Castles of Burgundy Bonus Tiles: Winning the Color Races

There are six bonus races in every game of The Castles of Burgundy, one per color. The first player to cover every space of a color takes the large bonus tile, and the second takes the small one. The third and fourth get nothing. These races decide close games, and they reward players who count.

What a bonus tile is worth

That is a fair prize, but not a huge one. In a four-player game, a large tile is worth about the same as closing a two-space region in phase D (3 size points plus 4 bonus). The small tile, at 4, sits between a one-space region closed in phase D (5) and one closed in phase E (3).

Two things raise the stakes:

• The tile that fills a color often closes a region too. Placing the last tile scores the region’s size points, its phase bonus, and the bonus tile, all at once.
• Monastery 26 scores 3 more points at the end for each bonus tile you own, large or small. With it in play, a small tile in a four-player game is worth 7, and a large one 10.

Which colors are realistic

Not every race is worth running. On duchy 1, for example, the colors break down like this:

The short colors, mines and castles, are the natural races: three tiles each. But remember the tile tracking lesson: in a four-player game, only twelve mines and twelve castles reach the board. If four players on duchy 1 all chase mines, someone falls short. Every mine a rival takes slows you down.

The six-space colors are middle races. Towns, at twelve spaces, usually go to a player who has made buildings the center of their game.

Reading the race

For each color you care about, count each player’s progress in two numbers:

1. Empty spaces left in that color on their duchy.
2. Matching tiles in their storage, ready to place.

A player with 1 empty space and the right tile in storage can finish next turn with a matching die or a worker. A player with 3 empty spaces and nothing stored needs at least a few turns. That count tells you who is first, who is second, and whether you can pass either.

Also watch the depots. If a rival needs one more mine and both of this phase’s mines are in depots they can reach, they may finish this round. If you go before them on the bridge, you can take one.

Push, hold, or fold

• Push when you are first or second and the race is close. Spending a worker or a black depot buy to finish one turn earlier can be the difference between 7 and 4, or between 4 and nothing.
• Hold when you are clearly first. You do not need to rush. Finish when it is cheap, and spend this turn elsewhere.
• Fold when two players are clearly ahead of you. The third player gets nothing, so do not spend actions chasing it. The spaces still matter for your regions, but not for the race.

Denial is part of the race

Sometimes the best move in a race is to slow a rival rather than speed yourself. Taking the last mine in a depot, even one you could place later, can drop a rival from first to second. Do it when the tile also helps you; denial for its own sake costs you a full action.

Close regions early, and races follow

There is a tension here. Small regions pay most early, and colors can take most of the game to fill. The way through is to close small regions in a color early, which also moves you along its race. A three-space mine region closed in phase A pays 16 points and starts your silver income. On duchy 1, it also fills the gray color outright, so a bonus tile can come with it. That is three goals in one move.