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Tag: Castle Panic
Monsters, Monsters Everywhere!–New Monsters in The Wizard’s Tower
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We’ve covered magic (Wizard cards) and fire. What’s left? MONSTERS!
There are many new threats in The Wizard’s Tower box, and they will test your mettle to its limits.
In this video, Justin talks about the new, standard Monsters that join the fight from Centaurs to Ogres, and Imps to Gargoyles.
You will be removing some of the base game Monsters and replacing them with these new Monsters. (See page 3 of The Wizard’s Tower rulebook for the new Monster “recipe.”) Some of these Monsters have special immunities and special vulnerabilities. Some will only spawn alongside other Monsters. Some are just really hard to kill with higher health points than you may be used to!
Flying Monsters
In the expansion there are even Monsters who fly! You have to use Archer cards to hit these Monsters. Knights and Swordsmen are useless against them. They are also immune to the perils of the Giant Boulder! Justin explains how you fight them in this video.
Mega Boss Monsters
Last, but certainly not least, are the Mega Boss Monsters. These Monsters are so big, they aren’t just Bosses, they are MEGA! Four- and five-points make these guys tough to kill, plus they come with extra abilities that stay in effect as long as they are alive. They can also move in unpredictable ways, so you’ll need to stay alert to properly strategize their demise. Mega Boss Monsters are covered on pages 13 & 14 of the rulebook. The game also comes with handy reference cards players can easily refer to when a new Monster is drawn.
You can learn more about all the Monsters in the videos shared above, as well as in the rulebook (pages 11-14). Be sure to also check out our FAQ page for specific Monster effect questions and those occasional scenarios that give you pause.
Happy Hunting! May your Wizard’s Tower remain standing & the cards be on your side!
For the complete playlist of The Wizard’s Tower videos, check out our YouTube Channel, or past blog posts.
Bringing the Heat–How Fire Works in The Wizard’s Tower
Posted on — Leave a commentIf you’ve been following this week’s blog series on The Wizard’s Tower expansion for Castle Panic, you know how to set up the game by removing certain Monsters and replacing them with new ones, swapping a Tower, and shuffling in the new Castle cards. You’ve also discovered the Wizard deck and all the wondrous magic it holds.
Today we are going to teach you about FIRE!
With this expansion you will encounter Monsters who breathe fire and can catch your Castle structures on fire! But don’t worry, there are ways to put the fire out and even use it to your advantage. You are now able to catch Monsters on fire as well! After all, Dragons are only flame retardant on the INSIDE.
Watch the video for a full explanation of the different ways fire will play a key role in your game play.
How to Set Monsters on Fire
Some of the Wizard cards allow you to set Monsters on fire. When on fire, Monsters will take 1 point of damage for each flame token on it during the Move Monsters Phase of a player’s turn. You can use this new mechanic as part of your strategy by catching Monsters on fire while they are in the Archer ring and letting them burn themselves out before reaching your Castle.
What Happens When the Castle Is on Fire
Among the new Monsters included in The Wizard’s Tower expansion are a few Monsters who can breathe fire and will catch your Castle on fire! Castle structures on fire are weakened and can be destroyed with no damage to the Monsters (they will not take damage when hitting a flaming structure) on that turn. However, a Monster knocking down a flaming Wall will take on that flame token and on his NEXT movement he will take fire damage.
Your Castle structures can handle up to 2 fire tokens and remain standing. However, the third fire attack by a Monster will destroy the Wall or Tower automatically. No Monsters are injured.
How to Put out Burning Castle Structures
Players are able to extinguish flaming structures by playing 1 Brick or 1 Mortar card on their turn for each flame token on the structure. If there are multiple flame tokens on a Wall, you will need multiple Bricks or Mortars to put out all the flames. You may also use the Fortify Wall card to extinguish all flame on a Wall, but you do not get to also fortify that wall.
For more details on how you will be interacting with Fire see pages 7 & 8 in the The Wizard’s Tower Rulebook.
You can also check our FAQs page for The Wizard’s Tower if you have questions about other mechanics and situations.
Wizard Cards in Castle Panic: The Wizard’s Tower
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One of the biggest changes to Castle Panic when you add The Wizard’s Tower expansion is the addition of the Wizard deck of cards that infuse the game with magic and new abilities for the players.
How Do You Get Wizard Cards?
Players can obtain Wizard cards during Phase 2 of their turn: Discard and Draw 1 Card. You can only get one Wizard card per turn this way. You cannot draw up to your full hand in Phase 1 from the Wizard deck. You may also obtain a Wizard card during your Trade cards phase if another player is willing to trade you one from their hand.
The Wizard deck is only available to players while the Wizard’s Tower is still standing on the board. If the Wizard’s Tower is knocked down by the Monsters, you lose access to that deck of cards and all the magic within.
What is in the Wizard Deck?
The Wizard cards include new ways to attack Monsters, including cards that you can play against Monsters that are still in the 
Forest. Remember, in the base game, you cannot attack Monsters until they enter the Archer ring. The cards with Forest play options have a tree symbol on them to help remind you. There are also some new cards with the Castle symbol you will recognize from the base game as indicating you can use them against Monsters that have entered the Castle ring.
Some Wizard cards require you to play them with another card such as a Hit card or to “pay” to use the card with an additional card. An example of this is Mystical Manufacturing, which requires you to play a brick or mortar card with the Wizard card to be able to rebuild a Tower.
Oh, yes, you can rebuild a Tower! You need the Mystical Manufacturing card to be able to do so, but this gives you an additional chance at survival by allowing you to recover from a lost Tower.
