Looking at the other previews this week, you may have gathered that Empires theme is different paths to victory. Youve got Landmarks that reward different strategies, and more uses for VP tokens than ever. But you may have wondered, where are the actual Victory cards? Today Im previewing eight, though theyre all in the same pile.Like a split pile, the Castles are sorted by cost, with the cheaper ones on top. In a 2-player game, you use one of each unique Castle card. In a game with more players, there are duplicates of four of them (Humble, Small, Opulent, Kings). Ill say a quick word about each one.Hey, its a Victory card that counts other cards from its own pile! Its rough to buy an early Copper for $3, but the potential reward in VP is pretty hefty. As Donald says, buying a Humble Castle is throwing down the gauntlet; declaring your intention to pursue Castles this game.Despite the big 1VP on the top of this card, its always worth 2 VP for you, even if you trash it later! Plus you get a Silver (or two) to help mitigate Crumbling Castles effect on your deck.Trash a card to gain another card from its pile; theres a propostion thats not usually attractive. But with Small Castle, it means that you can potentially pick up a very powerul Castle later in the game for a fraction of the price.Ghost Ships attack sure is harsh. Its a good thing that Haunted Castles only happens once per game. Plus you get a free Gold when you gain it!Man, you sure have been slowing down your deck, buying all these Victory cards so early in the game. If only you had some way to convert them into buying power. Opulent Castle provides a generous +$2 per Victory card you discard to it.Now were getting to the end-game part of the stack, when you want cards that give you points. At $8 for 7 VP spread over two (or four) cards, Sprawling Castle isnt particularly appealing to a Province player. But for a player whos collecting Castles, it can be worth a lot more.While Silk Road gives you VP for each Victory card in your deck, Grand Castle gives you VP for each Victory card in your hand or play area when you gain it. Maybe that Sprawling Castle was a good investment after all.Finally we get to the capstone, which makes accumulating those smaller Castles worthwhile. Its worth a whopping 2 VP per Castle you have (including itself, of course).Thats it for the previews! I hope you enjoyed them.