Castles (video game)

Quicksilver Software

Industry	Video games
Headquarters	United States
Products	Castles

Castles is a video game created by Quicksilver and released by Interplay Entertainment between 1991 and 1992. The gameplay revolves around erecting a succession of castles set in 13th-century Wales and the Welsh Marches. This title was succeeded by an expansion pack, Castles: The Northern Campaign, and a follow-up game, Castles II: Siege and Conquest.

Gameplay

The experience combines elements of resource management, interactive text-based decision making, and straightforward combat mechanics.

Players are tasked with constructing up to eight castles in sequence throughout regions of western England and Wales. Each mission starts with castle planning on a predominantly flat terrain featuring natural elements such as trees and bodies of water, though with limited topographical variation.

Castle design involves outlining gatehouses, walls, and towers while customizing aspects like height, thickness, and defensive installations including boiling oil cauldrons atop walls or arrow slits in towers. The extent of construction is constrained by available resources, necessitating careful allocation to prevent shortages.

Construction

Following the design phase, players recruit laborers—such as masons and carpenters—each specializing in distinct building stages. Wage levels set by the player affect worker recruitment numbers.

Laborers are assigned to specific castle sections, advancing through construction phases from foundation work to battlement completion. Completion of each stage requires a continuous circuit of walls, towers, and a gatehouse.

Players may also instruct diggers to create moats encircling finished castle circuits; these moats fill with water and transform gatehouses into drawbridges when appropriately placed.

Construction halts during winter months (December through February), during which workers consume stored food supplies. Prior purchase of food using gold is essential to sustain worker morale and availability throughout this period.

Random events

Unpredictable occurrences can influence gold reserves, food stocks, or the king’s favor among different factions. Occasionally, gameplay pauses for text-driven multiple-choice encounters where the king meets visitors such as the Pope, abbots, nuns (representing church interests), knights and local rulers (English nobility), peasants, rebels, magicians, astrologers, or fantastical groups like the seelie court (elves). Players’ decisions during these events impact treasury funds, diplomatic standings, or may initiate combat scenarios. Many storylines recur across several meetings with outcomes shaped by earlier choices and faction loyalties.

Combat

Combat sequences take place near the castle and can be triggered by narrative events. Players deploy infantry and archer units defensively along or near castle structures. Recruitment levels and wages can be adjusted to maintain troop numbers. Dividing forces into multiple squads enhances coverage but reduces individual group strength.

Archers are generally stationed on elevated sections of the castle; infantry defend ground areas inside or outside the walls. As attackers approach—sometimes from multiple fronts—archers engage at range while infantry confront enemies in close combat. Player control during battles is limited to directing units to target specific foes.

Enemy forces that reach wall segments begin dismantling them; thicker walls endure longer but require reconstruction when destroyed. Defensive features such as boiling oil cauldrons automatically damage attackers if installed during the design phase. Moats slow enemy advances by forcing troops to cross water barriers.

Enemy types range from basic soldiers to siege engines and fantasy creatures like ogres if that mode is enabled. Later levels introduce larger numbers of stronger adversaries. Combat concludes when all enemies are defeated or when the castle loses all built or partially completed segments.

Financial Management

Sustaining a robust treasury is essential for hiring both soldiers and laborers. Although various events may influence the available funds, the primary source of income is taxation. Players adjust tax rates to control monthly revenue; however, excessive taxation diminishes peasant morale, which in turn lowers the number of available workers and military units. Additionally, a substantial tax is levied during the winter months, which becomes accessible for expenditure once work recommences in March.

Scenario Completion

At the beginning of a campaign, players select to construct either 3, 5, or 8 castles, which determines the campaign’s duration. Each scenario escalates in difficulty due to scarcer resources, stronger opposing forces, and more intricate diplomatic relations among factions. To achieve victory, players must assemble a full loop of castle segments that satisfies the scenario’s required quota. Larger segments are counted as multiple units. After building the required structure, a concluding battle evaluates the castle’s defenses; triumph in this encounter secures success in the scenario.

Platforms

Initially designed for DOS featuring CGA/EGA/VGA graphics alongside AdLib MIDI audio, Castles supported mouse input. Ports followed for Atari ST in 1991 and Amiga in 1992, with a Japanese release on PC-98 as well. The expansion titled The Northern Campaign was released for DOS (1991) and Amiga (1992). In 2008, GOG.com made an emulated Windows version available to players.

Critical Reception

Jim Trunzo from White Wolf awarded Castles a 4 out of 5 rating, highlighting its distinctive gameplay and user-friendly point-and-click controls as essential for IBM-compatible computer users. Computer Gaming World in 1991 described the game as captivating and encouraged a sequel; however, their 1993 strategy game survey gave it only 2 out of 5 stars, citing that gameplay could become monotonous despite impressive visuals. The magazine Dragon rated it 4 out of 5 stars in 1991 and granted its expansion pack a perfect score of 5 out of 5 in 1992. Nevertheless, the expansion received a 2-star rating in the same 1993 CGW survey.

Reviews

• CU Amiga (April 1992)
• ACE (Advanced Computer Entertainment) (September 1991)
• Zero (June 1992)
• Australian Commodore and Amiga Review (June 1992)
• Amiga Format (June 1992)
• Amiga Action (May 1992)
• ASM (Aktueller Software Markt) (September 1991)
• ST Format (December 1992)
• Amiga Computing (July 1992)
• Amiga Power (May 1992)

External links

• Castles at MobyGames
• Castles: The Northern Campaign at MobyGames
• Castles at Hall of Light
• Castles: The Northern Campaign at Hall of Light
• Strategy guide at GameFAQs