Watch this video for a quick overview of the Wizard deck and what you get when you add The Wizard’s Tower expansion!
Of course, the expansion doesn’t just make the game easier, we’ve added lots of new Monsters with new abilities and movement effects. Stay tuned for further videos that explain the mayhem that comes with the expansion. You can see a full list of the Wizard cards, as well as the Monsters and new Castle cards, in The Wizard’s Tower Rulebook.
Need replacement pieces? We’ve got you covered if a Troll has gone missing or your cards are showing wear. Check out our webshop where you can get new pieces and the special Castle Panic Promo Pack of past promotional game pieces with in-game effects, as well as some extra fun swag!
The Wizard’s Tower–How to Set Up the First Expansion to Castle Panic
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You are pretty sure you have mastered Monster slaying and are looking for a challenge.
You’ve check our guide for How To Tell if You’re Ready for The Wizard’s Tower and decided to take the plunge.
Here’s a helpful video on getting the expansion to Castle Panic set up with the base game.
You will be removing some of the old Monsters and adding new, including Mega Boss Monsters! You get new Castle cards and a whole new deck of Wizard cards. You also get to upgrade one of your standard Castle Towers.
A helpful tip: All The Wizard’s Tower pieces (and cards) have a little wizard hat icon on them so you can easily switch back to the base game if you need a win to boost your morale.
Have a question about the rules? Check out our FAQ page for The Wizard’s Tower. Remember, a lot of the rules for the base game carry over, so if you don’t see it in The Wizard’s Tower rulebook double check the Castle Panic rules.
If you have any advice for new expansion players, share it in the comments. We’re all in this together, after all!
Can You Handle the Heat?
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So, you’ve been playing Castle Panic for a while now. You still have a good time, but you are wondering if there is more. Well, I’m here to tell you there is SO MUCH MORE! The Wizard’s Tower is the first expansion to Castle Panic and it really amps up the excitement and challen
ge of the game. There’s also the not-so-little matter of The Dark Titan, the second expansion that is due out in the Spring of 2015, which brings all new threats and some fun new twists.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Not everyone is ready to tackle the Mega-Bosses right out of the gate. It is a good idea to hone your Monster-slaying skills before taking the leap. If you need some help mastering Castle Panic, check out our How To Play videos in the How to Defend Your Castle post for some pointers from the designer, Justin De Witt.
“How do I know if I’m ready?” you may ask. We’ve put together this helpful guide.
How to Know if You’re Ready for The Wizard’s Tower:
1. You win more often than you lose (if you lose at all anymore), and you often have all or almost all of your Towers still standing.
2. Somebody in your gaming group says, “Castle Panic? Isn’t that a kid’s game?” and you want to shake them up a bit.
3. Fire has always held an allure for you and you want a fun way to play with it without actually getting burned.
4. You find yourself saying, “Oh, it’s just a 3-point Troll” when placing Monsters and long for more variety in your trophies.
5. You wish you had magical powers and have always wanted to face off against a mythical Monster such as a Dragon or a Chimera.
If any of these describe you, you may be ready for The Wizard’s Tower. But be warned, the forest is full of dark and dangerous things and the Castle will be depending on you.
Already playing The Wizard’s Tower? Tell us how/when you knew you were ready to advance. What is your favorite addition to the game from The Wizard’s Tower? Tell us in the comments.
If you are interested in purchasing The Wizard’s Tower, you can do so at your Friendly Local Game Store or through our web store.
How to Defend Your Castle
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Been wondering what this Castle Panic game is all about? Now you can satisfy your curiosity with our Official Overview video where Justin gives you a succinct explanation of the objective, the mechanics, and what you need to do to win.
This is also a great video to share with your friends to if you are already a fan of the game and want to get them into it. It does some of the preliminary teaching for you, so you can get straight into playing the game with them on your next game night!
Is your interest piqued? Then may we suggest further viewing satisfaction with our Official How To Play video. In this video, Justin takes you through game setup, the order of play on a player’s turn, and some special Monster tokens that affect how the Monsters behave and even some tokens that interact with the Castle differently than Monsters.
After watching these videos you should be fully prepared to band together with your friends and defend the Castle!
Once you’ve mastered the base game of Castle Panic, you’ll want to consider adding The Wizard’s Tower expansion! It adds magic, fire and more Monsters!
The Cardboard Vault Reveals Secrets About The Dark Titan
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At BGG.Con 2014, Anne-Marie & Justin sat down with Phoebe Wild from The Cardboard Vault to discuss Munchkin Panic and the just-announced Castle Panic expansion The Dark Titan.
Phoebe catches Justin in a sharing mood and gets him to reveal some secrets about The Dark Titan.
In the video interview Justin gives more detail on how the new Support Tokens work and what some of the new Monsters bring to the game. He also shares some info on how Agranok’s adjustable levels of difficulty work, giving you control over how hard you have to play.
Attention then turned to Munchkin Panic. Anne-Marie explains how Munchkin Panic upends the expectations of Castle Panic players, adding Treasure and Backstabbing to the familiar cooperative style of play.
She goes over how a turn plays out and some of the variations in how you slay Monsters by using Treasure cards and how you use Curses to boost your advantage over the other players. You’ll want to watch this video if you still aren’t quite clear on how the games differ as it gets to the heart of why Munchkin Panic is such fun and how it offers you a new play experience.
Check out The Cardboard Vault’s YouTube Channel for loads of interesting videos from BGG.Con 2014 about all your favorite games.