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How to Play The Castles of Burgundy Online

By the Tavernly team ·

The Castles of Burgundy is a dice-and-tile game by Stefan Feld, and this guide shows how to play it online. You can play through Board Game Arena or the DIGIDICED app. We make Reedholm on Tavernly, a free browser alternative with its own art, tiles and names.

The short answer

  • Free in a browser: Board Game Arena needs a free account.
  • Official app: DIGIDICED has paid versions for computers and phones.
  • Our alternative: Reedholm on Tavernly has bots, friend invites and coached play.

Which way is right for you?

Pick by when and with whom you want to play. For turns spread over several days, consider Reedholm on Tavernly. For live play with friends, start a table together. Choose a free browser option to avoid a purchase, or the paid DIGIDICED app to install on your own device.

You want to... Best choice
Play with friends free Board Game Arena or Reedholm on Tavernly
Take turns at your own pace Reedholm on Tavernly
Play alone against the computer DIGIDICED on Steam or Reedholm on Tavernly
Get the official app on a phone or PC DIGIDICED
Learn while you play Reedholm on Tavernly (lessons) or the BGA tutorial
Play on a phone DIGIDICED app or Reedholm on Tavernly in a browser

Board Game Arena: free browser play

BGA lists the game for 1 to 4 players with a tutorial, and the game is free to play. You can host with a free account. Your friends make accounts too.

You need: a free BGA account.

  1. Make your account. Register and sign in.
  2. Open the game page. Find The Castles of Burgundy on Board Game Arena.
  3. Choose a table or invite a friend. Have your friends sign in too.

The DIGIDICED app: paid, on Steam and phones

DIGIDICED makes the paid The Castles of Burgundy app. On Steam it runs on Windows, Mac and Linux, and the store lists online PvP, cross-platform multiplayer, turn notifications and Remote Play Together. Phones get it from the App Store and Google Play. Prices differ by region and store.

You need: the paid app installed on your device.

  1. Choose your store. Steam lists $14.99, the App Store $8.99 and Google Play $9.99.
  2. Check extras, then install. Steam lists single-player, online play and two map packs at $2.99 each. The App Store lists in-app purchases.

A Castles of Burgundy alternative: Reedholm on Tavernly

Reedholm on Tavernly: play it free in your browser.

Reedholm on Tavernly is our dice-and-tile game for 2 to 4 players, and it runs in your browser. You can start against bots, invite friends to a private table, or play at your own pace. A beginner option also offers a coached game.

You need: a browser. No sign-up is needed. Players must be 13 or older; Tavernly asks for your birth date once at first play.

Play against bots

  1. Choose your opponents. On "Play against bots", pick 1, 2 or 3 opponents and Easy, Medium or Hard.
  2. Start the game. Press Play now; bots take the empty seats within five seconds.
The Reedholm page offers four ways to start: Play against bots, With friends, At your pace and Beginner.
The Reedholm page: play against bots, play with friends, play at your pace, or learn by playing.

Bring your friends

  1. Open a private table. Under "With friends", press Start now, choose 2, 3 or 4 seats, then Start a private table.
  2. Send the invite. Press Share invite; your friend opens the link in a browser.
  3. Start when ready. Press Start now: bots take the empty seats. You can also choose Reserve on the starting page for a later table.
The waiting room of a private table, with a share link, one host seat and three empty seats that bots can take.
The waiting room of a private table. Share the link; bots take any seat that stays empty.

Play at your own pace

  1. Find a table. Under "At your pace", press Find players.
  2. Return for your turn. A notification tells you when to play.

At the table

  1. Take your first tile. Select a die, then a tile at the matching jetty.
A Reedholm game on day 1: the lake jetties and market stall, the island map, the dice and a tile on the landing tray.
A game on day 1. The line above the board says "Use your 6."; the tile you took waits on your landing tray.

Learn through a turn

  1. Open the coach. Press Learn by playing; the first lesson takes under 2 minutes.
  2. Try the guided move. Tap your 3, then the Bakehouse on jetty 3; press Next through the notes.
  3. Continue learning. The later lessons cover helpers and selling, then a full parcel and a week end.

For another game to try, read our guide to a role-picking trade game.

The rules in two minutes

These are the rules for our version of Reedholm on Tavernly.

