How to Play Castle Panic (2026): Setup, Turn Phases, Walls & Winning

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How to play Castle Panic (2026): Castle Panic is a cooperative tower defense board game from Fireside Games for one to six players, ages 10 and up. Monsters march out of the Forest toward Castle Bravehold, and players use cards to hit, slay and slow them before they knock down all six towers. This guide follows the Castle Panic Second Edition rulebook and covers setup, the six phases of a turn, attacking, walls and towers and how the game ends.

How the board works

The round board is divided into six numbered arcs, two each in red, green and blue. Each arc has five rings: the Forest on the outside, then the Archer, Knight and Swordsman rings, and finally the Castle ring at the center. Your cards name a color and a ring, such as Blue Knight, and can hit any monster standing in that color and ring.

Castle Panic setup

1. Put one tower in each of the light-colored spaces of the Castle ring, and one wall on each line between the Castle ring and the Swordsman ring.
2. Shuffle the Castle cards and deal hands by player count: 6 cards for two players, 5 for three to five, 4 for six.
3. Draw 3 Goblins, 2 Orcs and 1 Troll from the Monster tokens and place one in each Archer ring arc. This is the only time monsters start outside the Forest.
4. Put the remaining Monster tokens face down as the Monster pile.
5. Choose a first player. Hands are kept face up, because everyone is on the same team.

The six phases of a Castle Panic turn

1. Draw up to your full hand. Players skip this on their first turn.
2. Discard and draw 1 card, if you want to.
3. Trade cards with another player. With two to five players you may make one trade of one card; with six you may make two.
4. Play cards to hit monsters, build walls or use special effects. Play as many as you like.
5. Move monsters: every monster on the board moves one ring closer to the Castle. Monsters already in the Castle ring move one space clockwise.
6. Draw 2 new monsters one at a time, rolling the die to place each Goblin, Orc or Troll in the Forest space of that numbered arc. Other tokens take effect right away.

Hitting and slaying monsters

To hit a monster, play a card that matches both its color and its ring. Each hit removes one point, and you rotate the token so the remaining number points toward the Castle. Goblins start with 1 point, Orcs with 2 and Trolls with 3. A monster with no points left is slain. Monsters in the Forest cannot be hit by normal cards, so you have to wait for them to step closer.

Walls and towers

Walls stop every monster that hits them. When a monster moves out of the Swordsman ring into a wall, the wall is destroyed and the monster takes 1 point of damage, then waits in the Swordsman ring. Towers do not stop movement: a monster that enters a tower space destroys the tower, takes 1 point of damage and stays there. Play a Brick card and a Mortar card together to rebuild a destroyed wall.

How Castle Panic ends

• Players win when all 49 Monster tokens have been played, every monster is slain and at least one tower is still standing.
• Players lose when the last tower is destroyed, no matter how many walls remain.

In the cooperative game, the player who slew the most monsters can be named Master Slayer for bragging rights. The separate Master Slayer mode turns that into a competitive game where everyone still has to survive.

Tips for a first defense

• Hit monsters in the Swordsman ring first. They are one step from your walls.
• Trade with purpose. Ask the table who needs a color before you offer a card.
• Keep a Brick and a Mortar together. Rebuilding a wall can save a tower.
• For kids ages 4 and up: My First Castle Panic uses the same idea with simpler matching.

Castle Panic rules questions

How many players can play Castle Panic?

Castle Panic Second Edition plays one to six players, with a Solitaire mode for one.

Can you attack monsters in the Forest?

Not with normal Castle cards. Monsters must move into the Archer ring before most cards can hit them.

Is Castle Panic cooperative?

Yes, by default. Everyone wins or loses together. For more team games, see our games like Pandemic.