Teach the Game
A script to teach The Castles of Burgundy at the table — how you win, the boards, a turn, the end, every way to score and what each resource is for.
How you win
“We are dukes in 15th-century Burgundy, each building up a duchy of castles, towns, pastures, rivers, mines and monasteries. Every turn we roll two dice and use them to take tiles from the market and build them into our duchy. Five phases, about 30 minutes a player. The most victory points wins.”
You need points, and almost all of them come during the game:
- Complete areas of your duchy — big areas score more, early ones score a bigger phase bonus.
- Livestock score their animals, and again whenever you add the same animal to the pasture.
- Sell goods, finish a whole colour first for a bonus tile, and collect monastery points.
The loop: a die takes a tile from the depot with its number; a die places a tile on a space with its number. Workers bend the dice; every placed tile does something.
The boards
- Six numbered depots (4) — four hex tiles and a goods pile each. A die of 3 takes from depot 3.
- Black depot (5) — tiles you buy with silver, any time in your turn.
- Bridge (6) — turn order. Ships move you up it.
- Phase spaces (2) and round spaces (3) — show the phase bonus and how many rounds are left.
- Bonus tiles (7) — for the first and second to cover a whole colour.
- Your duchy — 37 spaces in coloured areas, each with a die number. Start from your castle (2).
- Storage (5) — three spaces: every tile you take waits here before it is placed.
- Goods storage (6) — three colours at most.
A turn
Five phases of five rounds. Details.
- Everyone rolls two dice; the starting player rolls the white die too and moves a goods tile to that depot.
- In bridge order, each player uses both dice, one action each:
| Action | Die picks | |
|---|---|---|
 Take a hex tile | The depot | Into storage, never straight into the duchy |
 Place a hex tile | The space | Matching colour, touching a placed tile; its effect happens |
 Sell goods | The goods type | 1 silver + 2/3/4 VP per tile |
 Take 2 workers | — | Any die |
- Plus, once a turn,
buy a black-depot tile for 2 silver. 
Workers change a die by 1 each; 6 and 1 wrap round.
What the tiles do (Hex Tiles and Buildings):
| Tile | When placed |
|---|---|
 Ship | Take all goods from a depot; one step up the bridge |
 Castle | One extra action, any number |
 Mine | 1 silver at every phase end |
 Livestock | VP per animal, plus same animals in the pasture |
 Building | Its effect once: more tiles, workers, silver, a sale, 4 VP |
 Monastery | A power for the rest of the game, or end-game points |
Each phase starts by clearing the hex tiles and refilling the depots; each phase ends with mine silver.
How the game ends
After phase E — 25 rounds. Add 1 VP per unsold goods tile, 1 per silver, 1 per two workers and the scoring monasteries in your duchy. Ties: fewest empty spaces, then furthest behind on the bridge (Final scoring).
Ways to score
| Source | How | When |
|---|---|---|
 Completed area | 1/3/6/10/15/21/28/36 by size, + phase bonus 10/8/6/4/2 | When the last tile is placed |
 Colour bonus | First to cover a colour 5/6/7, second 2/3/4 (2/3/4 players) | At once |
| Livestock | Animals on the tile + same animals in that pasture | When placed |
| Sold goods | 2/3/4 VP per tile | When sold |
| Watchtower | 4 VP | When placed |
| Monasteries 15–26 | As printed | End |
| Leftovers | Goods 1, silver 1, two workers 1 | End |
What each resource is for
| Resource | Why you need it | How you get it | How you use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hex tiles | Everything happens through them | A die from a depot; buildings; black depot | Placed with a die in your duchy |
| Workers | Bend dice to what you need | The take-workers action, boarding house | ±1 per worker |
 Silver | Extra tiles | Mines, selling, bank | 2 silver: a black-depot tile |
 Goods | Points and silver | Ships, setup | Sell a type with its die |
| Turn order | Pick first | Placing ships | Bridge position |
 Extra actions | More done per turn | Castles, town hall, warehouse | Any action |
Teaching tips
- Say the two-step loop twice: take with one die, place with another. Nothing goes straight in.
- Point at small areas: a one-space castle in phase A is 11 points.
- Show the bridge: ships are the only way to go first.
- First game: everyone on duchy 1 (or 2), no expansions; add the New Hex Tiles and Trade Routes next.