It may be hard to believe that Castle Panic first made its appearance on game tables almost 13 years ago in September of 2009. Since then, it’s been an amazing journey filled with adventures and stories as we added to the world with 3 expansions and 3 variations. After all those battles, the time has come to update everyone’s favorite cooperative tower defense board game. We are incredibly proud to announce the upcoming release of Castle Panic second edition!
The entire Castle Panic line is getting all new, bright, colorful art, a wide variety of diverse characters, and a few updates to make the game play even smoother. It’s still the same great cooperative game that players have loved for over a decade with a fresh new look.
What’s Different?
The biggest change is to the artwork, which makes the game look like it came right out of an animated movie. This is the same artwork used in the Castle Panic Deluxe Collection offered on Kickstarter in 2021.
New card designs make it easier to tell cards apart and to see what part of the board they affect.
The board is refreshed as well and now includes iconography to help color-blind players identify the different areas of the board more easily.
The game comes with a custom die that’s colored to match the medallions in each arc of the board.
The weight of the card stock used has been increased to provide a more satisfying feeling in your hand.
Lastly, the Castle has a name now! After asking our fans to submit their best ideas and vote on their favorite, we can all proudly band together to defend Castle Bravehold.
The rules are staying the same for Castle Panic. For The Dark Titan and Engines of War expansions, a minor change has been made to a few Monsters. The Dark Sorceress, Breathtaker, and Shaman are now all Mega Boss Monsters, like the Dragon from The Wizard’s Tower. This standardizes some rules that previously had those Monsters using their own ruleset.
When’s the Next Expansion Coming Out?
We are thrilled to announce the launch of a brand-new expansion, Crowns and Quests!
This expansion adds 12 playable characters with unique abilities that allow players to take on a role in the royal court defending Castle Bravehold. Each character is assigned to one of the six towers at the start of the game. If that tower is destroyed, the character is lost, and the player must continue without that ability.
You’ll need those abilities too, since there are now quests that the players must try to survive to win the game. At the start of the game, players choose 1 Standard Quest and 1 Endgame Quest. Until both of those Quests are completed, the pile of Monsters will refill over and over.
Standard Quests include searching for magic scrolls, looking for a cure for a plague of madness, holding off magical stones that cause the Monsters to spawn closer and closer to the Castle, and much more. Once the Standard Quest is achieved, players move on to the Endgame Quest, which they either complete or perish trying. Endgame Quests feature challenges such as collapsing caves to stop the flow of Monsters, racing against time to destroy a cursed obelisk, and placing magical portals to teleport the entire Castle to safety. There are 11 Standard and 7 Endgame Quests to choose from, providing hours and hours of replay as players explore all the different challenges.
Because none of the components in Crowns and Quests are combined with components of the base game or the other expansions, this new expansion is compatible with both the first and second editions.
What if I Want It All?
For players that are looking to collect the entire second edition all at once, we are launching the Castle Panic Big Box second edition at the same time. This (not surprisingly) large box contains Castle Panic, The Wizard’s Tower, The Dark Titan, Engines of War, Crowns and Quests, 6 promo towers, and 7 promo cards. The custom box also comes with a vac tray insert to hold all the items.
When Can I Get It?
Castle Panic, Crowns and Quests, and the Castle Panic Big Box will be on store shelves on November 30. The Wizard’s Tower will hit store shelves January 25, The Dark Titan on February 22, and Engines of War on March 22.
Thank you to all the amazing artists that made this new edition possible: Justin Chan, Anthony Cournoyer, Jakab Ferdinánd, Javier Guzman, Maggie Ivy, Tad Lambert, Britt Pezzillo, Quel. This line looks amazing because of your talent and dedication to the project.
We hope all of you are as excited to see this fabulous new version on your table as we are!
