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Cathedral box art

Cathedral

Game ID: GID0062643
Game Info
Year
1979
Collection
Ratings
Creator Score
Mechanic profile
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Vibe profile
Not enough video data yet
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.

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.

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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 7
This page: 7
Sentiment: pos 5 · mix 0 · neu 2 · neg 0
Mentions per page
Showing 1–7 of 7
Video wsEozm3nLxg The Dice Tower Discussion at 45:34 sentiment: neutral
video_pk 82102 · mention_pk 206106
The Dice Tower - Cathedral video thumbnail
Click to watch at 45:34 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
neutral
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • They ended really strong in book three. It was a good ending of sorts and I really liked it.
  • I don't care about it.
  • They have multiple multiple uh points of view which I was fine following the one person.
  • I just found it to be maybe the last book will bring everything back together, but I doubt it. I just don't care anymore.
  • Look, I'm okay with characters dying and things that you need that to progress a story sometimes, but good grief. Does it have to be that bad all the time?
  • The mobs are out there and the mobs are going to hunt you down and no matter what you say.
  • It has definitely become a witch hunt in many ways where people like as soon as they hear the word the letters AI, they're like, 'I'm out.'
  • I think the backlash is and people going and rating games one on BoardGameGeek is kind of ridiculous.
  • That has nothing to do with the game. It really doesn't. That's that's just nonsensical.
  • I'm kind of mind-boggled with how much people complain about prices of games.
  • Yes, games are expensive. They're really expensive to make.
  • You don't go yell at your gas station attendant, you shouldn't when gas goes up. That's not them who are doing it.
  • It should be a friendly place to go to.
  • I always try to put some monkeys in my zoo, period. Just so I can say I have some monkeys.
  • I dislike the cat character a lot and I found it to be okay.
  • But I will warn you, I noticed that a lot of people when they do this, they also forget about the part where they you should make money.
  • Wash it in the shower?
  • If I ran BoardGameGeek, if I saw someone rate a one with a comment of 'I hate what they did here.' I would just delete that rating instantly.
  • I think are you kidding me? This is so nonsensical.
  • I love going to bookstores.
  • Any place that has unique interesting thing, a hot sauce store, a a beef jerky store, whatever.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video i8yAp01_omQ Board to Death TV - Board Game Reviews Review at 3:46 sentiment: positive
video_pk 13688 · mention_pk 39977
Board to Death TV - Board Game Reviews - Cathedral video thumbnail
Click to watch at 3:46 · YouTube ↗
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.
  • End Game Bonuses — Spiral tokens and VP from silver/gold border tiles add layered endgame scoring potential.
  • endgame scoring tokens (spirals) and coin resources — Spiral tokens and VP from silver/gold border tiles add layered endgame scoring potential.
  • Set Collection — Acquire descendant tiles to enable special abilities and endgame scoring options, including coat-of-arms choices.
  • set-collection from descendant tiles — Acquire descendant tiles to enable special abilities and endgame scoring options, including coat-of-arms choices.
  • Tile/Map Shifting — Pushes a row or column of action tiles, creating opportunities to chain effects on a player's turn.
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 in Wales - Board Game Design Top List at 0:16 sentiment: positive
video_pk 12868 · mention_pk 37627
Adam in Wales - Board Game Design - Cathedral video thumbnail
Click to watch at 0:16 · YouTube ↗
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)
  • Area Control
  • Blocking
  • Polyomino
  • polyomino placement
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 The Secret Cabal Gaming Podcast Discussion at 0:35 sentiment: positive
video_pk 10218 · mention_pk 30135
The Secret Cabal Gaming Podcast - Cathedral video thumbnail
Click to watch at 0:35 · YouTube ↗
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 3 Minute Board Games Rules Teach at 5:42 sentiment: neutral
video_pk 8312 · mention_pk 24451
3 Minute Board Games - Cathedral video thumbnail
Click to watch at 5:42 · YouTube ↗
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 Discussion at 2:44 sentiment: positive
video_pk 3469 · mention_pk 10279
Foster the Meeple - Cathedral video thumbnail
Click to watch at 2:44 · YouTube ↗
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 in Wales - Board Game Design Top List at 13:25 sentiment: positive
video_pk 1416 · mention_pk 4110
Adam in Wales - Board Game Design - Cathedral video thumbnail
Click to watch at 13:25 · YouTube ↗
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.
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