Citadels (card Game) - Gameplay

Gameplay

Gameplay revolves around two phases each round, character selection and then taking actions.

First characters are selected through a partially secret draft. Each character has a different in-game effect which allows the player choosing that character to activate during the next phase of the turn. Players take it in turn to choose a character card secretly before passing the hand to the next player. To add further strategy to the game, not all characters are available each round. Unavailable characters are selected randomly, and may be revealed or hidden, depending on the number of people playing. Also depending on the number of players in the game, players may be able to choose a second character, allowing them two 'turns' in the next phase of the round.

After character selection is finished, characters are called out in order to take their actions. Characters that were not selected (either by choice, or because they were not in the available selection) are ignored, and the next character takes their action phase. The actions involve: taking income, taking additional district cards, 'building' district cards, and using character-specific abilities.

Characters are then reshuffled and a new turn begins with players selecting new characters in the same process. When a player 'builds' their eighth district card in their tableau, the game ends and points are tallied. Bonus points are awarded for building the maximum 8 districts, being the first to do so, and having a district of each possible color (purple, yellow, red, blue, green).

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.