Cyclades

[Brel]

CYCLADES

Ancient Greeks had it really rough. For one thing, no pants. I know the Mediterranean is supposed to be mild, but sooner or later, it's got to get cold enough to make you wish you had some insulation on the ol' man gear. And if the fact that all the men had to wear skirts wasn't bad enough, they couldn't do a damned thing without getting permission from a whole panoply of tempermental deities.

You can see all the unpleasant crap Greeks had to put up with when you play Cyclades. Each player gets one of the divided nation-states of Greece and fights over islands and waterways while the gods pick at them and monsters eat their soldiers (technically, in Cyclades, only the harpy eats soldiers, but the other critters are still pretty mean-spirited). You can't so much as row a boat without getting the sign-off from one god or another, and since the fickle gods would only help one city at a time, you have to drop mad coin to make one or the other pay attention long enough to build a public toilet.

On the surface, Cyclades looks like a big-fight-on-a-map game. You have little soldiers, and you have boats, and you can have fights on land and sea. But unlike most games where you're fighting over a map, only one person every turn is going to get to do any particular action. Like if you want to attack someone, you have to bribe the crap out of Ares, and then nobody else will get the chance. Want to build a boat? Better get Poseidon on your side, or you're not building so much as a rubber life raft.

There are four different gods, plus Apollo, who is apparently a total wiener, because he does almost nothing for you and mostly just makes you suck for one turn. But on any given turn, there are exactly as many gods available as there are players, which means someone has to pick Apollo. This limited access to actions means that you'll be taking turns outbidding each other just for the chance to train a priest.

Not only do you have to pay attention to what you want to do on your turn, but you have to keep in mind that the first god in the line-up (which changes every turn) gives you first dibs on the mythological creatures that can totally wreak havoc on the game. So even if you didn't want to take a turn with Athena and educate some philosophers (who, by the way, look like Kenny Rogers), you may want to adjust your strategy so that you have the first crack at grabbing up the minotaur.

The funny thing is, with all these ugly beat-downs, the goal of the game requires absolutely no violence at all - you just have to build to metropolises. And you never have to do any violence to do that. You just call on Athena to train up some philosophers, and eventually they talk so much that buildings appear (I hear that happened in Athens all the time). Or you build four different kinds of buildings by calling on each of the four gods that actually do something, and then you have a metropolis. The only problem is, as soon as you have one of these super-cities, it's open season. So even if you didn't want to fight, as soon as you look like you have a chance to win, you'll be painting a target on your forehead.

One thing is important to keep in mind - this is not a nice game. I mean, it looks absolutely freaking gorgeous, and it's a butt-ton of fun (and that's an English butt-ton, not metric, so it's bigger), but you cannot play this game if you're not willing to whack somebody now and then. Brutal bidding wars, sudden invasions and downright mean monster attacks make this one of the most in-your-face, attack-your-friends games that ever came out of Europe. Sure, Space Hulk might have more bloodshed, but it's got nothing on the outright hostility you'll need to play Cyclades. If actual Greeks curb-stomped each other as often as these Greeks, it's no surprise they didn't have pants - they would have been changing them every ten minutes.

I mentioned this is a good-looking game, but I may not have emphasized it enough. Every color has a different sculpt for their boats and their soldiers. Five of the monsters are represented by awesome plastic miniatures. The art that decorates everything from the rulebook and cards to the boards and tiles, is stunning. The amount of work that went into making Cyclades a sweet-ass piece of eye-candy makes my head hurt just thinking about it. I mean, this is a flat-out pretty game.

I can't recommend Cyclades for every gamer alive. Some of you are going to complain about the bidding cycles and resource allocation, screaming about how real men don't play Euro games. Some of you are going to be a little put off by the fact that this game makes little girls cry. But if you're not above a little face-stabbing in your games, and you like to play awesome games, you really owe it to yourself to give Cyclades a chance. It's brutal, but holy sweet Mary, is it fun.

Summary:

Pros:

• Intense bidding wars
• Lots of options means lots of ways to make mistakes
• Fantastic production value
• Plan carefully, or your luck will change in an instant

Cons:

• Seriously brutal (may be a pro)

Source:
http://drakesflames.blogspot.com/2010/04/board-game-review-cyclades.html

[Brel]

Video Review by Tom Vasel

[Brel]

Cyclades may be the more appropriate game I am expecting when I played Mare Nostrum with the Mythological Expansion.  Would definitely like to try this out. 

