I ran a solo game of CASTLE PANIC the first time out and I thought that my initial bad will toward it was going to be borne out over the playtest sessions. I really didn’t see the game in it at all, it seemed far too simplistic and elementary to warrant consideration and I was worried that I was going to have to write up another negative review of a game put out by good folks just trying to get started in the business. I played a couple of games with some more hardcore-gaming inclined friends that really wanted to be playing STARCRAFT instead and they didn’t really care for it, citing its simplicity and the lack of depth.

However, I actually found that I started to enjoy it more after a couple of games, particularly when played competitively as the multiplayer dynamics became more apparent and I also came to appreciate the simple way that the game creates a sense of ratcheting tension and fighting against impossible odds. The siege concept is absolutely represented by the mechanics and it’s actually pretty exciting to have a handful of cards and lay them all out, dealing massive damage to the onrushing hordes. There’s something very immediate about it that the simple gameplay and low rules density offers but never obscures.

Over a few playtests, something about the design became very clear to me. CASTLE PANIC is one of the most accessible and mass-market minded board games I’ve seen in a while to come from, ostensibly, the hobby gaming field. Everything about the game is designed to be approachable by anybody, and the game goes to tremendous lengths to explain in simple detail how to play, what to do, and when to do it.

The order of play is printed on the board twice as well as on cards, there are summaries of card effects and icons never more than a glance away, and the rules are incredibly well-designed in a way that welcomes players and back-ends a lot of the stuff that’s more matter-of-course for hobby gamers. The look is modern and attractive to non-hobby gamers, and even the concept is closer to casual gaming than hardcore. In sum, I came to be really impressed by the efforts that Mr. DeWitt and Fireside Games have gone to make a game that anyone can pick up and enjoy. And it is fun to play, almost a little addicting like the best castle defense games, and the addition of a variety of difficulty levels and gameplay styles gives players a lot of options for how to play it without radically altering any mechanics. I don’t know that any of the play options will increase the game’s stock among more hardcore board gamers, but they’re worth trying.

In retrospect, I think I found that CASTLE PANIC didn’t click with me at first or with my friends because honestly, we’re just not the right audience for the game. That’s not a qualifier, as I believe a good game is a good game regardless of who it is meant for, but I think this game is absolutely perfect for kids just moving beyond the early childhood games and into more detailed, representative types of gameplay. The immediacy of defending a central location from a seemingly endless stream of bad guys is something any kid can appreciate, and the need to work together to accomplish a goal is a universal idea. And again, the simplicity of the game works in its favor because it allows children to actually play the game rather than simply enact the rules, as many “gateway” Eurogames would have them do. As an expectant father myself, I know that in a couple of years I’ll be on the lookout for games like this that I can play with my son and I hope that there are more games like it by then.

In the final equation, I definitely recommend CASTLE PANIC to families with children who are looking for something easy to play and comprehend but with a much cooler theme and concept than say, TRANSAMERICA—as an introduction to “modern” gaming, as Fireside Games claims their titles represent, I think it totally works.

Questions or comments for Michael? Send them along to wabner@gameshark.com .

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