Citadels is a classic game of building where each player must lead and build a prosperous city by building city districts. Each round, each player takes on the role of one of the citadel characters providing abilities unique to them and has uses in different situations in the game. Perhaps you have the thief who can steal gold from another player or maybe you have the assassin who eliminates another character for the round! In the round each player gains gold or can construct a district. Each district has costs in gold which must be paid. Districts themselves come in five different colours and there are bonus points for building all colours of the districts. The game ends when one player constructs their eighth district, then the final scoring begins with each district being worth a certain number of points and bonus points for the player who built all eight of their districts. The five colours of the districts represent the types of buildings they are. The yellow districts are noble, the blue are religious buildings. Green districts are for trade while red is military. The final type of district is the purple; these are special and unique buildings which provide special and unique benefits and abilities. Who will choose the warlord and destroy a city district? Who will use the wizards magic to swap their districts? Citadels is a fantastic introduction to more complex and other Euro games as well as a classic for experienced gamers. Lead you citadel to prosperity and greatness! Player Count: 2-8 Time: 30-60 Minutes Age: 10+ You may not build a district such that you have two identical districts (two "Castle" cards, two "Market" cards, etc). in your city. Citadels has managed to stay at the top of my board game rotation for several years, and it remains one of my favorite games. In fact, I use it basically as a gold standard when considering how balanced other board games feel. Architect (No. 7) - After taking an action, may take two additional district cards and put both in their hand. May build up to three districts during their turn.

Lastly, this edition has new artwork. [3] 6 of the 9 new characters were created by a young French player, Robin Corrèze. [4]In special 2-3 player versions of the game each player controls multiple characters during the action phase. Rules vary as to which cards are placed out of play. Beginning with the player possessing the crown counter, players take it in turn to choose a character card secretly before passing the hand to the next player. The 7th player has a choice between the face down card and the last card available at the end of the draft. On a turn, a player earns two or more gold (or draws two building cards then discards one), then optionally constructs one building (or up to three if playing the architect this round). Buildings cost gold equal to the number of symbols on them, and each building is worth a certain number of points. In addition to points from buildings, at the end of the game a player scores bonus points for having eight buildings or buildings of all five colors.

The one disappointing thing with this new edition is that middle aged spread seems to have set in with a box that is much larger than it once was and no longer able to slip into a bag for a night out as easily as it used to. For fans of the original though, this is a superb set that easily justifies its “deluxe” status. It really is the perfect excuse to spend more time with a game you love. Merchant (No. 6 and Green) - May collect gold pieces equal to the number of green buildings in their tableau (i.e. in their personal playing field). Collects an extra gold piece after taking an action during the action phase. (Regardless of if they take gold or cards as income).

Designer

The game ends when one player constructs their eighth district, then the final scoring begins with each district being worth a certain number of points and bonus points for the player who built all eight of their districts.

I think the sweet spot is somewhere in between. In my experience, the game isn’t quite as fun with only two people.The box recommends that the game came be played in 30-60 minutes, we have yet to play a game within this time frame but I do think it is possible. In terms of replay-ability, there are lots of possible characters to choose from, and many different strategies you could adopt, so this is definitely a game that could be played over and over. Navigator (No. 7) - After taking income, receive either four gold or four cards. They MAY NOT build any district cards this turn.