Overview

Castle Panic is a cooperative tower defense game where players work together to defend Castle Bravehold against waves of monsters. The board features concentric rings (Forest, Archer, Knight, Swordsman, Castle) divided into colored arcs. Players use cards matching specific ring and color combinations to hit and slay monsters as they advance toward the castle. The game is won if all 49 monster tokens are played and slain with at least one tower remaining; it is lost if all six towers are destroyed.

Components

• 1 game board (concentric rings divided into 6 colored arcs)
• 49 Castle cards (attack, defense, and special cards)
• 49 Monster tokens (goblins, orcs, trolls, boss monsters, and monster effects)
• 6 walls with plastic stands
• 6 towers with plastic stands
• 1 tar token
• 2 fortify tokens
• 1 six-sided die
• 6 Order of Play reference cards

Setup

1. Place one tower in each of the 6 light-colored spaces in the Castle ring.
2. Place one wall on each line between the Castle ring and Swordsman ring.
3. Draw 3 goblins, 2 orcs, and 1 troll from the monster tokens. Place one in each arc of the Archer ring (setup only; normally monsters start in the Forest).
4. Separate Order of Play cards and give one to each player.
5. Shuffle Castle cards and deal a hand face-up to each player (hand size: 1 player = 7, 2 players = 6, 3 players = 5, 4 players = 5, 5 players = 4, 6 players = 3).
6. Turn remaining monster tokens face down and mix them into the monster pile.
7. Place tar and fortify tokens nearby.
8. Place remaining Castle cards as a face-down draw pile.

Turn Structure

Choose a first player; play proceeds clockwise. Each turn has 6 phases:

1. Draw Up: Draw cards to refill your hand to its full size. (Skip on the first turn since hands are already full.) Reshuffle discards if the deck runs out.

2. Discard and Draw 1 Card (optional): Discard 1 card from your hand and draw a replacement.

3. Trade Cards (optional): Trade cards with other players. 2-5 players: 1 trade per turn. 6 players: 2 trades per turn (with same or different players). Both players choose what to trade; nobody is forced to trade. You cannot simply give a card away.

4. Play Cards: Play as many cards as you can (if they have valid targets or effects). Cards are discarded after use. Hit cards must match the color AND ring where a monster stands. Monsters cannot be hit in the Forest ring (with few exceptions).

5. Move Monsters: All monsters on the board move one space closer to the Castle. Monsters in the Castle ring move one space clockwise within the Castle ring.

6. Draw 2 New Monsters: Draw 2 monster tokens, resolve one at a time. For regular monsters (goblin, orc, troll), roll the die and place them in the Forest ring at the matching arc number. Boss monsters are placed the same way but have special effects. Monster Effect tokens affect the game and are discarded.

Actions

Hitting Monsters: Play a card matching the monster’s color and ring. Each hit deals 1 damage. Rotate the monster token clockwise to show remaining health. Monster health: Goblin = 1, Orc = 2, Troll = 3.

Slaying: When a monster loses its last health point, it is slain and discarded face-up.

Special Cards:

• Barbarian: Slays any one monster anywhere except the Forest.
• Nice Shot: Combine with any hit card to instantly slay the targeted monster.
• Drive Him Back!: Move 1 monster anywhere back to the Forest (same arc).
• Tar: Stops a monster in its tracks (place tar token on it; it skips one movement phase).
• Fortify Wall: Place a fortify token on any wall (absorbs 1 extra hit).
• Missing: Skip the Draw 2 New Monsters phase this turn.
• Draw 2 Cards: Draw 2 extra cards.
• Scavenge: Search the discard pile for any 1 card.
• “Any Color” cards: Hit monsters in any color of the matching ring.
• Hero cards: Hit monsters in Archer, Knight, or Swordsman ring of the matching color.

Building Walls: Play 1 Brick + 1 Mortar card together to rebuild a destroyed wall. Cannot add a second wall where one already exists.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Win: All 49 monster tokens have been drawn, all monsters on the board are slain, and at least 1 tower remains.

Lose: All 6 towers are destroyed (regardless of remaining walls).

Monster interactions with structures: When a monster moves into a wall, the wall is destroyed and the monster stays in that space. When a monster moves into a tower, the tower is destroyed and the monster stays in the Castle ring.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• A fortified wall absorbs 1 extra hit from a monster before being destroyed. Remove the fortify token; the wall remains until hit again.
• Monsters that enter the Castle ring with no wall or tower continue to move clockwise until they encounter a structure.
• If multiple monsters occupy the same space, they all move and can all be targeted separately.
• When the monster pile is empty, skip phase 6.
• Boss Monsters have special abilities that trigger when drawn (e.g., extra movement, destroying walls).
• Monster Effects (like Plague, which forces all players to discard a card type) resolve immediately and are discarded.
• Master Slayer variant: Cooperative with individual scoring. The player who slays the most monsters is the Master Slayer.
• Overlord variant: One player controls the monsters against the other players.
• Solitaire variant: One player defends the castle alone.

Player Reference

Phase	Action
1. Draw Up	Refill hand to full size
2. Discard & Draw	Optionally swap 1 card
3. Trade	Trade 1 card with another player (2 trades in 6p)
4. Play Cards	Hit monsters, slay, build walls, use specials
5. Move Monsters	All monsters advance 1 space toward Castle
6. Draw Monsters	Draw and place 2 new monster tokens

Monster Health: Goblin = 1, Orc = 2, Troll = 3