Games - Citadels

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	Games - Citadels

Citadels is a German-style Card game, designed by Bruno Faidutti and originally published as "Ohne Furcht und Adel", which (loosely) means "Fearless and Aristocratic". Citadels was a finalist for the 2000 Spiel des Jahres award.

Game play

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 turn. When a character is called, the player who chose that character reveals their choice and makes the following plays (in any order):

Either draw two gold counters from the supply, or draw two district cards, add one to their hand, and place one on the bottom of the deck. This is called taking an action.
Build a district by placing one district card in front of them, paying its cost in gold counters, and add it to their city. Players cannot build two copies of the same district, unless they are the Wizard (see below)
Perform any character-specific actions. Note that if the character called is the King or the Emperor, a different player may receive the king marker.

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: 2 points for having 8 districts 2 additional points for being the first to 8 districts 3 points for having a district of each color (yellow, red, blue, green, purple)

There are several cards that affect the end of the game. A player can use Tower Bell to cause the game to end with 7 districts instead of 8- this affects the appropiate bonus points and the warlord/diplomat abilities.

Characters

The original set contained eight character cards: ;1. Assassin: Names a character to "assassinate". That character is then skipped during when the King is calling out characters. ;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 Assasin 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 Tower Bell). There is a district (Powderhouse) 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. This may cause the game to continue despite a player reaching 8 districts on that turn.

The expanded set added a ninth character to be used in games of five or more players: ;9. Queen: Receives three gold if she is sat next to the King (or Emperor, see below) and 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 city 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.

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