Citadels (card game)

Machiavelli (card game) redirects here. For the Italian card game, see Machiavelli (Italian card game) (The Dutch version of the card game is based on Citadels not on the Italian card game.)
Citadels (card game)

Citadels' Box
Designer(s) Bruno Faidutti
Players 2-8 (in later editions)
Age range 10 +
Setup time 10 minutes
Playing time 45–60 minutes
Skill(s) required Strategic thought, Bluffing, Diplomacy

Citadels is a German-style card game, designed by Bruno Faidutti and originally published in French as Citadelles in 2000, and later in German as Ohne Furcht und Adel, which means "Without Fear or Nobility."[1] Citadels was a finalist for the 2000 Spiel des Jahres award. The Dutch version, Machiavelli, won the Dutch game prize (Nederlandse spellenprijs) in 2001.

Contents

Gameplay

Each player receives two "gold counters" and four "district cards". The eldest player receives the "king marker." Play now proceeds as follows:

The "character cards" are shuffled, and some are set aside (the number of cards, and whether they are face up or face down, depends on how many people are playing). The king chooses a character card, then passes the remaining cards to the next player, and so on until all players have chosen a character card (see below).

The player with the king marker now calls out the characters in the order of their rank numbers. When a character is called, the player who chose that character reveals their choice and makes the following plays:

Players must take their actions before building districts; character-specific actions can be taken at any point in the turn.

If no player has chosen the called character, the next character is called.

If a player adds an eighth district card to their city, the game ends at the end of the turn. The values of each player's districts is totalled, and the following bonuses are added:

There are several cards that affect the end of the game. A player can build the Belltower district card to cause the game to end with 7 districts instead of 8. This affects the appropriate bonus points and the warlord/diplomat abilities.

Characters

The original set contained eight character cards:

  1. Assassin
    Name a character to "assassinate". That character assassinated is then skipped when the King is calling out characters. Players who have built the Hospital may claim their gold or cards, but not use their character's ability.
  2. Thief
    Names a character (but not the Assassin or the Witch, below) to "steal" from. When that character is called out, they give all their money to the thief. The Thief cannot steal from the Assassin, the Witch or the assassinated/bewitched (see below) character.
  3. Magician
    May swap his entire hand of district cards with any player, or place some or all of his cards on the bottom of the deck and draw the same number of cards from the top of the deck.
  4. King
    When the King is called out, the player receives the king marker and will call out the remaining characters. The King may also "tax" noble districts; that is, receive one gold for each district card in his city with a yellow blob in the bottom-left corner.
  5. Bishop
    May "tax" religious districts; that is, receive one gold for each district card in his city with a blue blob in the bottom-left corner. As noted below, also is protected from the Warlord's destruction ability.
  6. Merchant
    Receives one gold from the supply at the beginning of his turn. The Merchant may also "tax" trade districts; that is, receive one gold for each district card in his city with a green blob in the bottom-left corner.
  7. Architect
    After taking his action, The Architect draws two cards. The Architect may also build an additional two districts during his turn.
    The Architect's picture is in fact a Druid - in the original German, this was a pun on Baumeister (Architect) and Baum-meister (Druid).
  8. Warlord
    May destroy one district card in any player's city (except the Bishop's) by paying one gold less than its original cost; the card is put on the bottom of the deck. The Warlord may also "tax" military districts; that is, receive one gold for each district card in his city with a red blob in the bottom-left corner. The warlord cannot destroy the districts of someone who has 8 districts (7 with the Belltower in play). There is a district (Armory) that allows any player to destroy a district of any cost without paying gold. This does not cost gold, and it can be used on a player with 8 districts. According to game designer Bruno Faidutti, the game still ends if the Armory destroys a player's 8th district. [2]

Games with 2, 3, or 7 players

With two or three players, each player takes two character cards, and receives two turns for each cycle through the game.

With seven players (in the basic set) or eight (in the expansion pack), one character card is initially set face-down so as to be unavailable to all but the last player (the one to the king's right). When the last player is given the one remaining character card, they pick up the face-down card and choose either it or the card they were just given.

Expansions

Expansion pack

The English language edition is sold as an expanded set with some extra cards and markers. These cards add a ninth character to be used in games of five or more players:

9. Queen
Receives three gold if she is sitting next to the player with the King or Emperor card. (Not the person with the Crown marker.)

The set also adds an entire set of new characters, any of which can be swapped for their numerical counterpart:

  1. Witch
    Names a character to bewitch after taking an action; the Witch's turn ends immediately. The Witch cannot build a district before naming a character to bewitch. When that character is called out, the player with that card takes an action, then skips the remainder of his or her turn, and the witch takes her turn as if she were the bewitched character. In other words, the Witch can build districts and use that character's special abilities. If the character is not called, the witch does not get a turn.
  2. Tax Collector
    Any player who builds one or more districts during their turn (even the Assassin or Witch) must give the Tax Collector one gold at the end of their turn, if they can.
  3. Wizard
    May look at another player's hand and choose one district card. They can either put that card into their hand or build it immediately; this does not count as their one building action for the turn. The Wizard may build two copies of the same district.
  4. Emperor
    When the Emperor is called out, he must name any other player to receive the king marker. That player must give the emperor one district card or one gold counter, if they can. The Emperor may "tax" noble districts.
  5. Abbot
    Receives one gold from the single player with the most gold. May "tax" religious districts.
  6. Alchemist
    Gets back all the gold spent on districts during his turn, but cannot spend more gold than he possesses.
  7. Navigator
    May take four gold or draw four district cards. The Navigator may not build any districts.
  8. Diplomat
    May swap one district card in their city with one in any opponent's city (except the Bishop's). If the new district is more expensive, they must pay the difference to the opponent. May "tax" military districts.
  9. Artist
    May "beautify" one district card in their city by placing one gold counter on it. It then costs one more gold to destroy, and adds one more point at the end of the game.

The Dark City

An expansion, The Dark City, was released for the game in 2004. The expansion adds 14 new purple district cards, some turn summary cards, and a wooden king token. The German and Estonian language editions of The Dark City also include the nine new character cards from the expansion pack.

Game interest

While the Medieval roles and city-building add to the game's appeal, its main strength is as a game of complex bluffs and double-bluffs. Players who choose early often take the Assassin and the Thief, and must then guess which of the remaining characters will be chosen by the players. Those players in turn must try to second-guess their decisions. All the while, they must build up enough gold to pay for their district cards in hand, and strike many balances; between taking gold and new district cards, between building many small districts or few large ones, and between building many districts of the same type (which makes taxing efficient but choice of character obvious) or of many different types (which adds a bonus at game end and makes character guessing harder, but which makes taxing inefficient).

The game also owes some popularity to the fact that few games support so many players.

References

  1. ^ Jolly, Tom (2007), "Citadels", in Lowder, James, Hobby Games: The 100 Best, Green Ronin Publishing, pp. 58–61, ISBN 978-1-932442-96-0 
  2. ^ http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/98116

External links