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The Red Cathedral
A small box that plays way bigger than it has any right to.
Designed by Sheila Santos and Israel Cendrero · 2020
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One of the best value Euros out there, with a dice rondel that's genuinely clever. Just play it at two or three, not four.
Best for: Euro fans who want real decisions without a doorstop rulebook
What it is
You're builders racing to construct Moscow's St. Basil's Cathedral, and the heart of it is a shared dice rondel called the market. You pick a die, move it forward by its value, and grab the resources where it lands. Then you haul wood, bricks, stone and gold up to your scaffolds, claim cathedral sections, and decorate them for points. Only three actions, but the planning runs deep. That tension is the whole appeal.
The catch
Here's the catch players keep flagging. When you take a resource space, all the dice sitting there get rerolled, so the board you planned around just rearranged itself before your next turn. At two or three players that's spicy and fun. At four it means real downtime, with everyone re-reading the rondel each go. The iconography doesn't help either. Those player board symbols are a known mess, and you'll lean on the back-cover cheat sheet far longer than you'd like.
Who it's for
Get past the symbol fog and a fiddly first setup, and what's left is one of the better small-box Euros you can buy. The decisions are crunchy, the combos off your workshop tiles feel earned, and that little box punches absurdly above its footprint. It's for people who want a thinky Euro without a 19-page slog or a huge table. Skip the Contractors expansion, keep it lean, and play it at two or three.
What other players say
This write-up is grounded in real reviews and player discussion, not just one opinion. A few worth reading:
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