All About Solo Mode
about 2 years ago – Sat, Apr 30, 2022 at 09:58:40 PM

Today we’re focusing on Solo mode! A puzzly game like Castles by the Sea is perfect for playing on your own, giving you the chance to optimize every turn as you race to maximize your score.

Solo mode was designed by our Development Lead, Hayden Dillard. So we asked him to record a video of Solo mode in action! Here it is:

Solo mode uses a 2-player setup and follows most of the standard game rules. But it has two key changes:

1. Hazards move on their own. Every turn, you’ll flip all three Hazards. For every “!” icon revealed, you’ll move the Hazard one space. Then, if that Hazard has three icons showing, trigger it.

2. You can play one Castle card every turn. If you don’t, you can discard an unwanted card. Either way, you can then replenish your hand. That means you can play up to 6 Castle cards in a Solo game.

For more details, check out this BoardGameGeek thread. Once you have your copy, you'll be able to see if you have what it takes to be a Master Artisand. In the meantime, let us know if you have any questions about Solo mode!

The Prince & The Aqueduct

"Heavy is the head that wears the Coral crown," Prince Acropor's mother had always told him. Today, looking down at the construction team, he understood those words. The aqueduct, meant to be this city's greatest architectural achievement, was nearly complete. But the watchers had sent word: the Dragon was approaching. Its tail would drag across the structure and its support pillar, wreaking havoc on the structure and any workers at the site. He had to think of his people. As a vast shadow darkened the skies, he called out to the crew. "Take shelter! Tomorrow we will rebuild. Today we must survive!"

Like most variants, the Prince and the Aqueduct can be used in a Solo or multiplayer game. They're both great ways to play defense: the Prince can protect all your figures (but not structures) and the Aqueduct can completely redirect a Hazard. They both have restrictions: the Prince always needs at least one open wall or structure nearby, and the Aqueduct must be placed in a tile threatened by two Hazards. But played at the right time, they can be mean the difference between victory and defeat!

Exploring New Ground
about 2 years ago – Fri, Apr 29, 2022 at 12:14:48 AM

Good evening, backers! We're 10 days into the campaign and delighted to still be revealing new aspects of gameplay. While simple in design and vision, Castles by the Sea provides deep replayability with piece variants and the Riptide Expansion. The variants provide the complexity that more serious gamers are looking for, but because multiple variants build off the same core piece, they're accessible to new gamers as well.

The Explorer and the Dig Site

Otello wiped his brow and stared up at the noontime sun. It was hot here at the edges of the beach, and he’d been digging since dawn. A black fly the size of his fist danced around his head, and he took a warning swing at it with his shovel. “No lunch here, you bloodsucker,” he growled. Few Shorelings would venture out this far into the wilds, but Otello craved fortune and glory. Well... mostly fortune, if he was being honest. He took another stab at the sandy earth. CRACK! His shovel stopped fast on something solid. He dropped to his knees and used his hands to clear the area at his feet. Metal, colored with shiny painted symbols peeked through the dirty sand. Could this be it? The lost shrine? A strange sound caught his ear. Was that wind through the reeds? He turned and faced ocean-ward. What was that? Suddenly a stream of water trickled by his feet, pooling in the hole he’d been digging. Oh no! The tide was coming.

Today’s reveals are both variants from the Riptide expansion, and both show off how the Tide mechanic interacts with those variant pieces. If you haven’t seen it yet, the Tide is a rapidly moving set of markers that march up and down the board, removing everything in their path and revealing fresh seaweed tokens when it retreats. The Riptide expansion makes for a very different game, one where board space is at more of a premium and the bravest Shorelings get rewarded for risking builds below the high tide mark.

The Explorer provides a unique solution to the havoc caused by the Tide. If he’s going to be overwhelmed by the Tide, he can instead move to high ground, finding any open sand block on the board. This means you can place him, score him, and actually use the Tide to your advantage, moving the Explorer to safety when he’s threatened by Hazards.

The Dig Site is an example of one of the “thinkiest” pieces in the game. It’s tough to build, requiring a cube on each side. But getting it built is just half the fun. You see, the Dig Site wants to be explored, and it will reward you with an extra sand dollar for every cube you can remove from around it without losing the dig site itself. Cubes can get removed with the Tide or with Hazards like the Greatclaw. It’s tough work, but once exposed, the treasures of the Dig Site are yours!

Cute but Competitive

Today we can also share a new playthrough video, this one by Watch It Played. Paula Deming and Matthew Jude sat down this morning for a virtual session of Castles by the Sea, and the result was a lot of fun to watch. The drama runs high as they compete to fulfill their Castle cards… will they still be friends by the end? Jump straight into the first turn here:

As Paula says during the playthrough, this is a “deceptively adorable, calming game” that can get surprisingly brain-burning and competitive. Thanks to everyone who joined to watch it live, especially the folks who decided to pledge right afterward!

All Along the Watchtower
about 2 years ago – Thu, Apr 28, 2022 at 03:49:46 PM

A week ago, we launched this campaign and introduced the world to Castles by the Sea. Since then it's kept growing, and today we surpassed $80,000 in funding. Thanks to all of you for your support!

Yesterday we talked about the Sandstorm, an exciting new Hazard that can have a huge impact on gameplay. Hazards are a crucial part of this game, and today we'll share two variant pieces that can give you more control over how they trigger.

The Ranger & The Watchtower

Tomás tugged on the woven grass rope, testing it before beginning his climb. Hand over hand, he made his way up the side of the watchtower. From the top, Tomás scanned the horizon. He only had one good eye, but it was the sharpest in the kingdom. "Alright, terror... Where are you today?" He saw it a league away: a shaggy beast bounding toward the Shell Folk city. Readying his bow, Tomás took careful aim. A well-placed arrow could divert the beast away from the Shell Folk ...and toward another kingdom.