  1. Roll the dice. Each family rolls two dice daily. The shared lake die sends a crate (a good) to its matching jetty (a numbered pier). The rowing lane sets turn order.
  2. Use each die once. Choose:
    • Take: move a tile from the matching jetty to your landing, a 3-slot tray. Discard one if full.
    • Place: put a landing tile on a matching numbered plot of its kind, touching a filled plot.
    • Sell: sell every matching crate: 1 reeds, 2 fish, 3 berries, 4 cheese, 5 wool, 6 pots. Score 2, 3 or 4 per crate with 2, 3 or 4 players, plus 1 silver (money) per sale.
    • Helpers: take 2 tokens for changing dice.
  3. Turn a die with helpers. Spend 1 helper per change of 1, up or down. Above 6 comes 1; below 1 comes 6.
  4. Buy from the stall. Once per turn, pay 2 silver for a market tile; put it on your landing.
  5. Fill parcels. Complete a parcel, touching plots of one kind, to score its size points plus the week bonus.
  6. Claim ribbons. These prizes reward filling all plots of one kind. First and second score 5/2 with 2 players, 6/3 with 3, or 7/4 with 4.
  7. Resolve week end and game end. After day 5, each quarry tile pays 1 silver; refill jetties and stall. After week 5, score 1 per crate, 1 per silver and 1 per 2 helpers, plus scroll tiles' end scoring. Most points wins; ties share places.
Parcel size Parcel points Week bonus
1 plot 1 Week 1: 10
2 plots 3 Week 2: 8
3 plots 6 Week 3: 6
4 plots 10 Week 4: 4
5 plots 15 Week 5: 2

Tips and warnings

  • Finish before the week turns. Waiting lowers the bonus on a completed parcel.
  • Leave landing space. Taking tiles without placing them can force a discard.
  • Keep helpers useful. Spend them when changing a die gets you a better action; saved pairs also score at game end.
  • Watch the rowing lane. Boats fetch crates and move you forward in turn order.
  • Sell a batch. A sale takes every crate of that kind, so consider collecting more before selling. Each crate scores 2, 3 or 4 points with 2, 3 or 4 players.

Warning: The online rules of other services may differ from ours, so check the rules of the table you join.

Questions people ask

Can I play it online for free?

Yes. The Castles of Burgundy is free on Board Game Arena, which needs a free account. Reedholm on Tavernly is free with no sign-up. The DIGIDICED app is paid, with prices that can differ by region and store.

Do I need to download anything?

No download is needed for The Castles of Burgundy on BGA or for Reedholm on Tavernly. The DIGIDICED app needs installation. Steam supports Windows, Mac and Linux. The phone versions come from the App Store and Google Play.

Can I play alone?

Yes. Reedholm on Tavernly has Easy, Medium and Hard bots. Pick 1, 2 or 3 opponents, then press Play now. The Castles of Burgundy app on Steam also lists single-player play, so you can start without gathering a group.

Can I play with friends?

Yes. Choose a table or invite a friend for The Castles of Burgundy on BGA. In Reedholm on Tavernly, press Share invite at your private table. Friends open the link in a browser. Reserve arranges a later table.

Can I play on a phone?

Yes. The Castles of Burgundy phone app supports iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Its App Store version needs iOS 12.0 or later and has in-app purchases. You can also play Reedholm on Tavernly directly in a browser on your phone.

How many players?

The Castles of Burgundy is listed on BGA for 1 to 4 players. Reedholm on Tavernly supports 2 to 4 players. Its private table defaults to 4 seats, and bots can take any seats that stay empty.

How long does a game take?

BGA lists an average of 46 minutes for The Castles of Burgundy. Reedholm on Tavernly takes about 60 minutes, or about 30 with two bots. Its game runs for 25 days, divided into 5 weeks of 5 days.

Are Reedholm's rules the printed game's rules?

No. Reedholm on Tavernly is our own game with its own tiles, map, art and names. The recap gives our numbers only. The Castles of Burgundy has its own printed rules.

Sources

  • Board Game Arena: free access, players, time and tutorial.
  • Steam: DIGIDICED app price, systems, modes, map packs and the designer.
  • App Store: price, devices and system requirement.
  • Google Play: phone app price.

We did not test the live play of other services or the phone apps.

Reedholm is not affiliated with or endorsed by the owner of The Castles of Burgundy. The Castles of Burgundy is a trademark of its owner. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. If you want the physical game, here is The Castles of Burgundy on Amazon.