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- BGG #238
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Castles of Mad King Ludwig
- 1–4 players
- 90 min
- Complexity 2.7/5
- 2014
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- BGG #3,321
- BGG rating
- 6.9
The Palace of Mad King Ludwig
2017
Rules assistance for The Palace of Mad King Ludwig
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–4 players
- 75 min
- 13+
- Complexity 2.8/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for The Palace of Mad King Ludwig
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
The Palace of Mad King Ludwig is a board game released in 2017 for 2–4 players, 75 minutes per game, and ages 13 and up. It was designed by Ted Alspach and its main mechanics are Tile Placement.
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About the game
Description from the publisher: King Ludwig II of Bavaria has called all great architects to design his greatest achievement: a world-renowned palace. Only the best will do! Gorgeous appointments, white stone, surrounded by water, with swans everywhere. Oh, and the Ludwig touch? All the architects must design the palace together. The designer who shows the strongest influence will receive the order to build it. In The Palace of Mad King Ludwig, each player builds rooms one at a time in a single gigantic palace. As rooms are completed, a moat slowly forms around the outside. Once the ends of the moat connect, the palace is finished, and the player who has contributed the most to the palace wins! In more detail, this sequel to Castles of Mad King Ludwig shares a few similarities to its predecessor, such as tile-laying, room rewards, and the magic of watching a unique palace take shape through the course of the game, but the gameplay is entirely different, with no auction, a clever endgame timer that graphically builds pressure for players as the moat slowly closes in around the palace, and a twist on resource management with multi-colored swan tokens being used as currency, points, and the keys to new abilities.
Categories
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Arclight Games
- Bézier Games
Questions and answers
The Palace of Mad King Ludwig supports 2–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for The Palace of Mad King Ludwig is 75 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists The Palace of Mad King Ludwig for ages 13 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
The Palace of Mad King Ludwig has a complexity rating of 2.8 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
The Palace of Mad King Ludwig belongs to these categories: Post-Napoleonic. Its main mechanics are Tile Placement. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of The Palace of Mad King Ludwig are: Ted Alspach. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists The Palace of Mad King Ludwig as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.