Citadels*

Citadels is a dynamic game where players step into various roles, embodying characters they've hired to aid them in amassing wealth and constructing grand buildings. The game unfolds with a quest for dominance, culminating when a player successfully erects their eighth building. Let's delve into the key features of this intriguing game:

Gameplay Overview

  • Role Transformation: In each round, players adopt different roles to represent the characters they've enlisted for their cause. These characters are essential for accumulating gold and facilitating the construction of buildings.

  • Building Ambitions: The primary objective is to erect buildings, and players commence the game with a set of building cards in their possession. Buildings come in five colors, with purple structures boasting unique abilities, while others offer advantages when specific characters are in play.

  • Role Selection: At the start of each round, the reigning "king" discards a character card randomly, selects one, and passes the remaining cards to the next player. This process continues until each player secretly chooses a character. These characters possess distinct abilities, and their effectiveness depends on the game's current situation and the strategies of both you and your opponents.

  • Character Actions: Characters execute their actions in numerical order during a round. Actions range from the assassin eliminating another character for the round to the thief pilfering all the gold from a fellow player. The wizard enables the swapping of building cards, while the warlord has the option to destroy a building in play, and more.

  • Resource Gathering: During a turn, players earn two or more gold or draw two building cards and subsequently discard one. Additionally, they have the option to construct buildings (up to three when playing as the architect during the round). The cost of buildings is equivalent to the number of symbols on them, and buildings also carry point values.

  • Scoring: Points are accumulated from constructed buildings, and bonus points are awarded at the end of the game for having eight buildings or structures of all five colors.

Conclusion

Citadels is a captivating game of strategy, cunning, and role-playing. As players don various character roles, they navigate a landscape of wealth accumulation and architectural prowess. The game's dynamics, where roles and strategies evolve with each round, keep players engaged and challenge their decision-making skills. In the quest to build a grand empire, who will emerge victorious with the highest score? Citadels awaits your strategic mastery.

Nominated for 5 awards and won 2.

⭐️ Nominated for Spiel des Jahres 2000

  • 2 - 8 Players
  • 20 - 60 Minutes
  • 10+ years old
  • Easy to learn

We like Citadels so much that we recommend it in the following board game recommendation lists 2024

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