Designer: Isra C., Shei S.
Publisher: Devir
While last year’s Carnegie gave players twenty rounds to conduct their business, the 2024 American Tabletop Award Winner The White Castle gives players only nine turns to figure out how to optimize an otherwise complex puzzle. Each game, you’ll manage resources, place workers, and place dice to take care of the gardens, provide support for the castle, or work your way up the complex social ladders of the Sakai Clan.
The Committee found The White Castle to be a triumph of efficient play and the play-to-box-size ratio, which is almost certainly an official statistic. As both members below suggest, there are tough decisions for players to wrap their brains around while trying to do the best that they can, and there will always be some options left on the table that may or may not have been the right ones in retrospect. These challenging choices drive interesting gameplay and make you consistently want to come back and do better next time. The White Castle asks players to do much in little time, which can provide a lot of fun challenge, and we’re excited to name it our Complex Games winner.
What Our Committee Is Saying
With only nine turns, The White Castle offers an intriguing puzzle of efficiency and dice placement without sacrificing any of the brain-burny goodness of Eurogames that take twice the amount of time to play.
Ruel Gaviola
The White Castle really packs so much game in this small box. With only 9 moves in the whole game, players are forced to optimize their turn. I really enjoyed the tough decisions when drafting dice and finding the best worker placement location. This would lead to some combos. There’s so much to like about this game.
Annette Villa
Photos courtesy of Annette Villa (Nettersplays). All rights reserved.
The American Tabletop Awards 