Sandcastles of Burgundy
- Andrew Milne
- 7 hours ago
- 2 min read
Stefan Feld's Castles of Burgundy (Ravensburger/Awaken Realms) has become a modern classic, spawning several editions since it originally appeared in 2011. Sandcastles of Burgundy may sound like an April Fool's Day joke but it's actually a child-friendly version of Castles of Burgundy designed by Stefan Feld and Susanne Feld. It's one of a number of adaptions of classic games for a younger audience that aims to teach the mechanics of the original to the next generation of gamers. And it does it well!
Once the frustrations of getting the game out the box and having to peal off some double-sided tape in order to attach different colours to the tops of sandcastles was completed (no idea why the sandcastles couldn't have just been different colours in the first place), myself and my two kids had a lot of fun playing this and I enjoyed seeing them pick up some of the tactics and the ideas of such a classic game. The sandcastles theme is - quite frankly - preposterous, but my kids didn't seem perturbed by this at all. They quite enjoyed the idea of hunting for coloured decorations, which were for no clear reason hidden underneath sandcastles, and then placing these decorations in matching houses in order to please a crab for whom you were hosting a party. It makes sense if you are seven, it seems.
Mechanically, the game does a great job of matching the core ideas of Castles of Burgundy in a much-simplified way. You roll two dice and then can either look under a sandcastle matching a die colour to find a decoration and put this in your store, or move that decoration from the store to its required house using a matching die colour. All very familiar. There's also a nice feature for unplayable turns in that you gain a token that then allows you to alter a die roll on a future move - very much in-keeping with the adult version. Finally, the sandcastles also hide various other animals that will only attend your party (and score you points) if you reveal them when their matching-coloured house is already completed. There is only one animal of each colour here, therefore creating quite a nice race element to the game.
There are a number of features to Sandcastles of Burgundy that are vital to a successful game for children. It is almost impossible not to have a close game, so they will feel like they've had many successes even if they do not win overall, and the blend of decision-making and luck is perfectly balanced. I feel like I could play this game to the best of my abilities and still lose to my four-year-old, which, for me, is very important in making a family game that everyone can enjoy.
(Review by Andrew Milne)
