Learn to Play Castles of Mad King Ludwig

Want to buy this game? Do it here: amzn.to/2BH8QLt (or go to your local game store. That's cool too.)
Thanks for watching! Sorry for the wait between videos, but hopefully it's worth it. I'm thinking about doing this every once in a while with the simpler games, where I give a few reasons why I like the game so much. Let me know what you think.
Corrections:
11:37 When the room deck is depleted, reshuffle the cards to fill out remaining spots instead of leaving the most expensive slots blank. I guess my house rule made it past the screening process and into the video. Sorry about that.
12:10 If players tie for King's Favors, each player gets the points for that favor plus the next one divided by the number of tied players (rounded down). So if two players tied for first on a favor, they'd get six points (8 points for first place, 4 points for second, added up and divided by 2 equals 6)
If you want to follow me on Twitter, go to / rtfmshow for RTFM and general gaming related tweets or / sheasayswords for the stupid stuff I say in my free time.
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Why are you still reading this? Go play games or something.
#tutorial #boardgames #RTFM #rtfmshow

[@DerekHohls]

Bohnanza's theme might only be about "counting beans" but because of its high player interaction reveals people's characters almost more than any other game I have played! For me the combination of great/unusual mechanics and the extent to which a game "draws players in" is what I appreciate (regardless of how weak the theme/story is).

[@jeremiasdevin7295]

instablaster.

[@willrfrench]

I played a 7 player game with my ENTIRE EXTENDED FAMILY who are definitively NOT gamers and it went great!!! That is a hallmark of an incredible game.

[@nanibly]

Thank you for making this video. I like that you really know and play this game, and explain it logically, yet include the reasons that make it fun. Nutty intro, thanks for the grins! Your explanation covers some intricate plays, but is not complicated.

[@MeanMachineLive]

Very enjoyable, amazing you packed so much info into 16 (really 14) minutes. Subscribed!

[@danielenemark3344]

This is such a great summary of the rules! Some friends gave me this game as a gift and we were utterly failing to figure out how to play it until we found this video. You saved the day! And you're right-this is a great game.

[@RTFM]

Thanks! I'm glad you all like it!

[@phat664]

One of the better gameplay videos for this game. Someone who edits his videos so they can turn in at less than 30m for 10-15m of useful info. Thank you.

[@jdotaing]

Holy heck you guys are alive! Looking forward to more videos!

[@RTFM]

Thanks! I'm looking forward to making them.

[@manuelsapag]

really love your reviews! bought all the games you reviewed, and i totally fell in love with twilight imperium, its now my favorite game. thanks for the reviews! and really hoping to see them more often! :D

[@RTFM]

Thanks! Glad to hear I could point you toward some great games.

[@jamesricco5252]

Incredibly fun and informative tutorial! Well done 🏗

[@RTFM]

Thanks, glad I could help!

[@immortalgamer3960]

I've been on the fence about this game for a while. Every time I go into my local games store I'd pick it up and go "ehhhhhhh, maybe next time" but you've sold me on it. I'll be picking it up the next time I'm out there. Thanks for the video!

[@RTFM]

Awesome! It really is one of my favorites, so I hope you like it!

[@reneeharris5502]

Just found this video -- what a treasure! Thanks for creating this!

[@RTFM]

No problem, thanks for watching!

[@jazzfluence]

You deserve to have so many more subscribers! Great job!

[@pecktec]

Watching this and psyched to get my Kickstarter version soon.

[@withastone]

Very clear and well-made video, love to give it a look.

[@RTFM]

Thanks! I highly recommend it if you get a chance.

[@thesumo24]

Little correction for final scoring: "If one or more players tie for a favor,they get the points for that favor plus the next one(s) divided by the number of tied players (rounded down).

[@RTFM]

Ooh, good spot. Added a correction in the description to fix this.

[@slobberystella]

Just watched this - I have the game and am about to play! Thanks for the tips!!!!

[@RTFM]

No problem! Glad to hear more people are playing Castles!

[@codym6376]

My collectors edition shows up this weekend so thanks for the rules overview

[@RTFM]

Happy to help!

[@b0red0mness]

It's been ages since you put this up, but I adore the intro and I'm off to find a copy :)

[@RTFM]

Well I'm glad to hear that this is still helpful for people. Thanks!

