complete rules are provided in the adjacent text. Open full size. Illustrative symbols are not official game components.
06

Rules to double-check

  • You may take a card for free and place it face down instead. Gain 6 Gold and 2 Keys, ignore all front-side information, and do not move the Messenger for that card.
  • Cards must share an edge, not just a corner. Your first card’s final position within the grid need not be decided immediately.
  • Resolve immediate rewards now; score scrolls only at the end.
  • Purses score according to their printed rate. Gold does not automatically become 1 point each.
07

Sources & edition notes

Catch Up Games · English rulebook (mirror) ↗

Rules sources checked on 13 November 2026. Teaching scripts and practice tasks are suggested hosting aids. The publisher’s rules and the edition in the box remain the reference for exceptions.