You are a tribe of the islands known as the Cyclades Archipelago, in the golden age of ancient Greece. With the blessing of the gods of Olympus, and with the aid of powerful mythological creatures, you must recruit troops, buiild ships, erect fortresses and construct great Metropolises! The struggle to bring your people to their highest glory will be legendary!
Cyclades is a clever hybrid boardgame by designers Bruno Cathala and Ludovic Maublanc. It combines Risk-like tactical area control ("dudes on a map") with mechanics more common in modern "Euro" style games, such as auction bidding, catch-up mechanics and diverse victory pathways. The result is a unique and enormously enjoyable romp of a game that plays quickly, and often converges to an absolutely nail-biting finish!
Victory requires the player to build two Metropolises. Each turn, the players bid for the favors of the gods, as only one player can have the favor of each god per turn - and each player is also limited to the favor of a single god per turn.
- Ares allows the movement of player armies and the building of Fortresses.
- Poseidon allows players to move their navies and build Ports.
- Zeus allows his followers to hire priests and build temples.
- Athena provides her worshipers with philosophers and universities.
- Apollo increases the income of his worshipers.
The rules for the game can be downloaded
here.
Colin's Thoughts: I've owned Cyclades since it was first printed, and it is still one of my favourites. After all, how many games demand that you cry out "Release the Kraken!!"?
