title image

Castles of Mad King Ludwig

Strategy

Ratings

Age

4+

Category

Strategy

Languages

English

In Castles of Mad King Ludwig, players are building contractors tasked with creating the grandest castle for King Ludwig II of Bavaria. This 1-4 player tile-laying game features a unique 'Master Builder' mechanic where players set room prices for their competitors. Build your castle one room at a time, gaining points for size, type, and location. The mobile version includes a solo Campaign with 15 real-world sites, pass-and-play multiplayer, challenging AI, and a full tutorial tower to teach you the ropes.

Dinsun Expert Review

Our Expert Score

86/100

Castles of Mad King Ludwig is an exceptional port of a modern board game classic. The digital version captures the 'Master Builder' auction mechanic perfectly—a phase where you set prices for rooms that other players want to buy, which is one of the most clever social interactions in tabletop gaming.

The iOS version adds a fantastic Campaign mode that takes you through 15 real-life castle sites, which provides a much-needed solo experience that the original board game lacked. The 'Training Tower' is an excellent tutorial that makes the somewhat complex rules accessible to newcomers. The orchestral soundtrack and crisp room tile artwork make the building process genuinely relaxing. It’s a must-have for strategy fans who enjoy spatial puzzles and economic management.

Dinsun reviewed on: Tue Feb 24 2026

Features

1

Official port of the award-winning board game

2

1-4 player pass-and-play and AI matches

3

Solo Campaign with 15 real-life locations

4

75 unique room tiles with detailed art

5

Illustrated rules and help system

6

Orchestral soundtrack

Tips & Walkthrough

Gameplays

Screenshot

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Q&A

The 2.0 update includes content from the Collector's Edition, including new room tile artwork.

Ratings & Reviews

The best game ever with an even better app
Sat Dec 17 2016 Guitar Hairo

I casually played the board game 2x a year visiting relatives and loved it. Bought the app on the flight home last time and have been so impressed!! Not only does it bring all the elements of the puzzle/strategy that make this game so fun, but the campaign mode functions as a tutorial. Working through the different challenges forces you to think the way that you need to think to be a master. Well done. So worth the money. One note... when playing, you can't tell how many bonus cards are left in the pile. Also, sometimes it gets a little glitchy and if you replay a level, when you start again it will say there's no bonus cards yet, and you haven't even started the game.

Great game, with some annoying bugs
Sat Jul 15 2017 Hdarb

I love "Castles..." the board game, and this app is a good proxy for it. The AI is pretty predictable, though, once you've played enough games. The AI players also make some very unusual choices at times, such as placing rooms illogically or passing on every turn simply because they have the 5-coin bonus card. There are some rule bugs such as AI players on rare occasions closing off or blocking all of their open doorways, or being able to collect the corridor room completion bonus twice in one turn. The AI players also have a very annoying quirk of pricing very valuable rooms (i.e. king's favor bonuses) very low so the other AI players can buy them cheap, and somehow knowing which rooms are valuable for me (based on my secret bonus cards) and pricing them very high- almost seems like cheating at times. Don't get me wrong though, I do enjoy playing the app a lot, despite some annoying quirks. Some things I'd like to see in a future update: a cleaner, tidier interface (it's hard to see the scores as they pop up, and avoid having parts of the interface cover large portions of the board); smarter, adjustable AI; INTERNET MULTIPLAYER; a digital rule book for new players (the tutorial isn't very helpful).

App is great but needs online multiplayer
Mon Jan 31 2022 DanielleFisher

This app is great except for one huge issue, it does not have online multiplayer. When I got the app I immediately told my board game group to buy it, we already had a couple other board game apps and I was kinda surprised we didn’t know about this one sooner. I bought this without checking if it had online multiplayer cause it never occurred to me that it wouldn’t, after I found out fortunately my friends hand not bought it yet. If this does get online multiplayer I know at least 4 people that will definitely buy it. The pass and play is a nice feature but in most situations if we are together in person we will just play the physical board game. The main point for my group of getting the board game apps is that we can play online. It’s really unfortunate because we love this game and functionality wise this app is better than some of the other board game apps I have but it’s essentially useless without online multiplayer.

Great game, but a couple of misprints...
Fri Feb 25 2022 TheGamingGuy1966

This is an excellent implementation of the physical board game and I’ve enjoyed many hours playing it. However, I have noticed two instances of mislabeled tiles; one being the Secret Lair (it shows a bonus of 2 points for each Hallway when it should show 2 points for each Utility Room) and the other being the King’s Favor tile for Activity Room Size (it’s missing the icon indicating total area size). Other than that, and the AI often making suboptimal tile placements, the game is an awesome way to kill 20-30 minutes!

