Fireside Games FSG01013 My First Castle Panic, Multicoloured

Product Information

Manage to clear the pile of monsters before they reach the castle and you win, have both the wall and the castle reached by the monsters and you lose. There are three monster powers that you will encounter: the monster will jump to the front of the line; the monster will push all monsters forward one space; the monster will push all monsters and also spawn another monster. My Castle First Panic may only have a shelf life of a couple of years before they move on to more complex or fulfilling games but as a starting point it is great and reflecting upon my opening to this review, it is such a huge step up from the first board games I played. Though promo for the game does say, “preschoolers can play independently,” there are a few special rules such as specific monster movement that will likely require some reminders or help for younger ones.

If you stop all 16 of them (sending them back to the game box, which is cleverly designed as a dungeon to house the defeated goblins), you win. Others can jump to the front of the line, quickly causing some panic as they might be unexpectedly near your castle wall.

We’ve even gotten out our old Hero Quest goblin and troll figurines to spice up the display and get into the fantasy theme even more. however, I think I inadvertently taught my daughter how to quarterback a cooperative board game (oops).

But we wrapped up our first game of My First Castle Panic, including setup, in less than 20 minutes. What this game does so well is teach children to cooperate together to try and win, by sharing cards and thoughts about which monsters should take priority and in doing so it teaches some really basic elements of strategy. We are all in this world together to help each other and learn from what others have learned from their lives journey. On each player’s turn, four things happen: Draw a card, play a card (or ask for help), move the monsters, draw a new monster.My First Castle Panic includes some variations to make it easier or harder, and even has special rules for solo play. Luck is still present in the game, and sometimes you might just not draw the cards you need or draw a difficult monster that throws off your strategy but it usually feels manageable. You never want a game to feel unfair when you’re playing with younger kids, and at times, that’s what you get with this game. Roll a dice, move the number of squares and move onto the next player etc etc this one has a bit more to it.

In My First Castle Panic, a very simplified version of Castle Panic which can be played by children 4 and up (or I think even younger if you’re willing to be patient), you will be working together to stop monsters hitting the castle and wall protecting it by taking it in turns to play cards matching the shapes and colours on the board if those spaces are occupied by a monster. With two very young kids and a new job, I’m usually just wanting to watch the same show over and over again each night. I caught a glimpse of the colorful illustrations from Cam Kendell as well, and I was completely sold. This is hardly a deal breaker, but for a game with a target demographic of children ages 4-7, I would have thought the cardboard would be a little tougher.So the hero card with the green triangle can capture the monster on the green triangle space on the board.

So, maybe there is a place for an even more simplified version of this already great gateway game, so we’re going to dig inside the box to take a look. The main concept of My First Castle Panic is still the same as the original - don’t let the goblins destroy your castle. As usual, I don’t give ratings for kids’ games, because your experience will greatly vary depending on the age and experience of your child.

Each card also sports one or more shapes (square, triangle, circle) in one or more colors (red, green, blue). In My First Castle Panic, a group of monsters is racing out of the woods and coming right at your Castle!