Castle Combo
Draft exactly nine medieval characters into a 3×3 tableau, managing gold, keys, card placement and immediate effects to create the strongest scoring combo.
Draft characters from the castle or village row and place exactly nine cards into a three-by-three tableau.
Gold pays for cards, keys move the messenger between rows, and card effects or placement conditions create combinations that determine final scoring.
Why We Love It
Castle Combo is compact because every purchase has to earn its place in a fixed nine-card tableau. Immediate effects help the economy now, while scoring text determines whether the same card supports the final grid.
About Castle Combo
Draft characters from the castle or village row and place exactly nine cards into a three-by-three tableau.
Gold pays for cards, keys move the messenger between rows, and card effects or placement conditions create combinations that determine final scoring.
Game at a Glance
Draft a Character
Choose from the currently available castle or village row.
Manage Gold and Keys
Economy and messenger movement determine which cards remain accessible.
Fill a 3×3 Grid
Every placement is permanent, so adjacency and row position matter.
Build Scoring Combos
Nine cards must work together efficiently because there is no room for extras.
What is Castle Combo?
Castle Combo is a 2024 tableau-building card game by Grégory Grard and Mathieu Roussel. Players recruit characters from two open markets representing the castle and village.
Each player finishes with exactly nine character cards arranged into a 3×3 tableau, making placement and end-game scoring conditions central to the puzzle.
How the game works
On your turn, you recruit a visible character by paying its cost, place it into your tableau and resolve its immediate effect. A messenger controls which row of cards is available and can be moved using keys.
Gold funds later recruits, keys improve access to the markets, and card effects can change resources or interact with the composition and position of your growing 3×3 grid.
The decisions that define it
Every card has two jobs: what it does now and how it contributes to final scoring. A strong early effect can be poor if it leaves the tableau with weak positional or type-based synergies.
Because the final grid is only nine cards, each placement has lasting structural consequences.
Who is it for?
Choose Castle Combo if you want a quick card-combo game with open drafting, visible synergies and a compact footprint.
Choose a heavier engine builder if you want longer development or more direct interaction.
Learn Castle Combo in depth
Publisher sources & scope
Checked September 16, 2026. This hub covers the Castle Combo base game, not Out of the Oubliette.