Citadels

Today's game review is for the 2000 release, Citadels.  For 2-8 players, it can be played in 20-60 minutes.

Overview
In Citadels, your goal is to build your city by constructing 8 districts.  The game is played in rounds, and you can build (up to) one district per round.  Each district has:
- a cost to play (the gold coins on the left edge)
- type (color on the lower left), and
- [sometimes] a condition that benefits you.

examples of district cards- image source

 Each round, you'll assume the role of a character.  Each character has:
- a rank, 1-8, indicates the order in which they go in a round
- a special ability, which provides some type of bonus

each role, with their corresponding rank- image source

Once any player has 8 districts on the table, the current round progresses as normal until completion.  Then, points are tallied.  The winner is one with the most points (not necessarily the most districts). Points are granted to each player as follows:
He gets points equal to the combined gold cost on all district cards in his city,
+3 points if he has a district of each color in his city,
+4 points if he was the first to build 8 districts OR +2 points if he built 8 districts


Simplified Gameplay
Each player draws 4 cards from the district deck and receives 2 coins from the bank to begin the game.  Then, the rounds start.

The player with the crown (a wooden chess-like piece) begins a round [for the first round, that's the oldest player]  That player takes the character deck, secretly chooses one card from it, and passes the remainder to his left.  Each player chooses a character card in like fashion and keeps the choice secret.  [Note: some character cards are left out of a round depending on the number of players in the game.  Consult the rules (link below) for details.]

Once everyone has a character, the person with the crown calls out the characters one at a time, by rank (so the Assassin always goes first, the Thief always goes second, etc.).  When a character is called, the player with that character reveals the card and takes his turn.  On his turn, a player:

1) Takes an action
- takes 2 gold from the bank OR
- draws 2 district cards from the deck, chooses 1, and puts the other at the bottom of the deck

2) Builds one district card
- by paying the cost indicated on the card, putting the required amount of gold back in the bank

3) Uses his character's power
- this can be done at any time on his turn, unless otherwise indicated on the character card

Once all players have gone, the round is over.  Players turn in their character cards to the person with the crown [the player who had the King character immediately received the crown during the round].  The next round begins and play continues as described above.

a game in progress- image source

Review
This is a nice little game.  The ability to assume a different character each round, plus the secrecy until a character is called, is a nice twist.  It's a simple concept and the variables make for high 'replayability.'  On the downside, the games I've played can run longer than the advertised time- though I don't know if this is because most of the players I've played with were new to it.

Check out the rulebook (which also contains rules for the Dark City expansion) here, or the boardgamegeek site here, or watch a video with explanations here.  I've heard a new expanded version is to be released soon- see announcement here.

Rating: A-