“Secrets and Soirees” is an expansion for Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig, the collaborative tile-laying game where players work together to build two castles—one with each of their neighboring players. The expansion introduces exciting new mechanics, enhancing the core game with additional depth, new challenges, and more player interaction.

This expansion includes:

New Regular Room Types: The expansion includes additional castle room types with unique abilities and special scoring options, providing more variety to your castle-building. These new types are:
- Activity Rooms. Each activity room scores 1 point per tile orthogonally adjacent to it. However, each activity room only scores 1 point total if it has the room type it does not want in any space surrounding it, regardless of how many other tiles are adjacent to it.
- Secret Rooms. Each secret room duplicates the adjacent regular (not specialty) room tile its arrows are pointing at. It duplicates the room type, wall hanging, and scoring rule of that tile, as though it were another copy of that tile in the location of the secret room. Secret rooms do not copy the blue borders of outdoor rooms.

New Activity Rooms

Secret Rooms

New Specialty Room: When you place your 3rd activity room, immediately draw 3 ballrooms. Choose 1 of them to keep and immediately place it in the castle. Discard the other 2 ballroom tiles out of the game. Ballrooms are a specialty room type and can be placed at the throne room level or above. Each ballroom has a particular type of room that it wants in the adjacent castles. It scores 1 point for every room of that type in the adjacent castles.

Ballroom

1 new Throne Room & new castle token (Wartburg Castle). This expansion adds a 8th player in the game
8 new player-aid cards, incorporating the new room types
48 new regular room type tokens, used by the secret rooms to indicate what type of room the secret rooms are.
8 new bonus cards
New scorepad, incorporating scoring for the new room types
2 promo tiles
21 new regular room tiles: 3 each of food, corridor, downstairs, living, outdoor, sleeping, utility.
Rules for a new 2-player variant, in which each player builds only one castle by himself.
Rules for solo mode

Here’s a detailed review that covers the components, gameplay, replayability, theme, player interaction, learning curve, and final thoughts.

Components

The components of the “Secrets and Soirees” expansion are on par with the high standards set by the base game. Overall, the expansion’s components blend seamlessly with the base game, and the quality is excellent. The new additions fit aesthetically, and the new tiles and tokens are well-designed and fun to use. A new tray fits all the extra components and is used in conjunction with the original game tray. The best with this expansion is that all components fit in the original game box, saving you valuable space. 10/10

New Scorepad

New player-aid card

Gameplay

“Secrets and Soirees” adds several new mechanics that enhance the experience:

New Rooms and Tiles: The expansion introduces new room types that provide extra bonuses, new ways to score points, or even special abilities that allow players to manipulate the building process. The “secret” rooms, add a layer of surprise and complexity to the decisions you make during the game and is a very fun addition. Activity rooms are an welcomed new type of room that adds variability to the game
The new two player variant enhances a lot the 2-player game which was kind of weak in the base game, forcing you to play with a third “imaginative” player, called Ludwig. Now you can focus on one castle and make the best of the tiles that are dealt to you in the two rounds of the game.

The core mechanics of tile-laying and collaborative building remain intact with this expansion (except two player games). The game still revolves around players picking tiles to place in their two castles, while trying to meet the goals of both castles as best as they can. However, the addition of secret rooms introduces more strategic options.

The game’s pace remains fun and light, but the added complexity from the expansion allows for deeper decision-making and increases the tension. 7/10

Replayability

The replayability of “Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig” is already strong due to the variety of rooms and the way the game encourages strategic decision-making based on your neighbor’s choices. However, “Secrets and Soirees” pushes the replayability even further by introducing:

Additional Room Types: New room types and special abilities give the game more variability in terms of the options available when building castles. These new additions help create new synergies between rooms, making each game feel different.
The Two player variant: Now the two-player game is far more interesting.
A Solo mode variant. Now you can the game on your own, setting goals and trying to do better each time.
Even bigger player count. The introduction of an 8th player makes the game even more attractive as a party game.

Given the variety of room combinations, the game has high replayability, as players will continue to experiment with different strategies and aim to fulfill different goals each time they play. 7/10

Theme

The theme of “Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig” revolves around the whimsical task of building two magnificent castles for the Mad King Ludwig, with players working together to place rooms while simultaneously trying to build the best possible castles.

The “Secrets and Soirees” expansion fits into this theme by adding a layer of mystery and intrigue, with secret rooms that players must manipulate in the most profitable way. The theme of opulence and eccentricity continues through the quirky room designs and an interesting new specialty room: Ballroom.

While the expansion doesn’t drastically change the core theme, it enhances the theme by adding more depth and strategy. 8/10

Player Interaction

“Secrets and Soirees” maintains player interaction, which was already a central element of the base game.

Collaboration with Opponents: As in the base game, players must work with their neighbors to build two castles.
Strategic Cooperation: Players must find the balance between cooperating with their neighbors to build a better castle and simultaneously pursuing personal goals that could require more competitive strategies.

Overall, “Secrets and Soirees” maintains player interaction, without adding or taking away something. 6/10

Learning Curve

The learning curve for “Secrets and Soirees” is small. If you’re already familiar with the base game of “Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig,” you’ll be able to dive right into the expansion. The new mechanics are easy to understand, and the rulebook does a good job of explaining how they fit into the existing game structure.

The biggest new mechanic is the new room types: two new regular room types and one specialty room type.

For experienced players, these new mechanics will quickly feel comfortable, but for new players, it may take a few rounds to fully integrate the new room types nto their strategies. The game’s core mechanics remain simple enough to pick up, but the added complexity from the expansion might require a little more thought and strategic planning. 9/10

Final Thoughts

“Secrets and Soirees” is an excellent expansion for “Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig”. It enhances the base game with new mechanics that increase replayability and deepen strategy.. Here’s a summary of what the expansion brings to the table:

Increased Depth: Secret rooms, activity rooms and Ballrooms add significant layers to the game, encouraging players to think more strategically.
Thematic Fit: The expansion maintains the whimsical, eccentric theme of the base game while adding new thematic elements like secrecy and hidden objectives.
A Two-Player variant you will love.

If you love the original “Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig”, then “Secrets and Soirees” is an essential addition. It adds complexity without overcomplicating the game, and it keeps the experience fresh with new challenges . Highly recommended for fans of the base game and for groups who enjoy strategic tile-laying with a touch of collaboration.

Overall, Secrets and Soirees is a must-have for fans of the base game. It adds new layers of strategy, variety, and fun without sacrificing the charm and whimsical nature of Castles of Mad King Ludwig. Whether you’re an experienced player or a newcomer, this expansion will keep you coming back for more, and it’s sure to offer countless hours of enjoyment. Highly recommended!