Stepping Into a Beautiful City in Castellans (of Valeria)
Build presence across the different districts of a city with a combination of buildings, monuments, and residents in Castellans.
It’s not uncommon for a new arrival to immediately find a place on my shelf, only for me to quickly forget about it. Castellans came out a couple of years ago, and only now did I find myself drawn to bring it to my table! Area majority can be a mechanic that doesn’t always work for me, so I went in with cautious optimism. At least it looked amazing!
Game Overview
Game Name: Castellans
Publication Year: 2024
Designer: Isaias Vallejo
Artist: Mihajlo Dimitrievski
Publisher: Daily Magic Games
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Over 5 rounds, districts fill up as influence with various guilds grows. There are many different sorts of buildings, along with residents and ships to add control. Managing resources drafted from dice is a challenge, as is looking ahead to the district scoring order. Quite a nice puzzle!
First Play
August 1, 2026
Complexity
3
Latest Play
August 1, 2026
Expansions
0
Setup Time
10 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
2
Play Time
1 Hour
High Score
154
Game Area
38" x 22"
Low Score
142
Gorgeous Production
First, this is an absolutely beautiful board with some of the nicest screen-printed wooden components. Definitely fits in the theme of actually building up a city made of districts!
Seriously… How gorgeous is this? I had a nice time simply admiring the city art and the way each district had its own personality. Lots to do to build up area majority control!
It took me some time to get through the rules, though. There were walls of text and strategy tips mixed in.
When I want to sit down to learn to play, having repeated sections or notes about the best choices is distracting.
Against Maryam
A total of 6 different solo opponents are included, each with their own set of actions. This is an interesting take on a solo mode, though, as everything is already known up front.
For instance, I knew that Maryam would recruit, recruit, and build a ship during the first round’s main actions.
There were blocking opportunities, although this didn’t quite come together. I wonder if it would have been better to start with 2 or 3 solo opponents to add more competition.
Randomness still existed in what would be chosen or where buildings would be placed, though, so I had to play carefully.
Filling the City
Such a beautiful scene! In the end, the city had all sorts of buildings and residents scattered throughout the districts.
There is a set pattern for how these are scored, and I missed out on some early opportunities merely to have a decent enough time in the later rounds. Lots of cool things to see!
However, I felt like I saw it all. I went through both of the residents decks and knew what to expect in future plays.
Maybe this one isn’t well-suited to a solo mode against a single opponent. Yet I only lost due to misunderstanding how the guild tracks scored, and it was by a narrow margin.
Residents and Abilities
There are a total of 4 residents who may be placed to add control, which means the recruit action is typically only useful 3 or 4 times during a play. Lots of abilities to find!
It felt like the whole point was in creating combinations, though, and a lot of them felt obvious. I missed out on some of my top choices, but still figured out some ways forward.
Placing buildings was fun, especially as I could choose the order to unlock other abilities that boosted other actions.
The dice drafting element was also neat and worked well enough, but I couldn’t shake the feeling I had seen it all.
A Question of Balance: Too Much or Too Little?
I thought this game worked very well and seemed to be balanced in every respect. There were no exciting combinations to discover, but only slightly better ways to take certain actions. I found ways to reach the top of the guild favor tracks with some ability interactions, though there were many ways to do so. Everything ultimately had about the same effect.
Even final scoring was very close compared to when I thought I played poorly and put in a greater effort. There was nothing that grabbed my attention, though: No exciting moments. I can appreciate wanting to steer clear of the dreaded broken combination effect with a game that feels wildly unbalanced, but this felt… Too balanced? Like I could always win.
It may be that it shines in a multiplayer setting, as I can see the thrill of beating an opponent for a district’s majority! With the way the solo mode works, there are some random elements, but I found it far too easy to tailor my choices to benefit the most or block the solo opponent. Everything worked and functioned smoothly. This simply wasn’t any fun for me.
Fantastic Scenes
Such great details on these wooden components! The monuments, shown by the white pieces, offer unique scoring opportunities that often count all relevant pieces.
For instance, Maryam’s gate connected both districts and scored victory points for all residents… Including mine! These offered nice ways to get ahead if control was lost.
I liked it well enough, yet again, it left me feeling like I saw everything after one play. It worked without any excitement.
Functionally, I liked how balanced the mechanics and options were. It just didn’t do anything to feel fun for me.
Another Full City
I reset and played again, hopeful that I missed out on other strategies. Technically, I did forget some helpful things during my first play, so this time… I won! And that was it.
This is a beautiful play area and a game that works very, very well on a mechanical level. Even the theme can come through with the buildings and ships filling up the city!
But it almost felt… Too balanced? Everything I did put me in a good position and I knew the solo opponent’s moves.
My enjoyment was, sadly, lacking. I still admire this art and what the game set out to achieve, but alas… It’s not for me.
Session Overview
Play Number: 1 & 2
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Outcome: 142-153, 154-140 (1 Win & 1 Loss)
I liked a number of elements that were present, and I can see the area majority being a lot of fun with more players! Additional solo opponents might improve the experience, but the variety and sense of achievement are a little too low for me to want to return. A game can work well enough and still not be a right match. Considering the play time, too, it felt like it went on for a long time without any interesting moments to make it stand out. Glad I had a chance to play!
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
7
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
9
Originality
Design & Theme
3
Quality
Components & Rules
6
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
7
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
4
+ Pros (Positives)
- The component quality is amazing and admirable with fantastic screen-printed wooden meeples that stand out.
- A lot of the artwork may look familiar based on the rest of this series, yet the city art is new and breathtaking.
- Seeing the city grow with the addition of buildings is a neat process that often makes each district stand out a bit.
- Drafting dice is quick and neat in terms of gaining resources and planning the actions to take during a round.
- Although it incorporates a lot of mechanics, the rules are fairly straightforward and not as complex as they may seem.
- Every action typically does something to gain favor with the guilds, and optimizing each round is a pleasant puzzle.
– Cons (Negatives)
- It can feel like the whole game has been experienced after a single play, as the overall variety feels pretty limited.
- Knowing what the solo opponent will do ahead of time is interesting and cuts down on overhead, but is predictable.
- The rulebook feels excessively lengthy and wordy with lots of repeated sections and strategy tips mixed with rules.
- Gameplay moves at a decent enough pace, but the game feels like it overstays its welcome and lasts too long.
Victory Conditions
Score the Most Points
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Win at least 1 game.
Continue the Conversation
Have you played Castellans? Are there any other solo games you enjoy where the art makes you pause to admire it? I loved the look of this one on my table, and it was lovely to admire the intricate wooden components! Despite my sadness about not enjoying it, I can see how this one would work well for the right sort of player. Now, to look at the city just once more…
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