Gameplay revolves around two phases each round, character selection and then taking actions. Firstly, characters are selected through a partially secret draft. Each character has a different in-game effect which allows the player choosing that character to activate during the next phase of the turn. Beginning with the player possessing the crown counter, players take it in turn to choose a character card secretly before passing the hand to the next player. To add further strategy to the game, only some characters are available each round. Unavailable characters are selected randomly, and may be revealed or hidden, depending on the number of people playing. Also depending on the number of players in the game, players may be able to choose a second character, allowing them two 'turns' in the next phase of the round. After character selection is finished, characters are called out in order to take their actions. Characters that were not selected are ignored, and the next character takes their action phase. The actions involve: taking income, taking additional district cards, 'building' district cards, and using character-specific abilities. Characters are then reshuffled and a new turn begins with players selecting new characters in the same process. When a player 'builds' their eighth district card in their tableau, the game ends and points are tallied. Bonus points are awarded for building the maximum 8 districts, being the first to do so, and having a district of each possible color . There are several cards that affect the end of the game. A player can build the "Belltower" district card to cause the game to end with 7 districts instead of 8. This affects the appropriate bonus points and the warlord/diplomat abilities.
Characters
The original set contained eight character cards:
Assassin
Thief
Magician
King
Bishop
Merchant
Architect
Warlord
The abilities associated with each character vary and include defensive, offensive, and bonus earning powers. For example, the Assassin has the ability to kill another character, preventing him or her from taking a turn; the King has the ability to move the crown counter, and the Warlord is able to destroy districts.
The English language edition is sold as an expanded set with some extra cards and markers. These cards add a ninth character to be used in games of five or more players. The expansion set also adds an entire set of new characters, any of which can be swapped for their numerical counterpart :
Witch
Spy
Wizard
Emperor
Abbot
Alchemist
Navigator
Diplomat
Artist / Queen
These characters are generally a twist on the character and ability on the original set of character cards. For example, where the King takes the king token for himself, the Emperor instead nominates a different character to receive the king token.
An expansion, The Dark City, was released for the game in 2004. The expansion adds 14 new purple district cards, some turn summary cards, and a wooden king token. The German, Dutch, Lithuanian and Estonian language editions of The Dark City also include the nine new character cards from the English-language edition.
Circus
The latest edition of the base game that was published in Germany in 2012 contained 15 new cards of a new type called "action cards". These cards can be used once per turn without costing any gold and offer various tactical advantages - comparable to purple district cards. This new edition was released as Ohne Furcht und Adel. It included the base game and the new action cards, but not the Dark City expansion which was included with the Fantasy Flight 3rd edition of Citadels.
This edition of the game includes characters and districts from the original game and The Dark City, as well as a brand new cast of 9 characters and 12 completely new districts! Lastly, this edition has new artwork. New characters:
