Disclaimer

I was sent a free copy of The Red Cathedral to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review.

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Table of Contents

What is The Red Cathedral

The critically acclaimed Euro game, The Red Cathedral, is coming to PC and mobile devices. The game launches in the fall, but you can try it now for free until September 6, 2026. Don’t forget to wishlist!

Hook

Tsar Ivan the Terrible has hired teams of builders to build a monument to his greatness. You command one of these teams and do your best to stand out and gain the Tsar’s favor. Gather resources, build segments of the Red Cathedral, and make sure you get enough decorations. The person with the most points by the end of construction wins.

Gameplay

The game is pretty strait forward, with automations for every action. Players take turns performing actions. They can gather resources, build pieces of the cathedral, or decorate. Players continue taking turns until construction is completed. The game offers local, couch co-op for those of you who have the friends to do it, but you can also play online. If you don’t want to deal with the chunkiness of Tabletop Simulator, this is the truest form of playing the game outside of buying the actual board game.

Review

I love playing board games, but the problem is I don’t have friends to play them with. I have a closet full of games that I’ve been storing for when my daughter is old enough to play, but she’ll probably be into sports. I do dabble with Tabletop Simulator when I can make time with my online friends, but that clunkiness is getting hard to justify.

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love TTS! This game has let me try out so many card games and board games that I have neither the space or money for. Its a great program that continues to be a staple on any gamers collection. That said, sometimes I come home tired from a long day and want to play something that works. The Red Cathedrial is a great port of a solid board game that I recommend you get if you enjoy Euro games. I like that everything is automated, and the game has a nice little tutorial to get you started.

Why buy digital?

The issue I have with board games is that they take up space that I really don’t have. I love seeing a shelve full of pretty boxes and books, but I’ve run out of space. I’ve done culling and condensing, but my wife says its still a problem. Digital games sit on your device. You don’t have to worry about cleaning up or setting up, and everything is automated. Nothing beats moving the real pieces around an actual board, but if you’re a fan of The Red Cathedral, you already own it.

I like that the game has local co-op, and it works very nicely, but I think the main use for this game is to play online. As I grow older, it gets harder to get together with my friends. I probably won’t pull this out at the next game night (not that I have the friends for a game night), but I will boot this up and host one online. Playing this over Discord with a couple of beers sounds like a good enough reason to buy this game.

Conclusion

Honestly, if you are looking for a board game to play with your friends online, this game is fine. There is a good amount of strategy involved to make things competitive, it is simple enough for people to pick up quickly (especially if they go through the tutorial, and there is couch co-op for those with the friends to do it. You can also play against the AI, and I felt like the AI was pretty fair. I am not good at this game, but it at least seemed like I always had a chance to win. If you need another avenue to play The Red Cathedral, or just want the board game without needing to figure out storage space, this is a fantastic port coming soon. Make sure you check out the demo before its gone (September 6) and don’t forget to wishlist!

Trailer