Citadels (card game)

à la carte Card Game Award 2000: 1st place German Games Award 2000: 6th place Game of the Year 2000: Nominations List Dutch Games Award 2001: Winners Gamers Choice Awards 2001: Multiplayer Nominees

Citadels (French citadels; Citadels English, Dutch Machiavelli ) is a card game with changing identities for 2-7 players aged 10 years. Author Bruno Faidutti, for German speaking countries it is distributed by Hans im Glück. The game was in 2000 nominated for game of the year. The game uses one developed by Marcel- André Casasola Merkle for the traitor game card game card distribution mechanism.

The aim of the game is to build in his display as quickly as possible a city, so to build eight buildings.

Game material

In addition to some general maps are the game at 65 widely different building maps and 8 character cards. Addition, there are 30 brands that represent the gold needed to build the structure maps and the game rules. The game was sold for the same features in two runs with two very different sets of rules.

Game mechanism

Each player starts with a supply of gold and building cards. In each round, the character cards are, however, re-distributed according to a complex mechanism. Initially remains largely secret, which player has chosen which character. The different characters have different special abilities - some constructive, others destructive.

After the characters are forgiven, they are now called in a predefined order, that player is on each train. Here, the player now has the opportunity to various actions: the ability of the character can be used, building cards are tightened, accumulated gold and finally a maximum of a building to be built, which is a hand card of the player and has to be paid with his gold.

Then the next character is called. Were all the characters on the series, which returns the character cards, shuffled and a new distribution begins. Here, the starting player changes, if necessary, depending on the character cards previously selected and not - as is often the case - from the seating order.

The complexity of the game lies in the distribution of the character cards. The characters have some synergies with the already ausliegenden buildings. At various phases of play different characters are also beneficial. Especially the aggressive character skills on to other, not yet exposed, pitted characters - not on players! Therefore, it may be advisable to select a less advantageous nature, but to escape the hostile actions of his opponents.

Gambling

The game ends in the round in which the first player has his eighth building erected. Then the victory points are calculated. The main part of making this from the constructed building. In general, whose victory points correspond to the respective construction costs in gold. However, there are also other game objectives victory points.

Extension

With The Dark land was published in 2004 an extension. It allows the game with 2-8 players. It is played with 9 character cards. In addition to the expansion duplicates the previous 8 characters 10 contained new. These 18 characters form 9 pairs. Before each game is now of each pair ( similar character abilities have ) a card is selected and the following game completely denied this. The duplicates of the old maps are necessary to eventually replace worn cards from the base game and thus to ensure the confidentiality of character choice.

In addition, 15 new building cards are included with special skills, of which one for each game, some can exchange for cards from the base game each. In addition, there is a king figure made ​​of wood, replaced the card and plastic stand from the base game.

In 2008, a special edition of the game appeared in the form of a metal box, which contained both the base game and the expansion.

A second mini-expansion with the theme " Circus " was released in the fall of 2012 in conjunction with a new edition of the base game. The extension is not available separately and consists of 15 cards of a new type, which are called " action cards ". This may not, during a train, similar to building cards are played and give the player various tactical advantages. The extension was designed independently of the actual author Bruno Faidutti from Hans im Glück.

Translations

The game is available in the following translations: Chinese, Danish, English, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Croatian, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Spanish, Swedish, Slovenian, Hungarian, Russian, Czech / Slovak.