Collection Status
Your Rating
Description
In Cathedral, each player has a set of pieces of a different color. The pieces are in the shapes of buildings, covering from one to five square units. The first player takes the single neutral Cathedral piece and places it onto the board. Players then alternate placing one of their buildings onto the board until neither player can place another building. Players capture territory by surrounding areas that are occupied by at most one opponent or neutral building. A captured piece is removed and captured territory becomes off-limits to the opponent. The player with the fewest 'square units' of buildings that can't be placed wins.
Year Published
1979
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 6
This page: 6
Sentiment:
pos 5 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 1 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–6 of 6
Video i8yAp01_omQ
Unknown Channel game_review at 3:46 sentiment: positive
video_pk 13688 · mention_pk 39977
Click to watch at 3:46
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Components are extremely nice and well-made
- Artwork is suitable and helps thematic immersion
- Gameplay is quick to learn and plays smoothly
- Introduces interesting action-push mechanics
- Strong tactical and strategic depth with room for planning
Cons
- There is some luck in the draw of cards and tiles
- Balance issues: some regions/boats/cards appear stronger than others
- Replay value is just okay
- Endgame scoring and region balance can feel uneven
Thematic elements
- civic influence, religion, wealth, and prestige in a powerful city
- Medieval European city-building with religious and political power dynamics
- tile-based economic strategy with action-tile pushes and form-based scoring
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action tile pushing — Pushes a row or column of action tiles, creating opportunities to chain effects on a player's turn.
- card discard and play options — Discard cards for top effects or play them in front of you to build up VP over rounds.
- city-quarter and seal placement — Place seals in city quarters to gain corresponding effects; manage river and docks for movement and scoring.
- endgame scoring tokens (spirals) and coin resources — Spiral tokens and VP from silver/gold border tiles add layered endgame scoring potential.
- set-collection from descendant tiles — Acquire descendant tiles to enable special abilities and endgame scoring options, including coat-of-arms choices.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- ohm is a good game with a score of 7 point 5 out of 10
- components are extremely nice with this Cathedral
- the game doesn't drag on as most euros
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video yyh3AEk4Jvg
Adam Porter's Board Game Channel top_10_list at 0:16 sentiment: positive
video_pk 12868 · mention_pk 37627
Click to watch at 0:16
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- amazing sculpted plastic pieces
- feels like creating a city
- beautiful components
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- cityscape
- architecture
- abstract
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- these games have amazing table presence by which i mean people are going to glance across the room and go what is that person playing and i want to play all these games
- stacking games have table presence like nothing else
- looks beautiful it looks like a load of sweets on the board
- one of my favorite games of all time
- i don't like that sort of game i find that one of the most frustrating game mechanisms
- the central marble dispenser is your main draw in this game
- absolutely brilliant strategic game quite complex game
- it's actually my favorite of the mask trilogy
- i'm almost scared to say this but i don't really like azul very much
- biggest most overlooked game on this list
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video EdwCefUz6LI
Jamie's Game Channel game_collection_showcase at 0:35 sentiment: positive
video_pk 10218 · mention_pk 30135
Click to watch at 0:35
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Beautiful wooden components
- Strategic spatial gameplay
- Quick playing
- Visually appealing
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Spatial urban development
- Medieval city with interlocking buildings
- Abstract strategy
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- spatial placement — Players place buildings around a central cathedral, trying to block opponent's moves
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Looking into the future 50 years from now our kids or our nieces and nephews are gonna be rummaging around in our closet
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video g72rzsklyI0
Three Minute Board Games rules_teach at 5:42 sentiment: neutral
video_pk 8312 · mention_pk 24451
Click to watch at 5:42
Overall sentiment (raw)
neutral
Pros
none
Cons
- Early worker placement game
- Didn't set the world on fire
Thematic elements
- architecture
- medieval
Comparison games
- Bus
- Aladdin's Dragons
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
No quotes stored for this video.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video _hc8JbbRCK8
Foster the Meeple general_discussion at 2:44 sentiment: positive
video_pk 3469 · mention_pk 10279
Click to watch at 2:44
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- highly strategic and puzzle-like
- outdoor-friendly and visually appealing, especially Cathedral World
- compact and elegant abstract with clear depth
Cons
- can become solved with perfect play
- some players may find the rules dense or the blocking logic punishing
Thematic elements
- territory control and territorial confinement
- grid-based placement with wall-building, two opposing sides
- abstract
Comparison games
- Wall
- Cathedral World
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- area/territory control — walls and piece placement determine controlled regions orthogonally
- tile/piece placement — place polyomino-like pieces to fill the board and create walls that enclose territory
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's 100% strategy you are just trying to optimize the placement of your pieces and trying to block the other person
- it's the cutest version of a chess like game
- Santorini is probably one of the closest like direct comparisons
- Go which is probably even older than chess and more popular than chess
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video Ra36ogUFmdo
Adam Porter top_10_list at 13:25 sentiment: positive
video_pk 1416 · mention_pk 4110
Click to watch at 13:25
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Direct competition on a shared space increases tension.
- Elegant tile placement with blocking dynamics.
Cons
- Older title; may feel dated to some players.
Thematic elements
- Urban grid and cathedral construction
- Two-player shared-grid board
- competitive, architectural
Comparison games
- Baron Park
- Blockus
- Patchwork
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- blocking strategy — Blocking opponents from sections of the grid
- shared grid, two-player interaction — Players place tiles to claim grid spaces against each other
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a conundrum for board game designers trying to capture the magic of tetris
- this is a domino it's a tile made up of two squares and they're great
- it's a toolbox for you as a game designer which of these mechanisms do you want to employ in your own polyomino game
- the rules explain that cave people don't like abstract art they want their animal paintings correctly oriented
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–6 of 6