Citadels has been a game-night staple for decades, and it has always wanted a crowd. Bruno Faidutti's card game of secretly picking a role and building a city sings when there are enough rivals around the table to make the dirty tricks worth playing. Citadels Duel throws that assumption out and rebuilds the whole thing for exactly two.
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Set up your group for freeShut Up & Sit Down gave it a preview slot in Board Games Direct this week, which is the closest thing to a proper look we have had since Z-Man Games announced the game. Z-Man is insistent that this is not a shrunken Citadels: it is credited to Guillaume Montiage and Manuel Rozoy, with development by Z-Man's own Waleed Ma'arouf.
The box contents give the game away. Alongside nine character cards you get a council board, sixteen basic district tiles, ten unique tiles, four starting tiles, a King's Guard, nine double-sided council seat tokens, two cloth bags and twenty-five gold. Districts are tiles now rather than cards, and there is a political layer the original never had.
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Start organising for free"The original Citadels' interaction came mainly from the drafting," Ma'arouf said in Z-Man's announcement. "In this new version, there are many more ways to upend your opponent's plans. Sway the newly added council board, strategically place the King's Guard to protect your districts, or steal resources. A lot of the game's tension comes not only from planning your own moves, but trying to predict your opponent's."
It runs about 30 minutes, is rated for ages 10 and up, and Z-Man has it down for release this autumn with pre-orders already open. If your regular opponent is the person sitting across the kitchen table, this one is aimed squarely at you.
Sources: Z-Man Games | Z-Man announcement | Shut Up & Sit Down
