Cathedral / Similar games

18 games like Cathedral

The best games like Cathedral are Azul, Dragon Castle and Calico — the closest of 18 ranked alternatives, scored by shared mechanics and category. Azul shares abstract strategy, pattern building, tile placement with Cathedral.

Every alternative below links to its own Cathedral-style fact page, drawn from MeeplePick’s abstract strategy shelf.

Ranked by shared category (3 pts) and mechanics (2 pts), bonus within 0.7 of Cathedral’s 1.8 weight, then BoardGameGeek’s Bayesian rating — one entry per series, 18 shown.

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1. 1. Azul (2017)
   2–4 players · 30–45 min · ★ 7.8 · Medium-light
   Shares with Cathedral: Abstract Strategy, Pattern Building, Tile Placement · 2 of Cathedral’s 4 mechanics (50%)
   vs Cathedral: both play at 2 · scales to 4 · ~18 min longer · same complexity
   View Azul on Amazon →
2. 2. Dragon Castle (2017)
   2–4 players · 30–45 min · ★ 7.2 · Medium-light
   Shares with Cathedral: Abstract Strategy, Pattern Building, Pattern Recognition, Tile Placement · 3 of Cathedral’s 4 mechanics (75%)
   vs Cathedral: both play at 2 · scales to 4 · ~18 min longer · +0.2 heavier
   View Dragon Castle on Amazon →
3. 3. Calico (2020)
   1–4 players · 30–45 min · ★ 7.9 · Medium-light
   Shares with Cathedral: Abstract Strategy, Enclosure, Pattern Building · 2 of Cathedral’s 4 mechanics (50%)
   vs Cathedral: both play at 2 · plays solo · scales to 4 · ~18 min longer · +0.4 heavier
   View Calico on Amazon →
4. 4. Mensa Connections (2004)
   1–4 players · 45 min · ★ 7.1 · Medium-light
   Shares with Cathedral: Abstract Strategy, Pattern Building, Tile Placement · 2 of Cathedral’s 4 mechanics (50%)
   vs Cathedral: both play at 2 · plays solo · scales to 4 · ~25 min longer · same complexity
5. 5. Travel Blokus (2000)
   2–4 players · 20 min · ★ 6.9 · Medium-light
   Shares with Cathedral: Abstract Strategy, Enclosure, Tile Placement · 2 of Cathedral’s 4 mechanics (50%)
   vs Cathedral: both play at 2 · scales to 4 · about the same length · same complexity
6. 6. Qwirkle Cubes (2009)
   2–4 players · 45 min · ★ 6.6 · Medium-light
   Shares with Cathedral: Abstract Strategy, Pattern Building, Pattern Recognition, Tile Placement · 3 of Cathedral’s 4 mechanics (75%)
   vs Cathedral: both play at 2 · scales to 4 · ~25 min longer · 0.2 lighter
7. 7. Cottage Garden (2016)
   1–4 players · 45–60 min · ★ 6.9 · Medium-light
   Shares with Cathedral: Abstract Strategy, Pattern Building, Tile Placement · 2 of Cathedral’s 4 mechanics (50%)
   vs Cathedral: both play at 2 · plays solo · scales to 4 · ~33 min longer · same complexity
8. 8. Patchwork Winter Edition (2014)
   2 players · 15–30 min · ★ 7.7 · Medium-light
   Shares with Cathedral: Abstract Strategy, Tile Placement · 1 of Cathedral’s 4 mechanics (25%)
   vs Cathedral: both play at 2 · about the same length · 0.2 lighter
9. 9. Orchard A 9 card solitaire game (2018)
   1 players · 5–10 min · ★ 7.5 · Light
   Shares with Cathedral: Abstract Strategy, Pattern Building, Tile Placement · 2 of Cathedral’s 4 mechanics (50%)
   vs Cathedral: no player-count overlap (1–1 vs 2–2) · plays solo · ~12 min shorter · 0.6 lighter
10. 10. Qwirkle Collector's Edition (2006)
    2–4 players · 45 min · ★ 6.8 · Medium-light
    Shares with Cathedral: Abstract Strategy, Pattern Building, Tile Placement · 2 of Cathedral’s 4 mechanics (50%)
    vs Cathedral: both play at 2 · scales to 4 · ~25 min longer · 0.2 lighter
11. 11. NMBR 9 (2017)
    1–4 players · 20 min · ★ 6.9 · Light
    Shares with Cathedral: Abstract Strategy, Pattern Building, Tile Placement · 2 of Cathedral’s 4 mechanics (50%)
    vs Cathedral: both play at 2 · plays solo · scales to 4 · about the same length · 0.6 lighter
12. 12. Crystallo (2018)
    1 players · 20–30 min · ★ 7.1 · Medium-light
    Shares with Cathedral: Abstract Strategy, Pattern Building, Pattern Recognition, Tile Placement · 3 of Cathedral’s 4 mechanics (75%)
    vs Cathedral: no player-count overlap (1–1 vs 2–2) · plays solo · about the same length · same complexity
13. 13. Winning Together (1991)
    2 players · 20 min · ★ 6.9 · Medium-light
    Shares with Cathedral: Abstract Strategy, Pattern Building, Pattern Recognition · 2 of Cathedral’s 4 mechanics (50%)
    vs Cathedral: both play at 2 · about the same length · same complexity
14. 14. Vigor Blokus (2005)
    2 players · 15 min · ★ 6.8 · Medium-light
    Shares with Cathedral: Abstract Strategy, Enclosure, Tile Placement · 2 of Cathedral’s 4 mechanics (50%)
    vs Cathedral: both play at 2 · about the same length · same complexity
15. 15. IOTA (2012)
    2–4 players · 30 min · ★ 6.2 · Medium-light
    Shares with Cathedral: Abstract Strategy, Pattern Building, Pattern Recognition, Tile Placement · 3 of Cathedral’s 4 mechanics (75%)
    vs Cathedral: both play at 2 · scales to 4 · ~10 min longer · same complexity
16. 16. Ingenious Travel Edition (2006)
    2 players · 30 min · ★ 7.1 · Medium-light
    Shares with Cathedral: Abstract Strategy, Pattern Building, Tile Placement · 2 of Cathedral’s 4 mechanics (50%)
    vs Cathedral: both play at 2 · ~10 min longer · same complexity
17. 17. Blokus Trigon (2006)
    2–4 players · 20 min · ★ 6.9 · Medium-light
    Shares with Cathedral: Abstract Strategy, Enclosure, Tile Placement · 2 of Cathedral’s 4 mechanics (50%)
    vs Cathedral: both play at 2 · scales to 4 · about the same length · same complexity
18. 18. Rumis (2003)
    2–4 players · 15–20 min · ★ 6.8 · Medium-light
    Shares with Cathedral: Abstract Strategy, Enclosure, Tile Placement · 2 of Cathedral’s 4 mechanics (50%)
    vs Cathedral: both play at 2 · scales to 4 · about the same length · same complexity

Looking for the original? See the full Cathedral fact page — players, play time, age and complexity.