Card games
Citadels
Edge EntertainmentBruno Faidutti2000
- players
- 2–8
- minutes
- 60
- years
- 10+
In the box
Character cards · District cards · Gold coins · 1 crown
Box details
- Designer
- Bruno Faidutti
- Artwork
- Cyrille Daujean, Julien Delval, Jesper Ejsing, Bruno Faidutti
- Publisher
- Edge Entertainment
- Mechanics
- Action SelectionDraftingIncomeLose a TurnSet Collection
- Expansions
- Citadels: The Dark City · 2007
Where to buy it
Near you and online
In a shop
Within 50 km.
Online
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The basics
Each player builds their city by secretly choosing, each round, a character with different powers. The characters are called in numerical order: take two gold, or draw two district cards and keep one, then you may build a district by paying its cost, and use your character's power. The game ends at the end of the round in which a player reaches eight districts; each district is worth its cost in points, plus bonuses.
Checked against the official rules · October 2026
The rules, step by step
Setup
4 districts each, 2 gold each, Characters set aside
- Each player receives four district cards, two gold and a player aid; a player chosen at random takes the Crown.
- Each round, the eight characters are shuffled and some are set aside unseen so that there is one more than the number of players: with four players, two face up and one face down; with five, one face up and one face down; with six and seven, a single one face down. The King cannot be set aside face up.
How to play
Choose a character, 2 gold or 2 cards, Build a district
- Starting with the holder of the Crown, each player secretly chooses a character and passes the rest to the left; the last remaining card is set aside.
- The Crown calls the characters in numerical order: each player reveals themselves and plays when their number comes up.
- On your turn, you take two gold, or draw two district cards, keep one and put the other at the bottom of the deck; then you may build a district by paying its cost. Never two districts with the same name in your city.
- 1 Assassin: names a character, who loses their turn. 2 Thief: names a character (neither the Assassin nor their victim) and will take all their gold. 3 Magician: exchanges their whole hand with a player, or cards with the deck.
- 4 King: takes the Crown and gets one gold per noble (yellow) district. 5 Bishop: one gold per religious (blue) district, safe from the Warlord. 6 Merchant: one extra gold, plus one per trade (green) district.
- 7 Architect: draws two extra cards and may build up to three districts. 8 Warlord: one gold per military (red) district, then may destroy a district by paying its cost minus one, except in a city that is already complete.
Scoring
District: its cost, 5 colours: +3, 8 districts: +4 or +2
- Each district is worth its building cost in points.
- Districts of all five different colours: +3 points.
- First to eight districts: +4 points. The other players who reach eight districts: +2.
End of the game
8th district built, Finish the round
- The game ends at the end of the round in which a player reaches eight districts.
- With three players, the classic rulebook removes the Assassin and plays up to ten districts; the appendix offers another formula where each player takes two characters. With two players, each player also plays two characters.
- Quick game: seven, or even six, districts.
Going further
Frequently asked questions · Rules on video · In the same family
Frequently asked questions
How do you choose your character?
Each round, the character deck passes from hand to hand: everyone secretly keeps one and passes on the rest. So nobody knows who is who, and that is the whole spice of the game.
What are the characters' powers for?
The Assassin murders a character (who loses their turn), the Thief takes their gold, the Magician exchanges their hand, the King takes the crown and gold for noble districts, and so on. Guessing who took what guides your own choices.
How do you build a district?
By paying its cost in gold. You can only build one district per turn (two or three with the Architect). Gold comes from colour income (King, Bishop, Merchant, Warlord) or from the "take two gold" action.
How do you win?
The first to build eight districts (sometimes seven) triggers the end. You then count the value of your districts, plus bonuses: for finishing first, for having all five colours, for having eight districts.
What does the Warlord do?
He can destroy a district in an opponent's city, or in his own, by paying its cost minus one (a 1-cost district is destroyed for free) — except in the Bishop's city and in a city that is already complete. He is the character everyone fears at the end of the game.
Rules on video
Videos in French, hosted on YouTube.