ABOUT CATHEDRAL

CATHEDRAL is a two player board game based around a battle for supremacy between two political factions (dark and light) within the walls of a Mediaeval City. For centuries man has struggled with man for territorial space and when the struggle was won, played games to pass away the interlude. CATHEDRAL represents one of these struggles.

The city is a 10x10 square area surrounded by  parapets (walls) and towers in the style of an ancient defended city. The occupants farm and work outside the city and at night, or during a threat, they retreated to the safety of the city walls. The city is cramped and peasants and lords alike squabble amongst each other to find room in the city. Having carved out a space they are not satisfied and continue to take up residence in other unclaimed space available, and so the battle continues.

The game begins when a player places the Cathedral anywhere in the city, but aligned with the squares. Your objective in CATHEDRAL is to occupy as much space as possible, by then taking turns placing your buildings into the city and preventing your opponent from succeeding by carving off pieces of land called DEDICATING SPACE. A space once surrounded completely by your buildings cannot be occupied by your opponent, the wall may also form part of your capture. The more space you hold the less chance your opponent has to fit his buildings in the city, especially the larger odd shaped pieces.

The winner is the player who places all or most of their buildings within the city. If neither player fully succeeds in doing this, then the winner is determined by counting up the number of squares the remaining pieces would cover and the lowest score wins. An even number of games makes for a fair match.

Cathedral takes a short time to learn but a lifetime to master. Each game is limited to 20 moves each player and takes about 20-30 minutes. Playing a set of games over a period of time is the best way to find to get maximum fun and enjoyment.

THE PIECES Images of the game and the pieces involved

" The Game of the Mediaeval City"
Is property of and copyright © 1978, 1997 Chrisbo I.P. Holdings limited.
The intellectual rights in all parts, name, design and rules is protected by International copyright treaties. No parts may be copied or reproduced in any materials including electronic, multimedia and internet, without the express permission of the owner.