The Castle Doctrine
Turn-based multiplayer strategy about building defenses and breaking into homes
Jason Rohrer · Released Jan 29, 2014
- Reviews
- Mixed
- 44% of 289
- Recent reviews
- Not enough recent
- Players
- 0
- daily peak, Oct 31, 2026
- Steam Deck
- Playable
- Last update on Steam
- Unknown
- no patch notes on Steam
Metacritic: 58/100 (critic reviews)
What is The Castle Doctrine?
Set in 1991, this multiplayer strategy game casts you as a homeowner protecting his house and family. You build security systems, study other players' homes, and buy tools to break in and steal their valuables. Theft and destruction have permanent consequences, and dying means losing everything and starting over.
For you if...
- +you enjoy solving security puzzles designed by other players
Not for you if...
- −you want a guided introduction rather than learning through failure
What players say
44% of 289 reviews are positive
Players praise the combination of trap building and burglary. Recent reviews report a largely inactive community, while reviewers also criticize the harsh penalties for mistakes.
Screenshots and trailer
The Castle Doctrine system requirements
Minimum: Onboard, 0 GB RAM, 0 GB of disk space.
As published by the developer.
Can my PC run The Castle Doctrine?
Tell us your graphics card once and every game page will answer this for you.
Set up my PC →Minimum
- OS
- XP or later
- Processor
- 900 MHz
- Graphics
- Onboard Graphics
- Memory
- 40 MB RAM
- Storage
- 10 MB available space
Does The Castle Doctrine have co-op or multiplayer?
Yes: MMO. There is no single-player mode. Crossplay with other platforms is declared.
Does The Castle Doctrine run on Steam Deck?
Playable Playable: it runs on Steam Deck with some adjustments.
- Default controller config not fully functional
- Sometimes shows mouse, keyboard or non-Deck controller icons
- Some text entry requires manually opening the on-screen keyboard
- In-game text is legible on Steam Deck
- Default graphics settings perform well on Steam Deck
PC version details
- DRM
- None declared on Steam
- Controller
- Keyboard and mouse
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux
- Steam features
- Cloud saves, Family Sharing
- Languages
- Text only: English.
Does The Castle Doctrine use AI-generated content?
No AI-generated content is disclosed on the game's Steam page.
Self-reported by the developer under Steam rules: it covers AI content that ships in the game, not tools used to make it. Steam page checked on Oct 27, 2026. How to filter AI games on Steam
