| The Castle Doctrine | |
|---|---|
 Cover art on Steam | |
| Developer(s) | Jason Rohrer |
| Publisher(s) | Jason Rohrer |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | January 29, 2014 |
| Genre(s) | Strategy, roguelike |
| Mode(s) | Massively multiplayer |
The Castle Doctrine is a 2014 strategy video game developed and published by Jason Rohrer for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux via Valve's Steam platform. The game was released on January 29, 2014 for all platforms and is available as public domain software on SourceForge. Set in the early 1990s, it pits players against one another as they invade others' houses and attempt to steal money from their vaults, while also setting up traps and other obstacles to keep their own vaults safe.
In creating the game, Rohrer was influenced by his childhood fear of his house being robbed, numerous publicized shootings, and his own political views regarding gun rights and home invasions. During development and beta testing, the game went through several changes that increased its difficulty. It received mixed reviews from critics, with some praising the design and creativity and others finding it hard to empathize with the game's intended message.