Reading a Four-Player Castles of Burgundy Table

Welcome to Level 4. Tournament tables are almost always four players, and four players change the game more than the scoring numbers show. Three rivals means three sets of dice, three storages, and three plans that might collide with yours. Strong players do not track all of it equally. They know where to look.

The rule that makes reading possible

Every player rolls at the same moment, and every die stays visible. The rulebook notes that this lets players plan their turns. It also lets you plan around everyone else’s. Before the first player moves, you can see what each of them can reach.

What a rival can reach

For each rival, look at their two dice and their worker pile. Each worker lets a die reach one more step in either direction. So a rival with a 3 and a 5 and one worker can reach depots 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 this turn. With two workers, any depot.

Add what they can buy: 2 silver means a black depot tile, and a stored castle, town hall, or church means more reach still. In a few seconds, you know whether the tile you want is safe.

Look in this order

You do not have time to read three full boards every round, and you do not need to. Read in this order.

1. The players before you on the bridge. They pick first. If the one tile you want is in reach of a player ahead of you, and they want it too, plan for it to be gone. Have a second plan ready.

2. Your race rivals. For each color race you are in, check the players near you in it. A rival one tile from filling a color, with the tile in reach, will probably take it. If you go before them and the tile helps you too, consider taking it first.

3. The leader. In a tournament heat, a win matters far more than second place, as the playing to win lesson shows. Know who is ahead, and how they score. A region they are about to close is worth noticing even when it does not touch your plans.

4. Everyone else. A rival who goes after you and is not in your races mostly matters for what they leave behind.

What their storage tells you

A tile in storage is a plan. Three things to read:

• Its color and the open spaces of that color on their duchy. That tells you which numbers they need.
• Whether it closes a region. A stored tile that closes a region is probably their next move.
• Whether storage is full. A rival with three stored tiles cannot take a new tile without discarding. They are likely to place this turn, not take.

Choosing your fights

With four players, you cannot block everyone, and trying wastes actions. A useful rule: block only when the tile also helps you, or when the rival is your direct competition for the win or a race. Otherwise, play your own best move and let the other players block each other.

The other side of this: do not become everyone’s target. A player far ahead in every race draws all three rivals’ attention. Spreading your strength across regions, goods, and one or two races is harder to stop than a single obvious plan.

Turn order as a read

The bridge tells you who will pick first next round too. If a rival places a ship this turn, they move up, and they may pick before you next round. Factor that in when you choose between taking a tile now and taking it later.

A quick round routine

When the dice land, take about a minute:

1. Find the tile you want most, and your backup.
2. Check whether any player before you can reach it and wants it.
3. Check your race rivals’ dice and storage.
4. Decide your plan before your turn arrives.

By your turn, you should be acting, not reading. That is the bridge to the next lesson, which is about time.

Our guide to analysis paralysis is worth a reread at this level. Reading the table is a skill for the time between turns, not on your turn.