Castle Siege – Revised Rules

Overview

In Castle Siege you act as the commander in charge of besieging four enemy castles. Each castle is defended by one or more cards, and your goal is to capture all the castles by first removing their defenders and then capturing the castle cards themselves. Resource management and tactical play are essential.

Difficulty Settings

Before setting up the game, choose one of the following difficulty levels. The difficulty affects the initial number of defender rows placed under each castle:

• Easy:
  • 1 row of defenders (1 card per castle).
• Medium:
  • 2 rows of defenders (2 cards per castle, dealt one on top of the other).
• Hard:
  • 3 rows of defenders (3 cards per castle).
• Very Hard:
  • 4 rows of defenders (4 cards per castle).

Note: Higher difficulty levels provide more defenders at the start, increasing the challenge.

Game Setup

1. Layout of Castles and Defenders

• Castles:

  • Shuffle a standard 52-card deck and deal 4 face-up cards in a horizontal row. Each card represents a castle:
    • ♠️ Spades: Black Castle
    • ♣️ Clubs: Green Castle
    • ♥️ Hearts: Red Castle
    • ♦️ Diamonds: Gold Castle

• Initial Defenders:

  • Based on your chosen difficulty, deal the appropriate number of face-up defender rows beneath each castle:
    • Easy: 1 card per castle.
    • Medium: 2 cards per castle.
    • Hard: 3 cards per castle.
    • Very Hard: 4 cards per castle.
  • Defender cards are placed in a column under their respective castle.

2. Reinforcement Deck

• The remaining cards form a face-down reinforcement deck from which you will draw during the game.

3. Hand Limit

• At the start of the game, your hand is empty. During your Reinforcement Phase, draw until you have 5 cards in hand.
• At the end of your turn, you must always have 5 cards or fewer.

Objective

Capture all four castles by:

1. Defeating (removing) all defenders.
2. Capturing the castle cards by playing cards whose ranks add up exactly to the castle’s rank value.

You must accomplish this before your reinforcement deck is exhausted.

Turn Structure

Each turn is divided into three phases: Reinforcement, Battle, and End-of-Turn Reinforcements.

1. Reinforcement Phase (Start of Turn)

• Draw Up to 5: Draw cards from the reinforcement deck until you have 5 cards in hand.

2. Battle Phase (Actions and Attacks)

You may take as many actions as you wish during the Battle Phase, provided you have valid moves.

A. Attacking Defenders

• Select a Defender: Pick any face-up defender from any castle column.
• Play Cards to Attack: Play one or more cards from your hand so that the sum of their rank values is equal to or greater than the defender’s rank.
  • Card Values: Ace = 1; 2–10 = Face Value; Jack = 11; Queen = 12; King = 13.
• Outcomes:
  • If your total exactly equals the defender’s rank, the defender is defeated and you activate Precision Strike (see Special Tactics).
  • If your total exceeds the defender’s rank, the defender is still defeated—but no bonus is awarded.
• Discard Used Cards: Cards played in the attack are discarded.

B. Capturing a Castle

• Condition: A castle becomes eligible for capture once all its defenders have been defeated.
• Action: To capture a castle, play a combination of cards from your hand whose total rank equals the castle card’s rank exactly.
• Outcome: On success, remove the castle from play and set it aside as a trophy.

C. Special Tactics & Bonus Moves

1. Flush Siege (Reinforcement Boost)

   • Trigger: When you defeat a defender by playing two or more cards of the same suit (note that you must play more than one card to activate this bonus).
   • Effect: Immediately draw 1 extra card from the reinforcement deck. This happens during the Battle Phase.

2. Precision Strike (Recycling Cards)

   • Trigger: When the cards you play match a defender’s rank exactly.
   • Effect: Select 1 card from your discard pile and place it at the bottom of your reinforcement deck for later use.

3. Royal Assault (Power Attack)

   • Trigger: When you play a Jack, Queen, and King together in one attack—with each card from a different suit.
   • Effect: You instantly defeat any one chosen castle, regardless of its rank.

D. Handling a Capture Stalemate

• Stalemate Situation: If all remaining targets on the table are castles (i.e., all defenders have been removed) and you do not have any combination in your hand that exactly matches a castle’s rank:
  • Regroup: You may choose to discard your entire hand and draw 5 new cards from the reinforcement deck once during that turn.
  • This rule provides a lifeline if you’re temporarily stuck and ensures that a lack of the correct card combinations does not halt progress permanently.

Note: You are free to take multiple actions during the Battle Phase. The phase only ends when you decide you have no further valid moves.

3. End-of-Turn Reinforcements

A. Hand Management

• Discarding: After concluding the Battle Phase, if your hand contains more than 5 cards (for instance, due to a Flush Siege bonus draw), discard cards of your choice until only 5 remain.

B. New Defender Deployment

• At the end of every turn, for each uncaptured castle, deal 1 new defender card from the reinforcement deck and add it to that castle’s column.
  • This rule applies regardless of whether a castle already had defenders.
  • If the reinforcement deck runs out, no new defenders can be added.

C. Turn Ends

• After hand adjustment and new defender deployment, the turn concludes. The next turn begins with the Reinforcement Phase.

Winning & Losing Conditions

Victory

• You win if you capture all four castles (thereby eliminating all defenders and castle cards) before the reinforcement deck is exhausted.

Defeat

• You lose if you run out of cards in the reinforcement deck and are unable to perform any further actions while one or more castles remain uncaptured.

Turn Flow Summary

1. Reinforcement Phase:
   • Draw cards until you have 5 in hand.
2. Battle Phase:
   • Attack defenders using card combinations that meet or exceed their rank.
   • Capture castles by playing cards that exactly match the castle’s rank.
   • Utilize special tactics (Flush Siege, Precision Strike, Royal Assault) as appropriate.
   • If you’re stuck with only castles and no valid capture combinations, you may discard your hand once and redraw 5 new cards.
3. End-of-Turn Reinforcements:
   • Discard excess cards to reduce your hand to 5.
   • For each uncaptured castle, deal 1 new defender card from the reinforcement deck.
   • End your turn.

Strategy Tips

• Efficient Card Use: Reserve specific cards or combinations for capturing castles, as they require exact matches.
• Maximize Bonuses: Aim for Flush Sieges and Precision Strikes to gain extra reinforcements and recycle valuable cards.
• Plan Ahead: Consider the additional defenders that will be added at the end of each turn when planning your moves.
• Stalemate Management: Use the Regroup option wisely when you find yourself with only castles remaining but no viable capture combination.