Alright, let’s talk about smashing Cardcastle. Because honestly, I was stuck right there with you, probably yelling at my screen for weeks. Level 13? Yeah, felt like a brick wall. Every run ended up the same mess – cards exploding everywhere, me groaning. But, I finally cracked it, and yeah, it feels pretty darn good. Let me walk you through exactly what I hammered out.
The “Why Won’t This Work?!” Phase
For real, I tried everything at first. My brilliant plan? Just keep smashing cards together faster. Yeah, that didn’t work. More explosions. Then I tried saving every single high card I got for later levels. Also garbage. The tower would just get too big early on, crumble under its own weight before I even saw the tough bits. It was frustrating as heck. I was wasting tons of tries getting nowhere.
Time To Actually Think (Haha)
Okay, I figured this brute force nonsense needed to stop. I started actually watching the game instead of just reacting.
What I Saw:
- I was totally ignoring what cards were gone already. Like, what the pile had already spat out.
- I never planned discards. Just ditched whatever felt right at that second.
- I let junk cards (low value, impossible to stack crap) build up early, dooming the whole run later.
Once I saw these mess-ups, I knew I needed solid rules. Experiments started!
Building My Actual Game Plan
I didn’t figure this out in one go. Took a bunch of failed runs where I forced myself to try different things.
Strategy 1: Save Specific Cards, Not All Big Ones
Old me saved every 6,7,8. Terrible. Instead, I started counting the high cards already played. If I saw, say, two 7s gone already, I knew there weren’t many left. Suddenly, the 7 I did have? Much more valuable! I’d actually save that one, because fewer chances to get another later. Changed everything.
Strategy 2: Actually Plan the Drops
Random discards? Recipe for disaster. I started asking exactly why I was ditching a card before I ditched it:
- “Am I making space for a much better card coming?”
- “Is this card literally unusable right now?”
- “Will getting rid of this now stop an avalanche later?”
If the answer wasn’t a solid “yes” to one reason? I’d hold onto it. Forced me to actually think one or two moves ahead.
Strategy 3: Aggressive Early Trash Cleanup
This one feels scary at first. You get a low number (like a 1 or 2) in the first 5 cards? My instinct was “Maybe I’ll need it later!” Nope. Trap. Especially early on, where the tower is smaller, I started actively hunting to destroy these garbage cards ASAP. Use a matching suit, a chain reaction, anything – get them gone before they pile up and make the structure wobble later. Cleans out the clutter way earlier.
The Sweet Taste of Victory (No More Groaning)
Did this all come together instantly? Nah. Took some runs to get the feel. I’d try to focus on one rule at a time until it felt natural. But slowly, things clicked. Runs lasted longer. Less “random” destruction. More “ah, I see why that happened” learning moments.
Then… the breakthrough run. Level 13 felt different. Using the saved high card exactly when I knew I needed it (thanks to counting!), planned discards kept options open, and the early junk was long gone. The tower held. The “Clear” message popped up. I didn’t yell; I grinned. Felt like finally getting the combo right after practicing forever.
These three strategies? They turned the game from chaotic luck to controlled thinking. From frustrating to fun. Give ’em a real shot, play around, find how they click for you. Smash that castle!