The Traitors - Ardross Castle

Welcome to Ardross Castle – abode of The Traitors and the faithful they dwell amongst.

Join your host, Minifig Claudia (or Minifig Alan for the US variant), in a game of treachery and deceit, as you build scenes from your favourite reality show, culminating in a castle worthy of any medieval setting.

Eight contestants will join you in your journey, but their journeys may get cut short. Three of them are Traitors, and they have the power to remove one of the faithful after they go to sleep at night - the fallen victim's likeness on the breakfast room wall appearing with a red cross through it the following morning. Nobody is safe here.

As each day passes, the contestants have an opportunity to add to the prize coffers. Help them with their tasks by finding the hidden items around the castle, or building a trebuchet to fire at a target. The more tasks they complete, the closer they get to the 120 gold piece jackpot.

After completing their daily task, it’s straight to the round table where one contestant is to be removed from the game. It’s accusations and rebuttals galore, as each contestant profusely claim that they are indeed faithful. Watch closely as the Traitors spin the narrative away from themselves so they can survive to plot away once again.

Any discerning Traitor needs a quiet, private place to do their scheming. Enter Traitors Tower, the small, ominous room where the Traitors can let their hoods down and get down to the real business. However, Claudia may enter via the door behind them at any moment, dropping twists and turns that may make the Traitors jobs much, much harder.

Every morning, the contestants keep a close eye on the wall as their fellow contestants join them for breakfast. They know one of them will have been targeted in the night by the Traitors, therefore won’t be coming through the door. 

What’s this? Everybody has turned up! Does this mean someone has been recruited? Perhaps Claudia has dropped a different bombshell to get everyone questioning each other. Whatever happened the night before, anything is possible in a LEGO Traitors Castle.

Eventually, the final day will arrive. The remaining contestants must then stand around a fire and state, with help from a red or green flame, whether they wish to end the game there and then, or continue to eliminate one another. If they unanimously choose to end the game, and a Traitor remains amongst them, the Traitor(s) will take the prize for themselves. If all Traitors have been banished, the pot is split between the remaining faithful.

Every decision has a consequence. Nothing’s just for fun. This is The Traitors Castle.

This castle set has been inspired by The Traitors, as seen on BBC.

Whilst the façade replicates the setting, Ardross Castle, the back gives access to many recognisable scenes from the show. From the tempestuous round table, to the treacherous traitor’s tower, builders and observers alike will find many references to the show.

This fairly large model (measuring 29.6cm by 44.0cm by 53.4cm [W/L/H]) is made up of 8 main rooms in total, plus 2 hidden rooms and 2 corridors. Each room has been designed to be removed from the structure to enable easier play and handling. These rooms are:

In total, there are 13 minifigures: 1 Queen Claudia, 1 Laird Alan, 8 contestants, and 3 traitors.

I have decided to make the contenders generic so not to be specific to any one season, however, some facial expressions may invoke memories of iconic moments from TV.

Each of these contenders have their own picture on the breakfast room wall. However, as they get picked off by the traitors, the pictures can be reversed to show a red cross through their likeness.

To preserve the intrigue of those who have not yet watched these first two seasons, I have decided to reference the winners in a coded message within the design. This is another reason to keep the minifigure contestants generic.

There are many hidden gems in this build. Not only is there a grandfather clock that signals the end of the day, a safe containing gold coins to the value of 120, and a hidden armoury behind a moving bookcase, there are even items hidden around the castle similar to those which contestants were required to search for in the first two seasons.

As for the task storage room, builders can remove these items and build their own task scenes. From the burial of a poisoned contestant, to the building of a trebuchet, there is a wide variety of playability with these items alone.

Given that it is based on one of the best shows to hit our TV sets in recent years, not only in the UK, but worldwide, it is jam packed with hidden details and interesting building techniques. It would also make a great set for those interested in developing their Medieval scenes, and minor modifications could make it a perfect fit for a Winter Village.

I have had a very enjoyable time designing this set. Whether you're a fan of The Traitors or not, if you like what you have seen here, please don't forget to hit that support button before you leave. Thank you!