Citadels FAQ
71 questions players ask · Updated Nov 12, 2026 · Full rulebook
Playing the Game
Game End
- In a tie on points, which character wins the tiebreaker?
- Does building the seventh district end the game immediately?
- Can the Warlord destroy a district in the city of the player who triggered the end of the game?
- When is the Secret Vault revealed relative to final scoring?
- Can the Warlord build and then destroy a district in the final round?
Playing with 2–3 Players
- In a 2- or 3-player game, does each character get its own full turn, and can you use both characters' abilities in the same round?
- Can the rank 9 character be used in a 2-player game?
- In a 2-player game, does the Bishop's protection still apply after the Bishop's own turn has passed?
- Can you discard the King face down in a 2-player game?
- How does character selection work in a 2-player game after the random discard?
- In the 3-player deal, does the player who discards a random card see it?
- In a 2- or 3-player game, can the Magistrate or Blackmailer pick an opponent's first or second character?
Customization Rules
Character Abilities in Detail
- When during a turn can a character's ability be used, and can each ability be used more than once?
- Can you build a district and then take colour income in the same turn, and is that income optional?
- Can the Architect or Merchant take their bonus and also normal income in the same turn?
- Can the Trader build a Tavern, Trading Post, Stable and Watch Tower in one turn with enough gold?
- In what order can a Trader or Merchant gather, build and collect district gold in one turn?
- When the Witch bewitches the Emperor, can she give the crown to herself?
- If you bewitch a character who is not in play this round, does your turn continue?
- Do the Assassin and Thief target a player or a character when they call a name?
- If the Assassin kills a character, does that player still get a basic turn, and must they reveal the card?
- If the King is assassinated, does the crown still change hands at the end of the round?
- Can the Thief steal from a character who was killed by the Assassin this round?
- When the Thief robs the Tax Collector, does the Thief also take the gold on the Tax Collector's token?
- Can the Warlord destroy two or more districts in one turn if he has enough gold?
- Can the Warlord destroy one of his own districts?
- Can the Warlord destroy a district of a Bishop who was killed by the Assassin?
- Can the Warlord destroy a district in a completed city?
- Can the Magician exchange hands when it holds zero cards?
- What happens when the Seer has no cards in hand?
- Where does the Spy get the card it gains?
- Can the Navigator gather 2 gold or 2 cards and also take the Navigator's 4 gold or cards, and can it build districts?
- If the Wizard pays to build a card taken from another player's hand, does the owner keep it, and can the Wizard build an identical district?
- If the Emperor's target has only gold or only cards, what can the Emperor take?
- When the Witch takes over the Queen's ability, does the Queen's bonus depend on the Witch's seat?
- Does the Marshal's seizing of a district count toward the one-build-per-turn limit?
- Do the Diplomat or Marshal pay the Tax Collector tax when they use their abilities?
- When and how much gold do you pay to the Tax Collector if you build more than one district in a turn?
Magistrate and Blackmailer
- Can the Magistrate confiscate a district that would complete the target's city?
- If the Magistrate confiscates a district the Alchemist just built, does the Alchemist get the gold back?
- Are reveals of a warrant or threat marker optional?
- Who places the warrant or threat marker, and must the player remember which character got it?
- Can the Blackmailer choose not to reveal the threat when the target does not pay, and so stop the target's turn?
- Can a threatened player pay the Blackmailer with zero gold?
- Must a threatened player settle the threat before using other abilities or building?
- Does the Magistrate's warrant apply when the Marshal seizes a building?
District Clarifications
- Can the Armory destroy a district in a completed city?
- Can a Museum with cards under it be exchanged or seized, and does it keep those cards?
- How much does the Diplomat pay to swap in a district when the Great Wall is in the city?
- Does the Warlord pay the extra gold to destroy The Great Wall itself?
- Do you need to pay gold to place a Necropolis, or can you remove one of your own districts to place it?
- Does the Poor House still pay gold if its owner is killed by the Assassin?
- Can you use a district's ability on the turn you build it?
- Can the Laboratory discard several cards for 2 gold each?
- Can the Warlord destroy an opponent's Framework so he can build a district for free instead of paying its cost?
- Can you destroy your Armory to pay for a Necropolis and also use the Armory's own destroy ability?
- Once the Museum is built, can you build a district and also put a card under the Museum in the same turn?
- Can you build the Monument once you have five or more districts?
- Does the Monument count as two districts toward completing a city?
- Does the Monument count as a unique district for the unique-district bonus?
- Does the Secret Vault count as one of your districts for the one-of-each-type bonus?
- If the Magistrate confiscates a Thieves' Den, does the owner get back the cards spent on it?