Castel Boom

With HABA very much on the back foot in terms of their releases after recent financial difficulties, Kiwi Zou have been in a fantastic position for Hachette Games – constantly releasing excellent quality kids’ games into the market. Their newest game, Castel Boom, is no different.

Castel Boom is a dexterity/memory game that definitely draws some influence from Rhino Hero, but it carves out its own identity. The board is set up with tiles placed all around the edge – these tiles have orange, red, or purple backgrounds, along with some wildcards.

On your turn, you flip over a tile to see what colour it is, then try to flip over another tile of the same colour. You can keep going until you fail to match the starting colour. When you stop (either by choice or because you failed), you take the same number of building pieces as the number of matched tiles, then stack them up on top of each other.

Some tiles have gold on them, which means you get coins instantly for turning them over. You also earn gold for how many building pieces you successfully stack without knocking the tower over. If the tower does fall, it’s no big deal – you just miss out on coins for that round, and you’re still in the game. Play continues until all the tiles have been taken, and the player with the most gold wins.

It’s a simple game, but there’s a lot to like here. First off, the components are excellent – all of the castle pieces are chunky wood, which is a lovely touch. The main board is double-layered so the tiles sit neatly in recessed spaces rather than sliding around (a surprisingly big improvement when there’s a wobbling tower in play). This little design decision really improves the game’s flow.

I also like the fact that knocking the tower over doesn’t eliminate you – it just costs you that round’s coins. For very young children, you could easily house-rule that they still get coins for the pieces they stacked before it fell.

I’ve been really impressed with the quality of games coming from Kiwi Zou, and they’re firmly cementing themselves as a go-to for excellent kids’ games that adults can enjoy too. The box says ages 5+, but you can definitely go lower with a capable child.

Great stuff – I can’t wait to see what’s coming next from Kiwi Zou.

Disclaimer: “Castel Boom” was kindly provided by “Hachette Games” for review. Flavien Loisier is the General Manager of Hachette and is an active member of our community. Our thoughts and opinions are, however, our own.