Castles of Caleira
Castles of Caleira Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Castles of Caleira
Castles of Caleira is a micro game consisting of 18 cards for 2 to 4 players. The average play time is around 20 minutes per game.
Synopsis
Players compete to build the best castle one piece at a time, each piece either hinders their opponent or helps them build a stronger castle. The player who builds the highest scoring castle is the winner.
Contents
Season 1 contains the following cards:
- Trebuchet – 4 cards
- Battlements – 3 cards
- Watch Tower – 3 cards
- Marketplace – 2 cards
- Throne Room – 2 cards
- Wizard Tower – 1 card
- The Observatory – 1 card
- Princess' Spire – 1 card
- Barracks – 1 card
- The Moat – 2 cards
Background of the Province of Caleira
Two Monarchs, who were rivals, tried to build luxurious Castles, on two opposing hills, each Castle a monument to their own ego. As each castle grew, jealousy brewed amongst them, and the rivalry saw conflict. This brought war, and chaos to the hills of Caleira. This game is the manifestation of the cunning, and strategic sabotage, that allowed only one Monarch to rule the hills of Caleira. History tells us who ruled both hills, but which Ruler will you be?
Setting up a Game
For a two or three player game, shuffle the 18 card deck. If playing with 4 players, use 16 or 20 cards. (Removing The Moat for 2, or 3 player games)
Deal out 2 cards to each player – this becomes their Hand. Put the remaining cards into a face-down pile in the centre of the table (The Deck), with a space next to it for discarded cards.
Randomly determine a starting player to begin the game.
The Turn
There are three actions a player must perform to complete their turn, once all three actions are completed, then the turn passes to the next player.
- Draw a card
- Play a card from hand
- Resolve effects
Draw a Card
Each player's turn starts by drawing a card from the top of The Deck, and adding that card to their hand, which is kept hidden. If a card cannot be drawn, play continues as normal.
Play a Card from Hand
Choose a card from your hand and place it on the table. This card can be played face up or face down. Once played it is known as a "Castle Piece" and cannot change its position in the players' Castle Rack.
You may only play one card per turn and if you have cards in your Hand, one must be played. Play finishes when all players are unable to place a card on the table.
When you play your cards to the table, they must be placed in one row in front of you, this row is called the Castle Rack. Once played on the table the cards may only be turned over by another card's effect, but they cannot be moved out of the order in which you placed them. Cards can only be added to the left or right of the players' Castle Rack.
Resolve Effects
Once a card is played face-up or becomes face-up (Revealed) due to an effect, its effect is activated. When an effect is activated the player who has the card in their Castle Rack, performs any actions determined by that card. Effects may target any card in a Castle Rack.
The Different Cards
Battlements – Battlements has no effect when turned face-up, but it cannot be destroyed by Trebuchet's. A Battlements is worth 0 points, but if a player has all three Battlements face-up in their Castle Rack at the end of the game, they are worth 3 points each.
Trebuchet – Once the Trebuchet's effect is activated, the card's owner chooses a castle piece owned by any player, and that card is turned face-up and then destroyed, it is removed from the Castle Rack and placed in the discard pile. (the cards in the castle rack move closer together to fill the empty space). Cards in the discard pile provide no score or effect to any player. If a card was flipped face-up by this effect, its effect is resolved after it is discarded. The Trebuchet is worth no points at the end of the game.
Watch Tower – Once played, The Watch Tower can turn up to two cards that are face-down; face-up. If two cards with effects are revealed at the same time, the active player chooses which will resolve first. The Watch Tower is worth 2 points at the end of the game.
Marketplace – Once played, the owner of the Marketplace chooses another player. Both the owner and the chosen player, then each choose a single card from their hand. Those two players then exchange the two chosen cards. The Marketplace is worth 2 points at the end of the game.
Throne Room – Once played, the Throne Room's owner chooses a single Castle Piece, and turns it face-up. If that card would have an effect, it does not activate. The chosen card still contributes points, and may have passive effects. (i.e. Throne Room cannot stop Battlements from being indestructible.) The Throne Room is worth 2 points at the end of the game.
