Castle Kit #1 is a very modular set of paper terrain pieces for building a fantasy or medieval castle. The included pieces are very standard for a castle including the main building and bunk house. The kit does not contain a defined layout as the pieces are meant to be mixed and matched in any way desired. This not only allows for maximum flexibility considering design, it also allows for maximum usability considering you can change the design over and over again at ease.

In addition to the kit, there is a highly detailed and easy-to-follow instruction guide for each of the different pieces included in the kit (such as walls, doors, parapets, etc…). This instruction guide contains all the necessary pictures along with simple instructions to avoid confusion. Without even constructing the terrain, I find the instructions to be very thorough.

The third and final point for this terrain kit is the textures. All the walls exhibit a stone texture that not only looks great but looks very realistic (as a drawn representation) and believable. There are great details like well-placed shading and enough variety to the stone texture that it doesn’t look massively redundant.

OVERALL

With the incorporation of miniatures into many role-playing games, especially ones using 1″ x 1″ tiles, many may desire the chance to break free of the two-dimensional battlemaps or blank mats. But considering the cost of plastic or resin terrain and the time required to paint it, three-dimensional paper terrain is a great alternative. Not only is the cost considerably less, but there is no painting involved and if anything gets damaged, you can simply reprint a replacement! The Castle Kit being so modular helps so that you don’t need multiple kits to simply setup a different castle, keep, or even the ruins of a forgotten land. There is a plethora of possible uses and the kit is designed to allow you that flexibility.

RATINGS

Publication Quality: 10 out of 10 The simple design and beautiful textures bring out the quality in this terrain kit. However, the modularity further excels the quality due to that simple design. It’s definitely a good, solid paper terrain piece.

Visual Appeal: 8 out of 10 The textures look great and the terrain can make your tabletop look wonderful. The only thing missing is the ability to change the textures, even minor details, giving the user more options. For instance, adding green moss or turning the walls into ruins. While this may be trickier to achieve as a printed product, PDFs can have layers to allow this activity. The visual appeal as-is, is fantastic, but some layered options would make certain pieces stand-out and add a little more flavor to the overall terrain setting.

Desire to Use: 8 out of 10 For those looking to use three-dimensional paper terrain for their tabletop, Castle Kit #1 is a good kit to use. It’s very flexible, easy-to-use, and more importantly it can make a great castle for your players. One of the key things many people look for in three-dimensional terrain is its ability to be arranged and then rearranged, producing a new setup without having to use new terrain. This definitely fits into that category.

Overall: 9 out of 10 Castle Kit #1 is a great paper terrain castle for fantasy or medieval game-play. The modularity is possibly one of its most key qualities while the textures and quality simply add to its value. This is a great way to make your role-playing game come alive!