Between Two Cities

Players arrange themselves around a table, ensuring roughly equal spacing. Eight Throne Room tiles are shuffled and placed face-up between each pair of players, with a wooden castle token placed below each. Each player receives a reference card. The yellow tray, containing Royal Attendants and double-sided Specialty Room tiles (sorted by type), is placed in the center. The red and purple trays, holding shuffled face-down Normal Room tiles (9 per compartment, except for specific compartments with 13 tiles for overflow), are also placed in the center. Bonus cards are shuffled and placed face-down in their designated slot in the yellow tray.

In Between Two Castles: Essential Edition, players are master builders tasked by the Mad King Ludwig to construct magnificent castles. Each player collaborates with the player to their left to build one castle and with the player to their right to build another. The ultimate goal is to have the highest final score, which is determined by taking the lower score of the two castles a player helped construct. This encourages players to balance their efforts across both shared castles rather than focusing solely on one.

The game is played over two rounds, each following similar steps. At the start of each round, players draw a hand of nine room tiles and secretly analyze them. In each turn, players simultaneously choose two tiles from their hand and place them face-down in front of them. The remaining tiles are passed to the next player (left in Round 1, right in Round 2). Once all players have chosen their tiles, they are simultaneously revealed. After a strategic discussion with their partners, each player places one of their chosen tiles into each of their two shared castles. Once a tile is placed, it cannot be moved. If both players working on a castle cannot agree on placement, the older player decides.

Each room tile contributes to a castle's score based on its type and placement. Food Rooms score 2 points for each adjacent Living Room. Living Rooms score 1 or 2 points for each surrounding room of a specific type. Utility Rooms score 1 point for each connected room of a specific type. Outdoor Rooms score 1 point for each room of a specific type anywhere in the castle. Sleeping Rooms score 4 points if there are 6 other types of Normal Rooms, or 1 point otherwise. Corridor Rooms score 1 point for each wall decoration of a specific type. Downstairs Rooms score 1 or 2 points for each room of a specific type in the same vertical column. Secret Rooms duplicate the scoring of an adjacent Normal Room. Specialty Rooms (Fountains, Towers, Ballrooms, Grand Foyers) have unique scoring conditions, often related to their placement or surrounding rooms. Bonus cards provide additional points based on specific castle features. Royal Attendants also grant points based on the presence of certain symbols in rooms.

After the second round concludes, all castles are scored. Each player takes a score sheet and calculates the individual scores for their left and right castles. The player's final score is the lower of these two castle scores. The player with the highest final score wins the game. In case of a tie, the tied players compare the scores of their higher-scoring castles; the player with the higher score wins. If a tie still persists, the tied players share the victory.