The Battle for the Carrot Throne in the board game “Castles and Bunnies”

Hobby World has released a new board game: “Castles and Bunnies.” It’s the third installment in the “Tails of Adventure” series, which is all about cunning maneuvers, secret squads, and the fight for the crown. You don’t need to have played “Dungeons and Dogs” or “Rodents and Tombs” to explore this world of animals and magic. They have different rules and only a few references to this game.

This time, the action takes place in the Hare Kingdom, where a coup has taken place. Mysterious foreigners have overthrown the ruler and put a usurper rabbit on the throne, so now the heirs must gather loyal troops and reclaim the castle. But there are several claimants to the crown, and nobody is willing to give up the carrot throne.

Each player takes charge of one of the heirs and starts sending troops to the towers. Units are deployed in secret, and the back of each card shows several symbols—one real and the others false. Opponents can see the clues, but can’t be sure what forces are hiding in front of them. To get your way, you’ll need to keep an eye on what others are doing and try to outmatch your opponent’s army symbols.

Each tower has a limited number of spaces for units and three capture conditions. To meet a condition, you need to gather a certain number of units of the required type in front of the tower. They can belong to different players, so enemy troops can help you capture it—and a move that seems clever at first may end up helping a rival.

When the spaces in front of one of the towers run out, the signal to assault sounds: players reveal the cards in the first row and get a chance to assess part of the deployment. Filling the spaces in front of another tower triggers the assault itself. Capture conditions are checked one by one, and as soon as one is met, the tower is captured and the players whose units helped achieve this receive glory tokens.

The heir who first captures four different towers or captures the same tower three times wins. These two paths let you choose your own strategy and change your plans as the game unfolds. If several players meet the victory condition at the same time, the winner is decided by the total number on their glory tokens. If there’s a complete tie, they’ll have to share the victory—apparently, there’s room for compromise in the kingdom after all.

“Castles and Bunnies” continues the exploration of the world of “Tails of Adventure,” where animals become heroes of fantasy adventures. This time, behind the fairy tale of a seized throne lies a contest of calculation and bluffing: even a small unit can decide the fate of the crown if your rivals realize your plan too late.