The Red Cathedral has made the jump from the tabletop to PC and mobile, giving competitive builders another way to argue over resources without taking over the dining table. Devir’s digital adaptation is out today, 11 November, on Steam, iOS and Android, with cross-platform multiplayer for up to four players.
The aim is to earn the Tsar’s favour by contributing to the construction of a cathedral. Players claim sections, gather the materials needed to build them and decide how to decorate their work, all while keeping an eye on the influence of the clergy and the city’s guilds. The winner is the player who finishes with the most prestige, which is a considerably more flattering measurement than “person who hoarded the most useful stuff”.
It is a turn-based strategy game with resource management at its centre. The cathedral may be a shared project, but the competition is very much personal: contributing to the same monument does not mean everyone gets equal credit when the work is done.
The digital edition supports local and online multiplayer, including invitations for friends and matches against other players. Cross-play should make organising a session easier when one person is on a computer and someone else would rather use their phone.
Solo players have three AI difficulty levels to choose from, while a step-by-step tutorial is included for anyone discovering the game through this adaptation. The artwork has also been adapted and expanded from the physical version, keeping the board game’s illustrated character on screen.
At the time of writing, Steam’s UK listing shows a standard price of £8.99, reduced to £7.19 by a 20% introductory offer running until 25 November. Mobile pricing varies by store and region.
If your group enjoys planning a few moves ahead and quietly undermining one another’s impressive construction projects, this could be a useful new addition to game night. At least the digital version should stop anyone accidentally knocking the resources onto the floor.