Citadels: The Dark City
Citadels: The Dark City Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Bonus Cards
This edition of Citadels includes 10 bonus character cards and 14 bonus purple district cards, all marked with a white star. You can add these bonus cards to your Citadels game for more fun and variety.
Bonus Characters
The bonus character cards are used as follows:
Before the game begins, players may agree to remove one or two of the original eight character cards and replace them with the bonus characters of the same rank numbers. For example, you may agree to remove the Merchant (#6) and replace him with the Alchemist (#6).
If you decide to use one of the rank 9 characters in a four- to seven-player game, you must place a number of random cards faceup at the beginning of each round, as detailed in the table below.
Faceup Cards for 4–7 Players when Playing with 9 Characters
| Number of players | Number of faceup cards |
|---|---|
| 4 | 3 |
| 5 | 2 |
| 6 | 1 |
| 7 | 0 |
When using a rank 9 character card, you can play Citadels with eight players. When playing with eight players, simply use the rule for the seven-player game in which the last player may choose between the remaining character and the facedown character in the middle of the table.
Bonus Districts
Before the game begins, players may agree to add 2–3 additional purple district cards to the District Deck from the 14 available bonus district cards. If players wish to use more than 2–3 of the bonus district cards, they should remove one existing purple district card for each additional bonus district card used.
District Cards
There are certain district cards with effects that need to be explained in further detail:
Bell Tower
The Bell Tower's ability affects endgame scoring in the following ways:
Bonuses are awarded for seven districts instead of eight. If one or more players have seven districts when the Bell Tower is built, they all receive the four bonus points for simultaneously meeting the endgame condition. If the Bell Tower is built as someone's seventh district, he and anyone else with seven districts get four bonus points for simultaneously meeting the endgame condition. Any players who subsequently reach seven districts before the round (and the game) ends receive two bonus points.
Observatory & Library
The Observatory's ability allows a player to draw three cards and keep only one; the Library's ability allows a player to keep both cards he draws. When these two districts are owned by the same player, they allow him to draw three cards and keep two of them.
Bonus Character Abilities
1) Witch
After you take an action, announce the title of another character who you wish to bewitch, and then immediately end your turn. When the bewitched character is called upon, its player must show his character card, take an action, and then immediately end his turn. The bewitched character cannot use his character's ability before you take over. You now resume this player's turn as if you were playing the bewitched character, using all the character's powers in your city (e.g., the Merchant's gold bonus, the Bishop's protection from Warlord attack, the Architect's two card bonus, etc.). You still build districts from your hand of cards and pay with your gold (including taxes).
If the King is bewitched, the King player still receives the Crown marker. If the bewitched character is not in play, you do not resume your turn. The Thief cannot steal from the Witch or the bewitched character.
2) Tax Collector
Whenever another player builds one or more districts in his city, that player must, at the end of his turn, give you one gold (if he has any gold left). If the Assassin has already built a district card this round, his player must pay you one gold when you reveal the Tax Collector.
3) Wizard
You may look at another player's hand of cards and take one card. You may then either put this card into your hand or pay to build it in your city. If you build it in your city, it does not count towards the one district building limit, which means you can build another district as well. During this turn, you may build district cards identical to another district already in your city.
4) Emperor
You receive one gold for each noble (yellow) district in your city. When the Emperor is called, you immediately take the Crown from the player who has it and give it to a different player (but not yourself). The player who receives the Crown chooses to give you either one gold or one district card from his hand. If the player has neither, he does not have to give you anything. If the Emperor is murdered, the Crown stays where it is. (Note that, like the King, the Emperor may not be in the faceup discarded character cards.)
5) Abbot
You receive one gold for each religious (blue) district in your city. The player with the most gold must give you one gold. If there is a tie for the player with the most gold, or if you have the most gold, then you do not receive the gold.
6) Alchemist
At the end of your turn, you receive back all the gold you spent to build district cards this turn, but not the gold you spent for other reasons (paying the Tax Collector, for example). You cannot spend more gold than you have during your turn.
7) Navigator
After taking your action, you may either receive an additional four gold or draw an additional four cards. You cannot build any district cards this round.
8) Diplomat
You receive one gold for each military (red) district in your city. At the end of your turn, you may take a district from another player's city in exchange for a district in your city. If the district you take has a higher cost than the district you give, you must pay the difference in gold to the player with whom you make the exchange.
You may not exchange the Keep district, any districts in the Bishop's city, or any districts in a completed city of eight districts (seven with the Bell Tower in play). Note: If you are using the Diplomat in your game, you must remove the Cemetery from the deck since both cannot be used together.
9) Artist
You may "beautify" one or two of your districts by placing one gold on each of the districts you are beautifying. The value of a beautified district (and therefore the cost of destroying or exchanging it) is increased by one. Beautifying also increases the number of points you receive for the district at the end of the game. There can be only one gold piece on any one district.
9) Queen
You receive three gold if you are sitting next to the King (or the Emperor). If the King has been murdered, but was sitting beside you, you receive three gold when this becomes known (that is, immediately after your turn). Remember, this special power is tied to the King/Emperor card, not the Crown marker. Note: Do not use the Queen in a game with fewer than five players.