The Ranger is a variant of the Archer, but with an extra building requirement: he must be the first figure to scout out a tile for your kingdom. That extra bit of effort delivers a great payoff: as soon as you place the Ranger, you can flip a Hazard card. With smart timing, you can control exactly when a Hazard triggers.

The Watchtower is a more defensive piece. When you play it, you'll slow down one Hazard. A card is returned to the top of that Hazard's deck, but it isn't shuffled, so you've also made it more predictable. The Watchtower is usually easier to place than the regular Tower, especially in the early part of the game.

A Sandcastle Masterpiece

We've always admired the boardgame mosaics of Katia Howatson, aka BoardGameArtCreations. So we're delighted to see her create this piece based on Castles by the Sea!

With artistry worthy of a Coral Kingdom architect, Katia has created this awesome mosaic of a Guard watching over a Seaglasser castle. If you look closely, you'll even see some of our meeples and sand blocks incorporated into the design!

Katia's not the only person posting about Castles by the Sea. We're happy to see BoardGameCo, ThinkerThemer, and other fine folks taking about this campaign. We're also looking forward to Watch It Played doing a full playthrough on their Twitch channel this Thursday at 8:30 am Pacific time!

Alone on the Beach
about 2 years ago – Thu, Apr 28, 2022 at 03:49:40 PM

Hello all. We're now halfway through our campaign and closing in on $100,000! If you haven't yet, share this campaign with a friend. Let them know it's a great time to get this game, especially since the Riptide expansion and Deluxe upgrades won't be part of the regular retail release!

The Wizard and the Keep

There was a tremendous thumping and shaking as the cauldron on Terculio's bench bounced and spilled. He cursed and ran to the balcony, shaking his fist at the Giant walking by. "Shoo! Shoo!" He yelled. "Go bother some other Wizard!" It was so hard to focus on his studies these days. Every morning a new threat seemed to loom on the horizon. He was about to return to his lab when his eye was caught by the sunlight glinting off the Keep at Blackstone. The building looked lonely there, off in the distance, a solitary warden on the border between kingdoms. "I can relate," he muttered to it.

Avoiding Hazards is a key part of success in Castle by the Sea, but the Wizard takes that challenge to extremes. A high value piece (3 sand dollars!), the Wizard works best alone and unbothered. Every Hazard threatening the Wizard during the scoring phase reduces his sand dollar take by one and he can't be placed in a tile with another Wizard. This can lead to some interesting spatial interactions as players use their Wizards to box each other into less desirable placements.

The Keep provides another way to influence your opponent's placements. Wherever the Keep is placed, it  prohibits opponents from placing their own Structures in that tile (figures are okay). Played at the right time, Keeps can absolutely disrupt your opponents' plans!

Great Reviews Keep Coming

We've had some lovely coverage of this game, including this article from Jonathan Liu at Geekdad. Jonathan talks a lot about the unexpected interplay between theme and mechanics in the game, and we couldn't agree more. While play in Castles by the Sea is symmetric, the flavor that each kingdom of Shorelings provides makes for a compelling game where a lot is at stake.

Castles by the Sea has also impressed the crew at Watch It Played! Paula Deming and Matthew Jude will be live streaming the game on Twitch tomorrow morning at 8:30 am Pacific / 11: 30 am Eastern. (That's early evening for any European backers who want to check it out!) Check it out at https://www.twitch.tv/watchitplayed!

A Storm is Coming
about 2 years ago – Wed, Apr 27, 2022 at 10:28:25 PM

We're just 10 days away from the end of this campaign, but we've still got so much gameplay goodness to reveal. Today we're excited to show off our fifth Hazard, the Sandstorm. For those of you who are new to the Kickstarter, every game is played with three Hazards. Hazards move (and are moved) around the board, threatening to wreak havoc on the sandcastle and remove your carefully placed pieces. Because players have some control over when Hazards strike, winning the game relies on maximizing the times Hazards hit your opponents, and minimizing the times they hit you.

The Sandstorm

Alsee bound another bushel of sea beans and tossed them onto the sledge. It was almost nightfall, and temperatures on this stretch of beach would turn chilly in a hurry. He looked back towards the castle to gauge how much time he had. On the windward tower the guards were changing the flag. Alsee froze. The new pennant fluttered weakly as it rose up the flagpole, then suddenly snapped tight, driven by winds Alsee couldn't yet feel. The flag was the color of sunset, a crimson pink that meant danger to all Shorelings. A sandstorm was coming. Alsee dropped his bushel and began running for the castle. Out of nowhere, a gust of wind struck and Alsee instinctively covered his eyes as the sand wall hit.

The Sandstorm introduces a new element to Hazard play. Not only does it "bury" structures, removing all in its path, it also deposits more sand onto the beach. Every sand block and stone in its path will get another sand block placed on top of it. This can dramatically affect placement of pieces, making some pieces easier to place, and others harder. Because of this, the Sandstorm is one of our favorite Hazards and we think you'll love it too.

The Kingdoms of Castles by the Sea

While every player in a game of Castles by the Sea gets to use the same pieces in a given game, thematically they're playing a rival kingdom of Shorelings trying to claim as much of the beach as they can. Artist Marby Kwong did a fantastic job giving each of the four kingdoms its own look and feel. Consider the Shellfolk, a kingdom that makes the most of the cast-off shells of shellfish and snails. 

Each player mat represents a different kingdom, and it will be your job to lead your kingdom to victory!