[maskmanjoe]

WANTZ FOR THE MINIS!

[Brel]

I plan to get this one for myself sana.  Ganda ng components and puro positive reviews nababasa ko. 

[Brel]

Several years in a row, Bruno Cathala and Ludovic Maublanc brought at my ludopathic gathering a large and impressive prototype, Cyclades. I had playtested the first version, which was still a bit long and unbalanced. The game has now been published by Matagot, in a big box like that of Giants of Easter Island, with great looking miniatures and gorgeous graphics by Miguel Coimbra. I’ve been impressed by the components, but even more by the game, which has been streamlined a lot since I had first played it – it feels simpler, lighter and faster, but it’s still as deep and rich.

The large and roughly circular board pictures the Aegean sea and its mosaic of islands. Players move their ships and armies, recruit priests and philosophers, offer sacrifices to the Gods of Olympus, and sometimes summon mythological beasts such as Medusa, Sirens or the Minotaur. A lot of stuff, certainly, but not a complex game. Cyclades has simple and straightforward rules, and plays fast and smoothly. It’s half German-style development game, the goal being to build two cities, half American style war game, with rolling dice for battles. It’s also an auction game. The gods’ favor is requested for some critical actions, such as recruiting soldiers, building ships, attacking, hiring priests and philosophers. Every turn, each god will only grand his favor to the highest bidder, the player who makes the most expensive offering. This means that only one player every turn can recruit soldiers, build ships, attack, etc… Mythical creatures also come to a price in gold. Cyclades is a very tense game with few actions and few battles, but in which every action, every battle is critical.

Cyclades is both a development game and a war game, what hardcore gamers call a “civilization” game. It’s a light, but also a very tense one. Most of all, it’s probably the most fun, fast paced and dynamic of all civilization games."

~ Bruno Faidutti

Source: faidutti.com

[maskmanjoe]

I plan to get this one for myself sana.  Ganda ng components and puro positive reviews nababasa ko. 

The components are calling to me as well. I soooooo really wish I could paint minis. The ones at BGG look extra great

[Brel]

I think Cyclades will be nice to include in any collection.  This one will be the brutal euro-wargame with easy to learn rules!    The theme is just ideal for the type of game that it is.

[maskmanjoe]

I have a little worry about replayability and scalability, and if the smaller board is enough to scale well for fewer players. Nevertheless, I'm all for trying it out just because of the kickass Kraken (sure, its not as cool as the one in the latest Clash of the Titans movie, but I'm sure any meeple would cower in fear )

[JayMata]

This is so going on my want list Here's to hoping that a windfall comes my way

[Brel]

Let's try this out in Hobby Mania when my copy arrives. 

[JayMata]

Let's try this out in Hobby Mania when my copy arrives. 

cool

[painkiller]

I'll probably have a copy of this and Claustrophobia up for sale if my preorders (which i forgot to cancel) arrive in July.

[Brel]

CYCLADES, the new Asmodee/Matagot game from veteran designers Bruno Cathala and Ludovic Maublanc, is quite a surprise. I came into my first test game expecting to enjoy it because it seemed to make the most of its Grecian fantasy setting with great-looking artwork, multifaceted and thematic gameplay, and some really awesome figures including the best Kraken I’ve seen to date in a board game. What was surprising was not only how good the game actually was, but also how robust the design turned out to be.

CYCLADES is a kind of game that is surprisingly rare in the hobby field, one that has fairly stripped-down, back-to-basics rules but with a hearty stew of elements including direct player competition, development, and economics. There are action cards, auctions, and little plastic soldiers fighting for land. You can play it defensively or go all-out on the offensive. There’s collection mechanics and even a little negotiation if your group warrants it. It would be tough to say that this is a game for everybody regardless of their taste in games, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t pretty close to that estimation.

Set among islands in the Aegean sea in a Grecian world that is as much Edith Hamilton as it is Herodotus, CYCLADES tasks players with creating two metropolises from either a set of four buildings, each honoring a particular deity, or rounding up four Philosophers. The map is mostly sea so naval maneuvers and transport (and homage to Poseidon) are essential. Small islands feature a couple of building sites and possibly a Prosperity marker indicating that the island provides an income. Unit count is low and clutter is at a minimum- the geography and very high-level scale keeps the proceeding tight and focused.