Wizard Tower – Once played, the Wizard Tower's owner looks at the top three cards from the deck, that player may then return those three cards to the top of the deck in any order they wish. The Wizard Tower is worth 3 points at the end of the game.
The Observatory – Once played, the Observatory allows you to choose a face-down card to look at (you do not show your opponents), then you may choose to turn it face-up. The Observatory is worth 3 points at the end of the game.
Barracks – Once played, the Barracks' Owner chooses a card, and that card is flipped face-down. That card loses any passive effects it may have whilst face-up. The Barracks is worth 3 points at the end of the game.
Princess' Spire – If the Princess' Spire is destroyed by a Trebuchet, then the Spire's Owner is removed from the Round. The Princess' Spire cannot be played face-up from hand, and may only become face-up by the effect of another card. The Princess' Spire is worth 6 points at the end of the game.
Winning the Game
The game ends when there are no cards in the deck, and each players' hand. The remaining players then count up all the points from the face up cards in front of them, and add 1 point for each face down card. The winning player is the player with the most points. In the case of a draw the player who looked up the rules on their phone first, wins.
Adjusting for Season 2
When playing with the update for season two, the composition of the deck should be as follows:
- 3x Trebuchet
- 3x Battlements
- 2x Watchtower
- 2x Throne Room
- 2x Marketplace
- 2x Clifftop Prison
- 1x Banquet Halls
- 1x The Forge
- 1x Wizard Tower
- 1x Princess' Spire
The Forge – When The Forge is played, or turned face-up, choose another face-up castle piece, and you trigger its effect, and you choose all targets for that effect. For example selecting a face-up Trebuchet with The Forge, allows you to turn face-up and then destroy a card of your choice.
Clifftop Prison – When Clifftop Prison is played face-up, or turned face-up, its owner chooses a card their opponent controls. That card is removed from the game face-down, until the Clifftop Prison is discarded or removed from play. Once Clifftop Prison is removed, the card removed by Clifftop Prison's effect is returned to play in its owner's Castle Rack face-up, but its effect is not activated.
A player may look at their face-down cards taken by an opponent's Clifftop Prison, but not face-down cards they don't own from their Clifftop Prison.
Banquet Halls – When Banquet Halls is played face-up or turned face-up, its owner chooses a player. If an opponent, that player reveals their hand to everyone, and the player who played Banquet Halls chooses a single card from the revealed hand. That chosen card is then placed on the bottom of the deck and the player who revealed their hand draws a card. If the player who played Banquet Halls chooses themself they do not have to reveal their hand to everyone, but must show everyone the card placed on the bottom. The player who played Banquet Halls then draws a card.
Frequently Asked Questions
1.0 – Anytime a card refers to a Castle Piece it refers to any player's Castle Piece in play.
1.1 – Each player only controls the effects of the cards in their own Castle Rack.
1.2 – If a card becomes turned face-up, that card's effect is activated by the player who owns it (the player in whose Castle Rack that card resides).
1.3 – After a Trebuchet destroys a card, that card's ability activates from the discard pile. This means a targeted Throne Room cannot prevent Trebuchet from destroying it.
1.4 – Battlements cannot be destroyed when either face-up or face-down. A Trebuchet targeting Battlements reveals its passive effect before attempting to destroy it.
1.5 – The Marketplace may target a player with no cards in hand to force the ability to fail. You may not choose yourself as a player, for the purpose of the Marketplace.
1.6 – If two cards activate at the same time from a Watch Tower, the player whose turn it is chooses the order of effects to take place. Any subsequent cards revealed resolve after any previously revealed cards.
1.7 – If there are no other face-up cards when the Forge is played, it has no legal target, and does nothing.
1.8 – A face-up card taken with a Clifftop Prison stays face-up, but has no ability. This would, for example, prevent 3 Battlements from scoring any points.