# Citadels

Citadels is a board game for 2–8 players. It plays in 30–60 minutes and is meant for ages 10 and up. Ludoya players call it best with 5. It is rated 7 out of 10 by 57 Ludoya reviewers. The cheapest copy in stock is $26.39 (United States).

- **Players:** 2–8 (best with 5)
- **Playing time:** 30–60 minutes
- **Minimum age:** 10+
- **Complexity:** 2 out of 5
- **Year published:** 2016
- **Categories:** City Building, Medieval, Bluffing, Card Game
- **Mechanics:** Lose a Turn, Action Drafting, Variable Set-up, Closed Drafting, Income, Set Collection, Take That, Variable Player Powers, Turn Order: Role Order
- **Ludoya rating:** 7 out of 10, from 57 reviews
- **Owned by:** 248 Ludoya players
- **Plays logged on Ludoya:** 356
- **Unique players:** 639

**Designers:** Bruno Faidutti

**Artists:** Fernando Olmedo, Pavel Kolomeyets, Alex Kim, Andrew Bosley, Amit Dutta, Meg Owenson, Ward Lindhout, Tyler Edlin, Eddie Mendoza, Mark Molnar, Veli Nyström, Jeff Brown (II), James Combridge, Marko Fiedler, William Koh, Simon Eckert, Yogesh C. Joshi, Felipe Escobar, Tomasz Jedruszek, Gracjana Zielińska, Mateusz Lenart, Yong Yi Lee

**Publishers:** Ігромаг, Windrider Games

## Where to buy in United States

| Shop | Price | Link |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Atomic Empire | 26.39 $ | https://www.atomicempire.com/Item/306354 |
| Board Game Bliss | 29.95 $ | https://www.boardgamebliss.com/products/citadels-2016-edition |
| La Gameria | 14.95 € | https://gameria.es/juegos-de-mesa/ciudadelas-563.html |
| Mono de Juegos | 16 € | https://www.monodejuegos.shop/juego-de-mesa/ciudadelas/ |
| World of Board Games | 325 kr | https://www.worldofboardgames.com/citadels |
| Game Ninja | 399 kr | https://www.gameninja.no/produkt/citadels-revised/ |
| Cogs Toys and Games | 39.95 € | https://www.cogstoysandgames.ie/products/citadels |
| Uplay | 39.99 € | https://www.uplay.it/it/gioco-da-tavolo-citadels--revised-edition-.html |
| Spielezar | 37.9 Fr. | https://www.spielezar.ch/kartenspiele/citadels |

## Expansions

- [Citadels: Scenic Route Mini Expansion](https://www.ludoya.com/games/citadels-scenic-route-mini-expansion)

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## Rules questions

### On my turn can I both take 2 gold and draw 2 district cards, or must I choose one action?

You must choose one action: either take 2 gold from the bank, or draw two district cards and keep one, placing the other on the bottom of the deck (you cannot do both). (See rulebook page 4.)

### If the King is assassinated, does he still get the Crown for the next round?

Yes — the murdered King skips his turn, but once it is revealed that he held the King card he still takes the Crown as the King's heir when the round ends. (See rulebook page 8.)

### Can the Thief steal from the Assassin or from the character the Assassin killed?

No — the Thief may not steal from the Assassin or from the Assassin’s target. (See rulebook page 7.)

### How exactly does the Magician’s ability work — can I swap with a player who has no cards, or discard and redraw?

You may either exchange your entire hand with another player (this works even if you have zero cards), or place any number of cards from your hand facedown on the bottom of the district deck and then draw an equal number from the top. (See rulebook page 7.)

### How many districts can the Architect build and when do you get the extra cards?

After you take your action, the Architect draws two additional district cards into his hand and may then build up to three districts during his turn. (See rulebook page 8 for the Architect and page 4 for the building step.)

### What happens if the King is one of the characters removed faceup at the start of the round?

If the King is drawn to be placed faceup among the removed cards, immediately replace it with another random card and shuffle the King back into the Character Deck. (See rulebook page 3.)

## Links

- [This page](https://www.ludoya.com/games/citadels-2)
- [Citadels in the Ludoya app](https://app.ludoya.com/g/citadels-2)
- [BoardGameGeek entry](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/205398)

_Data from Ludoya, updated 2026-09-18. Ratings, ownership and play counts are Ludoya's own._