The Red Cathedral (Board Game)

Join the race to build St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow and win the favor of Tsar Ivan the Terrible in The Red Cathedral. As a construction team, your goal is to complete sections of the cathedral with the most impressive decorations and secure your place as the top builders in the city.

Designed by Sheila Santos and Israel Cendrero of Llama Dice, known for their innovative games, and featuring captivating artwork inspired by iconic Russian artist Ivan Bilibin, The Red Cathedral is a strategic Euro-style board game that combines accessible rules with deep strategic gameplay.

Throughout the game, players can choose from three actions: assign a section of the cathedral, send resources to that section for construction, or gather resources from the game board. Each action has its own unique mechanism, requiring careful observation of opponents’ moves.

When sections of the cathedral are assigned, players claim spaces in the columns, working towards completing their sections and earning valuable points. The more sections built and towers completed, the higher the player’s score at the end of the game.

Sending resources to claimed sections allows players to earn rewards in money and prestige points. They can also embellish completed sections with decorations to gain additional recognition from Tsar Ivan. However, players must keep an eye on the game’s clock, as the completion of a sixth section triggers the end of the game.

The game board features the iconic rondel of The Red Cathedral, where players obtain various types of resources and seek favors from guilds and professionals at the market. The central rondel offers a unique dice selection mechanism, determining movement and resource acquisition based on the chosen die face.

The Red Cathedral strikes the perfect balance between accessibility and strategic depth. It offers a satisfying challenge for players who enjoy optimizing their positions and strategic decision-making without getting lost in complex rules.

Embrace the role of master builders and compete for the glory of constructing St. Basil’s Cathedral in The Red Cathedral. Will you be the one to impress Tsar Ivan and secure your place in history?

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