Looking for a different challenge in defending your Castle?
Here are a few alternate rules (in addition to the Optional Rules) that you can add to fine tune your fun.
Try them all out, and play with just your favorite or mix and match the ones you like the best to create your perfect game of Castle Panic. Have fun defending the Castle!
I. Less Panic
Under Construction-player Walls
The game begins with no Walls in play but with each player holding 1 Wall in his or her possession. During any of his or her turns, each player may place his or her Wall at any available Wall space during the Play Cards phase.
The players do not need to play Brick and Mortar cards to put these Walls into play; the players simply choose where to place the Walls.
Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures
Before the Draw Up phase of a player's turn, he or she may discard his or her entire hand and draw up to a full hand of new cards. On that turn, he or she must skip both the Trade Cards and the Play Cards phases.
The player must still perform the Move Monsters and Draw 2 New Monsters phases as usual.
II. A Little More Panic
Rough Start
Instead of setting up the game by placing the standard set of Monster tokens on the board, players draw 3 Orcs and 3 Trolls.
The die is rolled for each token, and each Monster is placed in the Archer ring that matches the number rolled.
Friends Close, Enemies Closer
Instead of playing with Castle cards face up, players play with closed hands. They may discuss strategy and tell other players what cards they have, but they are not allowed to show their cards to each other.
Under Construction-random Walls
The game is set up as usual, except for the Walls. Instead, the die is rolled to determine how many walls will be in play at the start of the game.
Then, the die is rolled to determine the arc in which each Wall will be placed. If a number is rolled where a Wall already exists, the die is rerolled until a new placement is determined.
As another option, players may simply choose a set number of Walls (i.e,. 3) that they wish to start the game with and roll the die to determine where to place those Walls.
Not Over Yet
If a player draws a Monster token that would require him or her to draw more Monster tokens but there are not enough Monster tokens remaining in the Monster pile, that player should instead shuffle the Monster discard pile face down and draw the required number of Monster tokens from that pile.
III. A Lot More Panic
Monster Recycling Program
Instead of discarding Monsters that are destroyed by Giant Boulders or by attacking Walls or Towers, players shuffle those Monsters face down into the Monster pile so they can return to the fight later.
Final Charge!
When all the Monster tokens have been drawn and the last Monsters have been placed on the board, the Move Monsters phase changes for every player's turn.
From then on, the die is rolled to see what special movement occurs after the Move Monsters phase. The Monsters then move according to the following chart:
| Die Roll | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | Red Monsters Move 1 |
| 2 | Green Monsters Move 1 |
| 3 | Blue Monsters Move 1 |
| 4 | Monsters Move Clockwise |
| 5 | All Monsters Move 1 |
| 6 | Monsters Move Counter-Clockwise |
The Charging Horde
Players draw and resolve 3 Monster tokens instead of 2 during Phase 6 of each player's turn. For a slightly easier variation, each player may make 2 trades on his or her turn (2 cards with the same player or 1 card with 2 different players).
IV. Other Variantions
A Man's Home Is His Castle-the King's Tower
When fewer than 6 players are using the "A Man's Home Is His Castle" Optional Rule, 1 unclaimed Tower is designated as the King's Tower.
If the King's Tower is destroyed, all players must immediately discard one card. For the rest of the game, the normal hand size is reduced by 1 card. The players now draw up to the following hand sizes:
| Number of Players | Number of Cards in a Hand |
|---|---|
| 1 | 5 |
| 2 | 5 |
| 3-5 | 4 |
V. Overlord Variations
More Minions
The Overlord draws up to a hand of 4 Monster tokens but still plays tokens in the usual way (2 tokens in the Forest ring determined by rolling the die or 1 in any arc of the Forest ring he or she chooses).
Secret Forces
Before the start of the game, the Overlord player chooses one Monster token and sets it aside face down. (This token does not count toward the number of tokens the Overlord may keep in his or her hand).
The Overlord may play this token on his or her turn, following the normal Overlord play rules (2 tokens in the Forest ring determined by rolling the die or 1 in any arc of the Forest ring he or she chooses).
Monstrous Choices
Each time the Overlord draws up to a hand of 3 Monster tokens, he or she may remove 1 token from his or her hand, draw a new Monster token to replace it, and shuffle the old token face down into the Monster pile.
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