Citadels

Citadels is a strategic card game of medieval city-building, bluffing, and intrigue. Players compete to become the kingdom’s next Master Builder by erecting the most impressive city. The game revolves around a clever “role-drafting” mechanic where players secretly hire different characters each round—such as the Assassin, the Architect, or the King—to gain unique advantages, accumulate gold, and outmaneuver their opponents.

At the heart of the game is the tension of the character selection. Each round, players pass a deck of character cards, secretly choosing one that best suits their current needs. Because characters take their turns in a specific numerical order, players must anticipate which roles their rivals have chosen. For example, picking the Thief allows you to steal gold from another player, but you have to correctly guess which character they are hiding behind to succeed. This creates a psychological “cat-and-mouse” dynamic where reading your opponents is just as important as managing your resources.

On your turn, you focus on the physical construction of your city. You’ll choose between collecting gold or drawing new building cards, then use your funds to place buildings into your tableau. Buildings come in five different colors; while most provide basic points, purple districts offer unique special abilities that can change your strategy. Matching specific characters to their corresponding building colors can also provide lucrative gold bonuses, rewarding players who plan their city’s layout carefully.

The game reaches its climax when one player completes their eighth building, signaling the final round. Scoring isn’t just about the face value of your districts; players earn significant bonus points for being the first to finish or for diversifying their city with all five building colors. The winner is the player who best balances the cutthroat nature of the character abilities with the economic efficiency required to build a grand metropolis.