[@skylerstevens8887]

Fantastic tutorial. I wouldn't mind watching tutorials for every game even catan if it was in this style

[@RTFM]

Thanks! I don't plan on teaching Catan any time soon, but glad to hear that you liked this one!

[@daleprather3026]

Great video. Nice introduction! :)

[@tommessig2060]

great concise explanation.

[@RTFM]

Thanks!

[@andresrosa2352]

I'm glad to see you back! Great game, I'll look into it. Could you guys do Mage Knight?

[@RTFM]

Oooooh, that would be quite the challenge. It's not on my list right now but hopefully I'll be able to get to it soon enough.

[@andresrosa2352]

Well after the excellent job you guys did with Twilight Empire, I think you are up to the challenge!

[@robertahearne423]

Berchta room! You're hilarious. Subscribed -- thanks.

[@nickvallina7891]

You're adorable and I love your videos. Thanks for teaching me Eldritch Horror and convincing me to play Castles....come back and be adorable more.

[@andrewespinoza7214]

Most reviews tend to be scored from a robotic stand point. It's refreshing to see the emotional perspective included.

[@NikkiWirawan]

nice explanation

[@sharecons227]

Fabulous into

[@nanibly]

Did you see the current KIckstarter project for the deluxe version?

[@RTFM]

I did! I don't usually go in for collector's editions, but I love the new artwork.

[@CreatedRenewed]

Is scoring (not endgame scoring) done at the end of each player's turn after they place the room they bought? Or is scoring done for all players at the end of the round before the Master Builder Token is passed?

[@RTFM]

Scoring during the game happens immediately, so as soon as you do something that earns you points (not counting endgame stuff) you score it.

[@cenkgonen4485]

well done tutorial Will you make: Castles of Mad King Ludwig Secrets tutorial?

[@RTFM]

Thanks! For now I'm not including expansions in my rules videos. I might start doing that in the future, but as it is my focus is making the base games more accessible and trying to do as many videos as I can.

[@cmelo4757]

Thank you. I was playing the app and didn’t understand how scoring and bonuses worked. Are you a stage actor or film?

[@RTFM]

Glad I could help! I used to work in the film industry, but these days I focus mainly on Board Game media.

[@daleprather3026]

Do you post your reviews on BGG ?

[@RTFM]

Yeah, they should be up there.

[@cabalpaxiarch7239]

I love this game so much but the rulebook isn't great at explaining scoring. I've already watched Rahdo and this video trying to understand it. The connection scoring kind of confuses me. Lets say you build a sleeping room that gets points for being connected to a living room, next to a living room that gets points for being connected to sleeping room. Do they both trigger?

[@RTFM]

They do. Whenever you place a room, count the baseline points it gives you (the number in the castle on the top left) as well as adjacency bonuses or penalties for that room and any it's connected to (or touching, in the case of the activity room penalties) and also any downstairs rooms whose bonuses apply to the room you just placed. It is a little much, but if you keep playing, it'll become second nature.

[@cabalpaxiarch7239]

@@RTFM Is there such a thing as an adjacency bonus? I'm only familiar with activity room penalties. Doesn't everything else require a connection? And do the connected rooms score only in relation to room you just placed or do they trigger their entire scoring (i.e. base and other relevant rooms connected to them)?

[@RTFM]

@@cabalpaxiarch7239 Ah, sorry. Meant to say connection bonus. And the connected rooms only score the bonus associated with the room you just placed. Other rooms are ignored (again, unless they're downstairs rooms or adjacent activity rooms)

[@jeanberecz101]

Complètement introuvable en français!

[@miikamiinin4470]

Did you just call Race for the Galaxy multiplayer solitaire? Have you... I don't know... played it? That game has some of the coolest player interactions still (it was release in 2007) availabe in boardgames. Calling it "multiplayer solitaire" directly translates to "I have no idea how to play this game".

[@Rman4ful]

Seems very german!

[@RTFM]

It's definitely in the Eurogame spectrum, but I think it has enough personality to entertain gamers who prefer western-style games as well.

[@Rman4ful]

RTFM Nice.

[@RySnow]

This dude, I don't know why, is creepy as hell.