Between Two Castles Essential Edition is a competitive drafting, tile-placement game for 1-8 players designed by Ben Rosset and Matthew O’Malley. It plays in about 45-60 minutes.

The Essential Edition combines the original game and the Secrets & Soirees expansion into one box.

As a master builder, you must help design the king’s castles. You work with players on your left and right to build two separate castles, selecting and placing room tiles each turn.

At the end, your final score is the lower of your two castles’ scores, and the highest scorer wins. Success requires effectively managing both castle projects simultaneously.