Citadels

Had great times with this one in high school/college and a little less so now. Solid game and really psychological. Great opportunities to screw with opponents - or at least try to. Fun role selection game. Nothing like assassinating the theif!

Fun fantasy-themed, city-building card game with nice art. Lots of opportunities to be mean to each other. When you get to know the characters, there is a good amount of bluffing and guessing going on. A nice, easy to learn, cut-throat card game. One of my wife's favorites. Being a card game, it is great for trips.

I think the two player game is great; there's definitely less chaos and more mind games with each other. That said, I also like the great amount of chaos in a 6-7 player game.

Citadels was at one time a powerhouse in my game group. A game that saw a lot of play but in recent years has fallen off some. Designed by Bruno Faidutti, the "King of Chaos", he loves chaos in his games.

I was surprised to find out that the game actually playes well with two players. The game is also a great introduction to hobby gaming.

I remember one game that ended in a tie and I did not see how to resolve this in the rules, so I wrote Bruno an e-mail.

Bruno said that he hates tie-breakers in games and if the game ended in a tie, it was a tie!

Citadels was my first exposure to role-selection and one of the first games we played after getting back involved in the boardgame hobby.

There's a lot to like about this game; the variable player powers of the different roles are fun to use, managing your gold and buildings has a bit of a CCG feel (especially with the buildings with powers) and there's a lot of trash talking and crazy stuff that happens in every game. Bruno is a big fan of working chaos into his games and this one has a lot of it.

We played this several times and it was a decent hit.

Over time, you realize there's a lot less strategy invovled than you think (that whole "Princess Bride" double-guessing game) and it can run long with more players but is less interesting with fewer players--I'll disagree with Steve and say the 2-player version is downright awful.

Anyway, I like the game, we just don't really feel the urge to play it often. That being said I would gladly sit down for a game of it. It ain't perfect, but it is fun. Certainly worth the $20.

I love games that actively encourage players to put themselves in their opponents' positions to predict what their actions might be. Citadels is great for that.