Features of The White Castle: Matcha Board Game by Devir

The White Castle: Matcha Board Game by Devir is the first expansion for The White Castle, the Eurogame set in Himeji Castle designed by Isra C. and Shei S.. This expansion adds new strategic options, greater variability and an additional layer of planning for players who already enjoy the base game and want to explore new ways to gain influence at the Daimyo’s court. With the tea ceremony at the heart of its theme, Matcha introduces a new area of the castle and creates richer, deeper and more demanding games.

The expansion adds the Chashitsu, or tea house, represented by a board extension that connects to the main board. This new area introduces geishas as a fourth group of clan members, expanding the worker placement possibilities and opening up fresh routes to score influence points. The theme fits naturally into the feudal Japanese setting of the base game, adding a carefully crafted cultural layer built around respect, hospitality, status and the political negotiation associated with the tea ceremony.

Mechanically, The White Castle: Matcha preserves the precise resource management and tight decision-making of the original game, while giving players more room to develop their strategies. One of its most important additions is an extra action in each round, increasing the total number of actions available during the game. This creates new strategic opportunities, but also requires better planning when managing resources, dice, workers and positions within the castle.

The new green bridge, green dice and chasen resource expand the action system and provide new ways to optimise each turn. The updated personal boards also make it easy to integrate the geishas and tea markers while preserving the clean visual design and functional elegance that define The White Castle. Calligraphy cards, flower arrangement cards, starting resource cards and solo mode cards add variety and strengthen replayability.

Recommended for 1 to 4 players aged 12 and up, with games lasting between 90 and 110 minutes, The White Castle: Matcha is ideal for players who already know the base game and want a more complete experience, with greater tactical depth and new scoring paths. This is not a standalone product: The White Castle base game is required to play. If the original game already stood out for packing deep strategy into a compact box, this expansion broadens its possibilities while keeping its identity intact.

Technical Details

Name: The White Castle: Matcha Board Game by Devir

Publisher: Devir

Product type: Board game expansion

Licence / Universe: The White Castle

Authors: Isra C. and Shei S.

Artist / Illustrator: Joan Guardiet

Genre / Mechanics: Worker placement, variable setup, resource management and dice placement

Number of players: 1 to 4 players

Recommended age: 12 years and up

Approximate play time: 90-110 minutes

Language: Spanish

Box dimensions: 23 x 18 x 6.6 cm

Card size: 44 x 68 mm

Contents: 1 castle extension board, 4 new personal boards, 1 green three-dimensional bridge, 5 green dice, 20 wooden geisha figures, 4 wooden Chasen markers, 39 cards, 26 cardboard tiles, 16 cardboard coins, 4 120/160-point tokens, 1 official rulebook in Spanish and 5 corrected cards to replace misprinted cards from the base game.

Note: The White Castle base game is required to play.