Castles of Mad King Ludwig: Renovations

When incorporating the Renovations expansion, there are a few changes to setup. You play with fewer room cards in the deck. For each room tile you draw, you will place an equivalent-sized renovation tile from the new renovation tile tray. This ensures a balanced mix of regular and renovation tiles available for purchase during the game.

The objective of the game remains the same: to score the most points by building the most impressive castle. This involves strategically placing room tiles and renovation tiles, completing rooms to earn rewards, and fulfilling the King's Favors by having specific types of rooms or configurations in your castle.

The basic game structure remains the same. During the auction phase, in addition to purchasing a regular room tile, you now have the option to purchase a renovation tile for 5,000 coins. To buy a renovation tile, you must already have another room tile in your castle of the exact same size, as renovation tiles are built over existing completed rooms. Payment for the renovation tile still goes to the Master Builder or the bank if you are the Master Builder.

When adding a renovation tile to your castle, you must completely overbuild on a previously built room. Doing so does not lose you points for the room you covered, but that room is no longer considered part of your castle for scoring purposes; only the new renovation tile counts. Renovation tiles are unique because each represents two different room types. This means for scoring bonuses, bonus cards, end-game favor tokens, and completing room rewards, each renovation tile counts as both types. For example, a renovation tile that is both a corridor and an activity room will count towards King's Favor tokens for both types. However, for favor tokens that count the number of large rooms, a renovation tile only counts as one room. Renovations do not score points for depleted stock bonuses.

Unlike the base game, when playing with the Renovations expansion, the game only ends as soon as the room deck has been completely depleted AND at least two of the room stacks (which may include the stairs and hallways) are also depleted. This ensures a slightly longer and more strategic game as players have more opportunities to utilize the renovation tiles.