In each round, four large god tiles are shuffled and players bid to pay tribute to them. Once a player is outbid, they immediately rebid on another god or bump down to Apollo, who is apparently the god of the broke-as-a-joke as he provides the destitute with a dollar and a new Prosperity marker to place on one of the islands to increase its value. The gods serve as an action/role selection mechanic as well, with each imparting exclusive rights to one of the game’s four principle actions. Zeus allows the player to buy Priest cards that provide discounts for future bidding. Ares is your man when you need to move or buy troops. Poseidon gets your shipyards working and your boats sailing. Athena doesn’t really do anything, but she’ll let you buy Philosophers and four of those net a metropolis. Each god also has a particular building that can be built when the player is their patron, and that’s primarily how you win the game.

It’s all pretty easy—the rules are extremely brief and there isn’t any bloat disguised as “clever mechanics” or indulgent folderol intended to make the game feel bigger or more strategic than it really is. The only other mechanics are a simple die-based combat scheme and the ability to purchase monster cards, which is where the game gets a little crazy—the good kind of crazy. The monsters are fun and add some nasty and dangerous effects that you’re going to want to save your money for; using the Pegasus to airdrop a load of infantry on a finished metropolis that an opponent has neglected to defend is awfully satisfying, and anyone who has ever seen either version of CLASH OF THE TITANS is going to find it hard to resist uttering the classic “Release the Kraken!” line when that critter pops up and capsizes a couple of boats sitting on a trade route space.

Cruising in at around 60 minutes at most tables, the biggest risk a game like this takes in attempting to pack in such a broad scope is in failing to provide the players with a sense of a complete narrative and developmental curve. Too often in games of this class I hear (and often say) that the game ends before it gets good. CYCLADES dodges this bullet fairly well and most games I’ve played have felt complete and extremely satisfying given the minimal time investment and rules weight, but there is a certain volatility that can lead to games ending abruptly or anti-climactically.

To the game’s credit, I’ve also noticed that this is usually the case with new players that fail to recognize the power of some of the creature cards or that don’t get that the guy with a metropolis and a half has to be brought down at all costs. In certain groups too I’ve seen that the game plays very differently. Eurogamers will focus more on the bidding and economic elements, favoring a slower development curve. Ameritrash gamers will tend to make more use of the armies and fleets and take over what they can’t build for themselves.

The game scales extremely well thanks to a modular map and specific starting set-ups for two, three, four, and five players. However, in games with fewer players less god tiles are turned up each turn so it is entirely possible- as happened in my last three player game- that a god may not be available much or even at all during a game. We played a complete game with Ares never once showing his face, so there was absolutely no land combat whatsoever. It was interesting and required different strategies, particularly in getting the fortresses built, but it was also kind of disappointing because that facet of the game simply wasn’t represented.

CYCLADES is a great-looking production; I was extremely impressed with the look of the game and the quality of the components. The creature figures look fantastic, and miniatures painters will have some fun bringing Medusa and her pals to life with a little color. Each player color features different sculpts for its land and naval units, a nice touch that everyone notices and seems to appreciate. At a $60 retail price, it feels exactly right given the component quality and density.

It’s just the right mix of the baroque and the epic, the minimalist and the streamlined. It may not be as detailed or complex as MARE NOSTRUM and it may not have the depth or range of options that a larger game of that caliber might provide, but CYCLADES does what it sets out to accomplish extremely well and it is a welcome respite from many recent designs that have been a little on the ‘fatty’ side. It’s also an accessible game that can be easily taught quickly so that the fun can get underway. There’s a lot to be said for a design that does what this game does in terms of providing a multilayered, big-feeling experience without the need for a billion different components, overwrought rules, or decadently rich production; it reminds me a lot of the old German games in a way, but it may just be the surprise of encountering something so editorial in an age where that concept has been surmounted by the excessive. As it stands today, CYCLADES is easily the best game that I have played to date in 2010.

~ By Michael Barnes

Source: gameshark.com

[maskmanjoe]

great article! Makes me look forward to releasing the Kraken myself