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Castle Nightingale

Castle Nightingale

2026·Bruno Cathala, Eliette Fraile, Jérémy Fraile

2 players
30 - 45 min
Medium weight: Teach it in one sitting

From BoardGameGeek

Castle Nightingale looms out of the night, both intimidating and full of promise. Three ninjas have slipped inside, searching for the fabled treasure hidden within...yet a vigilant samurai patrols the halls, watching and listening for intruders. Two players face off in Castle Nightingale, with the ninja player trying to steal five relics before the samurai player can capture the three ninja thieves. The castle is comprised of an inaccessible garden surrounded by four double-sided floor boards, each showing two secret passage spaces and areas in five colors. Each turn, the ninja and samurai each choose one of three action cards in hand, with the samurai also choosing a nightingale tile not used on the previous turn. The ninja player resolves their action, then moves across the floor, marking each space of their movement with a footstep token. If they step on a colored space matching the samurai's hidden nightingale tile, the ninja stands revealed; otherwise, next turn the ninja can treat any of their footsteps as their starting space. If the ninja picks up a vase, the samurai can still recover it on their turn by either closing the final secret passage or landing on the ninja's space...as long as the ninja has been revealed that turn. While the ninja moves space to space, the samurai treats each colored area as a single space, allowing them to move quickly within the castle. Each player has specialized one-shot equipment they can use at any time, starting with one item and gaining more as they play certain cards. Each player has ten cards that they'll cycle through until either the samurai has captured all three ninja or the ninja have stolen five of the six relics hidden in the eight vases.

Castle Nightingale

Watch first

Learn to play

All the Games with Steph: Castle Nightingale - Teach25:56

All the Games with Steph: Castle Nightingale - Teach

Steph Hodge

Steph Hodge

Review

Castle Nightingale Review: The Ninja Life of Pets17:56

Castle Nightingale Review: The Ninja Life of Pets

The Dice Tower

The Dice Tower

Which Castle Nightingale video should I watch?

Castle Nightingale has 4 videos from 4 creators: 3 reviews and 1 how-to-play guide. They date from March to August 2026.

To learn the rules, start with "All the Games with Steph: Castle Nightingale - Teach" by Steph Hodge, which runs 26 min.

For an opinion before you buy, start with "Castle Nightingale Review: The Ninja Life of Pets" by The Dice Tower. 3 creators have reviewed it.

If you like it, try 7 Wonders Duel, The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth, Splendor Duel and Sea Salt & Paper, also by Bruno Cathala.

All videos

Castle Nightingale Review: The Ninja Life of PetsReview17:56

Castle Nightingale Review: The Ninja Life of Pets

The Dice Tower

The Dice Tower

Castles Nightingale - Bruno Cathala Hidden Movement Game!Review12:51

Castles Nightingale - Bruno Cathala Hidden Movement Game!

Game Boy Geek

Game Boy Geek

All the Games with Steph: Castle Nightingale - TeachHow to play25:56

All the Games with Steph: Castle Nightingale - Teach

Steph Hodge

Steph Hodge

Castle Nightingale Review – Zen Until Someone Starts WinningReview12:25

Castle Nightingale Review – Zen Until Someone Starts Winning

The Board Game Channel

The Board Game Channel

Creators who cover this

All channels
Game Boy Geek
Game Boy Geek
1 video of this game
Steph Hodge
Steph Hodge
1 video of this game
The Board Game Channel
The Board Game Channel
1 video of this game
The Dice Tower
The Dice Tower
1 video of this game

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7 Wonders Duel

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The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth

2024·Antoine Bauza, Bruno Cathala

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156
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Splendor Duel

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Sea Salt & Paper

2022·Bruno Cathala, Théo Rivière

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107
Creators
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Mostly reviews and how-to-play

2 - 4 players·30 - 45 min·Light weight

About Castle Nightingale

From BoardGameGeek:

Castle Nightingale looms out of the night, both intimidating and full of promise. Three ninjas have slipped inside, searching for the fabled treasure hidden within...yet a vigilant samurai patrols the halls, watching and listening for intruders. Two players face off in Castle Nightingale, with the ninja player trying to steal five relics before the samurai player can capture the three ninja thieves. The castle is comprised of an inaccessible garden surrounded by four double-sided floor boards, each showing two secret passage spaces and areas in five colors. Each turn, the ninja and samurai each choose one of three action cards in hand, with the samurai also choosing a nightingale tile not used on the previous turn. The ninja player resolves their action, then moves across the floor, marking each space of their movement with a footstep token. If they step on a colored space matching the samurai's hidden nightingale tile, the ninja stands revealed; otherwise, next turn the ninja can treat any of their footsteps as their starting space. If the ninja picks up a vase, the samurai can still recover it on their turn by either closing the final secret passage or landing on the ninja's space...as long as the ninja has been revealed that turn. While the ninja moves space to space, the samurai treats each colored area as a single space, allowing them to move quickly within the castle. Each player has specialized one-shot equipment they can use at any time, starting with one item and gaining more as they play certain cards. Each player has ten cards that they'll cycle through until either the samurai has captured all three ninja or the ninja have stolen five of the six relics hidden in the eight vases.

Designers

Bruno Cathala, Eliette Fraile, Jérémy Fraile

Artist

Vincent Dutrait

Publisher

Sand Castle Games

Categories

Medieval

Mechanics

Hidden MovementVariable Player PowersDeduction
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Castle Nightingale
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