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Terra de Castells
Conquest and resource management game set in medieval Catalonia in the year 1000. As a feudal noble, expand your domains by placing castles in castles, manage your estates and wage war against rivals for glory before the timeline runs out.
- Players
- 2–4
- Playing time
- 45–60 min
- Min. age
- 12+
- Year
- 2026
- Designer
- Quim Garreta, Amelia Sales
Setup
Spread the board in the center of the table.
Shuffle the favor cards and place the pile in its space on the board.
Place each century card face down on the timeline and the koalata tokens on the corresponding card.
Place all territory tiles in the bag.
Each player receives: personal board, castles of their color (10/9/8 for 2/3/4 players), estate tokens of their color and 4 cups of their color.
Place the cups in the starting position: fifth position (2 players), fourth position (3 players) or third position (4 players).
The starting player places one Time Pass token at the beginning of the timeline (11th century) and keeps the other as the starting player marker.
In turn order, each player places a castle in one of the starting castles (Òdena, Montbui, Jorba or Claramunt).
In reverse order, each player places a second castle on a castle adjacent to or within two hexes of the first.
STRUCTURE OF THE TURN
Each player executes the phases of their turn in order. The game lasts 5 centuries (XI to XV), one per round.
Phase 1 — Passage of time
Starting player only: Advances the passage of time tile to the next century. If the century card has a koalata token, it is placed in the center hex and its effect is applied to nearby castles. Then the century card is revealed and its effects are read, which last the entire round
Phase 2 — Resources
The active player collects the resources from their estate tokens in play (raises one estate for each token). Then he takes a territory token from the bag: for each castle he has in that territory, he raises an estate of his choice. The token is discarded (does not return to the bag)
Phase 3 — Actions
The active player can take 0 to 3 actions in any order
ACTIONS (phase 3)
Control a nearby castle
Cost: 1 estate of each type. The player places a castle in an adjacent empty castle or within two hexes of an own castle
Play a state token
Cost: 1 estate of town + 1 estate of the type of the file. The token must be in a free hex adjacent to two own castles. Contribute resources every turn and count towards victory
Get token attributes
The player increases 1 estate unit for each own estate token in play
Buy favor cards
Cost: 1 crown per letter. It is stolen from the corresponding stack
Attack a nearby castle
See combat section
COMBAT
The attacker announces the source castle and the target castle.
Superiority
Whoever has the most army at the time of declaring the attack rolls the black superiority die. In case of a tie, no one throws it
Rolls
The attacker rolls 5 white dice (+ black if applicable). A success = result of 5 or 6. May reroll failed dice by paying 1 army point, up to a maximum of 3 total rolls
Defense
The defender must match or exceed the attacker's achievements with the same system
Unfavorable result for the attacker
There are no changes on the board
Favorable result for the attacker
The defender Caslà returns to the reserve of the defeated player; the attacker places a castle of his own on the conquered castle and cannot attack again this turn
Tiles adjacent to the conquered castle
If a state tile no longer meets the proximity rule, the defender may move it to a valid location; if not possible, return to reservation
FREE ACTIONS
Play a favor card
No cost The player applies one of the card's two effects (not both). Cards with C are only played during combat; with T at any point in the turn; with I immediately upon receiving it (if it is out of turn, it is applied when it is the player's turn). There is no hand limit
Power of faith The player can spend 1 Church Estate to increase any other 1 resource. It can be done as many times as Church points you have and want to spend
BAG TERRITORIES
Levant
Castles in the eastern area of the map
Midnight
Castles in the midday area
Speaker
Castles in the western area
He laughs Castles in the river area
Forest
Castles in the forest area
Mountain
Castles in the mountain area
Wild card
The player who draws it chooses one of the territories indicated on the token and the effects of that territory are applied
OPTIONAL MODE: THE SARRAINS
In preparation, place the Saracen figure on its space on the board.
Activation
Whenever an East, Midday or West token comes out of the bag, the Saracens act before the player collects resources
Active Player Action
Move the Saracen to any empty castle on the map, or make an attack on a nearby castle from the Saracen's current position
Battle Saracens
Neither side uses the superiority die. Saracens cast up to 3 times at no army cost; the defender does have to pay
Reconquest
Players can attack the castle conquered by the Saracens; if they do, the Saracen figure returns to its starting space
Victory conditions
- Whoever places all of their castles and state tokens on the board immediately wins
- If the timeline runs out, whoever has the most points wins
- Caslans on the board
- 3 points each
- Estate tiles on the board
- 2 points each
- Unused estates
- 1 point each
- Tie
- Tied players share the win
How to play (video)
Frequently asked questions
- How many players does Terra de Castells need?
- 2–4 players.
- How long does a game of Terra de Castells last?
- 45–60 minutes.
- What is the minimum age for Terra de Castells?
- From 12 years old.
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