Citadels

This game is perfect if you have a large group of people (up to 8) who are in for a board game but don’t want to play Apples to Apples. You see, Apples to Apples (and similar games - looking at you Cards Against Humanity) are only fun for people who know each other well, get everyone’s inside jokes, and don’t care about strategy as the entire game is subjective. This game is not like that at all. A full review is below, but know that even “non-gamers” like this game. Below the full review is a small comparison between this version of the game and other versions. The goal of Citadels is to build (lay down) the best district cards so at the end of the game you have the most points. The game ends when a certain number of district cards has been played by any one player by round’s end. Everyone starts the game with 4 of these district cards and two pieces of gold. One person is designated as the “King” to start. A round starts with the King shuffling a set of character cards, discarding a certain number of them, then choosing one to keep for the round. He then passes the remaining cards to the person on his left and that player picks one of the remaining cards and passes it to their left, etc... the last person will have two cards to choose from, they will select one and discard the other face down. At this point everyone has chosen a character card but no one knows who chose want. These cards are numbered from 1-9 and each one has a specific “ability”. For instance, the 1 card is the Assassin and they get to “kill” another player’s chosen character so that person loses their turn that round. The 6 card is the Merchant and they get extra gold on their turn. The 4 card is the King and they go first the next round. Once everyone has their chosen character card, the King starts calling numbers “One - Assassin” and the person with the 1 card - the Assassin - takes their turn. On a player’s turn they can do three of four things: Gain 2 gold coins or draw more Districts cards, play a district card from their hand by paying the amount of gold indicated on that card, and can perform their special ability. In this case the player who chose the 1 card - the Assassin - can collect two gold, play a District card from their hand that costs one gold, and call out another other number of a character (say 3) so that player loses their turn. Once they’re done with their turn, the King moves on and calls “Two” and that player goes next, then the King calls ”Three”, and in this example that person was killed by the Assassin so they revile who they are but get no turn. The play continues until everyone has been called and played their turn or been assassinated. Then the new King then gathers all the character cards and stars a new round. Once a player has 7 districts in play by the end of a round the game is over and everyone counts up the amount of gold it cost to buy their districts and the player that spent the most wins. Some rules were left out but I hope you get the general idea. What makes this game so fun is the fact you don’t know what other people chose for their character that round and that could profoundly impact your turn. It’s a lot like poker where you are trying to play the people as much as the cards in your hand. It has some deep strategy in it but your turn is relatively easy and straight forward. It’s also a highly interactive game where people are truly interested in each persons turn because other people can impact everyone else so your always feeling like your a part of the game even on other people’s turns. The fact that this works great with 8 people makes this a great alternative to those not so fun party games everyone seems to love. This is an updated version the this game. It has 27 character cards but you will only play with 9 at the most. This means you have a lot of variety in game play. They also have new districts and a few other goodies. The character cards in this edition are substantially larger than the previous versions and the artwork is more fun. Overall for under $30 this is a fantastic game for groups.

The original Citadels has been in our game rotation for the past several years. It is a favorite among our "game-night" crew. Therefore, we were stoked when this newest edition became available! I included a picture of the older set versus this new one (you can see that the old set was pretty small ... no frills, but still all fun). This new version includes eight characters from the original game, ten from the expansion (Dark City), and nine brand new characters. Therefore, even if you have the Dark City expansion, this will still be relevant to you. Likewise, there are new districts. If you are unfamiliar with Citadels, do know that it is comparable to Puerto Rico, Ticket to Ride, Machi Koro, etc. So, in essence, tactical games that demand critical thinking. This is not an Apples to Apples loud, silly, party-game. It is much more calculated and quiet (even though we do have tremendous fun with it and all the others mentioned). And, certainly, it does allow for both devious and noble game-play (but those who insist on playing "clean" often find themselves unsuccessful. So prepare for some general naughtiness). A typical game requires about thirty minutes. And, set up is an absolute minimum (Always appealing!) The quality here is excellent. The cards are thick and glossy. And, the character cards are delightfully oversized. And, I really enjoy the large plastic crown (used to signify The King) that accompanies this edition (the former crown was small and wooden). The "gold coins" are the same mottled plastic ones of yore (those were always great, no need to change those). Moreover, there are thick cardboard signifiers that serve to remind players of what characters are currently in the game (since many characters are interchangeable). As with the original Citadels, this is already a staple of our game-nights! If you have the older versions, do not hesitate to grab this one also! So worth the investment!!

Finally got to play this with a bigger group and with 8 players it was way too slow. At the 90 minute mark, we just stopped at that round and counted score. Played with 2 people and was super quick. Played with 4 and also reasonable (under an hour after a practice round). I really like the game itself though. It's kind of a twist on deck building / Dominion but instead of having your own deck, you just get to choose 1 card at a time per round to assist in your next step. Rounds go quickly with fewer people. Lots of replay value with all the additional characters and setups included. My quick run-down of game play: Everyone chooses a character that has a specific ability for 1 round. Turns are taken by the character order instead of going around the table (they are numbered 1-8). Take your turn gaining gold or district card(s) and pay gold to build districts in your hand. Next round, characters get shuffled back in, you choose another character and play again. If you build 7 unique districts, the game stops (after that round). Score is tallied at the end and there are lots of bonus points available so just because you get all the districts to stop the game, it doesn't mean you'll have most points. There is a lot of choice and strategy involved with some luck and limitation. One of my favorite styles of game and one I know I'll get a lot of mileage out of. Everyone that's played it has enjoyed the game play, just not the length of a large game.

This game is a favorite of mine to bring to meetups because of how easy it is to teach. I also like the fast gameplay that is strategic without being complicated enough to give people analysis paralysis. This edition's art isn't quite as full of character as the first edition, but that's a minor quibble against a very fun game.

Citadels is a great "light weight" game with good interaction and good strategy.

Well beyond the original, this version contains many more new characters and scenarios that increase the replay-ability of this game. Only disappointing aspect is that the box that is three times the size needed to hold the pieces and updated cards - wasted shelf space of the design.

what a game

The game is absolutely fantastic!! So much fun, very creative. Even my parents enjoy playing with me! this edition allows for so many variations! Highly recommend this game!

ESTE JUEGO MERECE SER ESCRITO CON MAYÚSCULAS, PORQUE SU JUGABILIDAD ES ASÍ DE INMENSA, DE GRANDE, GIGANTE, ASOMBROSA Y ENORME. TIENE DE TODO ESTE JUEGO, ES COMO EL OXXO DE LOS JUEGOS DE MESA. DRAFT, OK. BLUFFING, POCO PERO HAY Y YA DEPENDE DE TU FORMA DE JUGAR. CONSTRUCCIÓN DE DISTRITOS, ETC. ADEMÁS QUE VIENE CON PERSONAJES DE LA EXPANSIÓN Y DE ESTA VERSIÓN, HACIENDO UN TOTAL DE 27 PERSONAJES. UFFF QUE RICOLINO. PARA MÍ ES UN SÍ O SÍ QUE DEBES TENER SI TE LATE EL BLUFFING Y EL HECHO DE ADQUIRIR ORO Y MONERÍAS ASÍ COMO SER EL REY, Y QUE LUEGO QUIERO SER EL ASESINO O EL OBISPO, ETC. TE METE EN EL JUEGO Y LAS PARTIDAS SON DELICIAS, A VECES HASTA GANA EL QUE NO COMPLETÓ SU CIUDAD PERO POR OTRAS RAZONES HIZO MÁS PUNTOS. ARTE AL 100. COMPONENTES DE LUJO. 10/10