Cyclades

Game: Cyclades
Designer: Bruno Cathala & Ludovic Maublanc
Publisher: Asmodee
# of Players: 2-5
Approx. Running Time: 90 minutes

Style: Greek Mythology Territory Control
Mechanics: Area Control/Influence, Auction/Bidding, Card Drafting, Dice Rolling

Publisher Description:In this latest collaboration between Bruno Cathala and Ludovic Maublanc, players must buy the favor of the gods in their race to be the first player to build two cities in the Ancient Greek island group known as the Cyclades.

Victory requires respect for all the gods – players cannot afford to sacrifice to only one god, but must pay homage to each of five gods in turn. 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.

Leo’s Thoughts: Cyclades is a fun little strategy game, best played with a full complement of people. The amount of things you can do on any given turn is simple, and so it’s fairly easy to learn. Because the the map fills up quick and forces you to bump elbows with your neighbors the game tends to push you into action, making it play relatively quickly since it’s in no one’s best interest to simply sit still and consolidate. Despite sharing traits with some ‘pure’ strategy games, like Eclipse for instance, Cyclades still supports various elements of luck and chance that can turn the tides, such as mythical creature auctions, making it a bit more light hearted. While some people hold that against the game, I say the ability to unleash the Kraken on your fellow players more than makes up for it.

BGG Entry: Cyclades