Please fix these bugs!!!
Sun Apr 02 2017 winston2876

Castles of Mad King Ludwig is a top notch board game. The app is fun, but has several serious bugs. - If you complete a bedroom bonus on the final round, IT DOESN'T EXTEND THE GAME. Though there are tiles that you have just laid on the draw stack, the game ends after that round regardless. If you want to extend the game, you thus need to make sure you complete a bedroom on at least the second to last turn. This is a game changer, and it's very annoying. - You can't see when the Utility Bonus Card deck has run dry. You'll build a Utility Room and THEN get a message saying "There are no more bonus cards". Thanks for the heads up... - Once when playing it allowed me to build a tile up against the face of a garden fence, which is illegal. It would also be nice to be able to adjust the AI speed level. And the AI difficulty level for free play games. The free play board also has "edges" to the map. It would be nice to be able to toggle that option off and have unlimited space. Also, how do you change your player color when playing campaign mode? Final suggestion for a major feature: I would love to be able to play my friends over the internet.

Just like the board game...with a few issues
Mon Jun 26 2017 LHopps

The app is the same as the board game, which is great! There's even an added "campaign" which adds a nice extra level of game play. If you enjoy the game, you'll love the app. BUT there are definitely some issues as other users have pointed out. In addition to bugs others have pointed out, I just played a game in which the computer chose to take a utility room one turn and then took a utility room in their second turn. They used that room to connect to their foyer and then blocked the final entrance. They could only build two rooms the entire game, even though always having one entrance is required in the rules of the board game. Definitely a fun game. But I'm not sure it's worth $7 with the current problems.

My favorite board game app
Sun Sep 24 2017 jrb4jc

I love the 4-player version of this game, and I've started getting into the Campaigns as well. This game plays just like the board game. There are only two complaints at this point: 1) I have 3 other friends who bought the app so we could play a 4-player game remotely, but then discovered that, apparently, is not possible with this app! 2) There is a frequent glitch that posts all the players moves in the middle of the active screen, and then you can't see where to place your next room without a lot of hassle, until the text finally goes away. Otherwise, this app would get 5 stars.

Too many bugs for a $7 game
Fri Feb 10 2017 Melting Alaskan

I love the board game castles, but this version is lacking. I do enjoy playing the campaigns, but there are so many bugs. There is no indication of when the bonus card deck is out of cards, but then I see that my opponent after me gets a bonus card. One of the campaigns wouldn't end. A different campaign glitches causing you to have to restart. And on it goes. Very annoying and disappointing to have paid so much for a game that functions so poorly. I was also disappointed that playing against the computer is easy. It makes poor choices in laying out the pieces, making all of them easy to beat. I do like that the campaign is more difficult to beat. That's fun! But, I wouldn't recommend the game as it is due to the glitches that continually happen.

Some Youtube Videos found!

News found!

'CASTLES OF MAD KING LUDWIG' WINS MENSA AWARD'CASTLES OF MAD KING LUDWIG' WINS MENSA AWARD

Each year, American Mensa - an organization that can be joined only by people who score in the top two percent on standardized IQ tests...

ICv2 Sun Dec 13 2015

Castles Of Mad King Ludwig: Collector's Edition Will Feature Upgraded Tiles And New Expansions, Thanks To KickstarterCastles Of Mad King Ludwig: Collector's Edition Will Feature Upgraded Tiles And New Expansions, Thanks To Kickstarter

Originally released in 2014, Castles of Mad King Ludwig is a board game that ultimately boils down to interior decorating.

TheGamer Mon Sep 13 2021

Castles of Mad King Ludwig is getting turned into a flip-and-sketch board gameCastles of Mad King Ludwig is getting turned into a flip-and-sketch board game

The Castles of Mad King Ludwig series is getting its own spin-off flip-and-sketch board game.

Dicebreaker Fri Oct 13 2023

Bezier Games Announces Blueprints Of Mad King LudwigBezier Games Announces Blueprints Of Mad King Ludwig

Blueprints Of Mad King Ludwig is set to be released by Bezier Games as the title will be coming out later this year.

Bleeding Cool News Wed Sep 13 2023

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Popular Mechanics Thu Sep 13 2018

Castles of Mad King Ludwig: Collector’s Edition coming to Kickstarter this monthCastles of Mad King Ludwig: Collector’s Edition coming to Kickstarter this month

Revisit the rooms of the Bavarian monarch in Castles of Mad King Ludwig: Collector's Edition, an upgraded version of the board game arriving on Kickstarter...

Dicebreaker Mon Sep 13 2021

Between Two Castles’ digital edition is free to download and keep on PC this weekendBetween Two Castles’ digital edition is free to download and keep on PC this weekend

Between Two Castles, the board game spin-off to both the Between Two Cities and Castles of Mad King Ludwig series, is free on PC this...

Dicebreaker Fri Nov 13 2020

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"All in all, the app is pretty fantastic ... a wonderful addition to anyone's iPad." -Board Game Geek. SUBURBIA City Building Game...

AppAdvice Sat Jun 13 2020

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