Cyclades Review - Bidding & Battling With Ancient Gods

[@mbp21000]

I really like your way of reviewing the games. Pointing out what other people might not like is very valuable take. Keep up the good work.

[@BoardGameCo]

Thank you!

[@thomashoeg-jensen4136]

Cyclades is stellar - and the rules are 6 pages! Just brilliant. Ok if using expansions, its more, but a game this "complex" in 6 pages? Ridicoulous good.

[@lukejw11]

Great to see Cyclades getting done love. It’s one of my family’s favourites.

[@BoardGameCo]

It's so good :)

[@TheMartinChronicles]

I've watched a couple of reviews on this today and you sir have pushed me off of the fence. Sold! Thanks Alex.

[@keifaleif883]

My favorite game of all time!!! Great review

[@BoardGameCo]

Nice! I love this game.

[@Gathanokos]

I got this game after watching your video a few weeks back and finally got to play it, proving that all the points you've made were indeed true! I loved the game in general but "pull back the winner again again and again until someone breaks through" is exactly what happened :P We thought the game was about to end in less than an hour when someone almost pulled off his first two metropolises...and this happened for literally all players and finally when everyone was at the edge of winner one actually did. XD

[@WendyGa]

Great review. This is also one of my favourite games which, alas, only very rarely hits the table. I love the mix of bidding mixed with area control. It looks great and the theme comes across. It's definitely a game that deserves a look if you weren't aware of it before.

[@bardsamok9221]

Why rarely?

[@Unreal_BE]

On my list of to buy one day. I got kemet on your recommendations and love it. I was listening to this with headphones and needed to keep checking if my daughter was awake and walking upstairs, turns out your mic picked up your kids pretty well ;)

[@dav1dgear]

Sneaking a win is actually one of the things that I love about the games. It make the game epic. As for the king maker stuff, that's why you don't know the amount of gold everyone has. It reduce the chances of being king maker I agree with the stomp thing, it can be brutal when you are down or when other players all target you.

[@Slumpitch]

another great video. Keep it up ! Congratz

[@BoardGameCo]

Thanks!

[@Slumpitch]

@@BoardGameCo Stop commenting my comments ! Lol

[@chrismichael9556]

I know this is cyclades but im excited about the new kemet that was kickstartered last year!!

[@BoardGameCo]

Same here :)

[@DamienMcKinnon]

So glad you've put a fresh review out for this game considering it's dropped to 180 on BGG and likely to be overlooked. Easily one of my top 10's and the most played game in my collection due to its accessibility, game length & tension/fun factor.

[@BoardGameCo]

180 for a game this age is solid :)

[@DamienMcKinnon]

@@BoardGameCo I totally agree. But most newcomers would likely base their purchasing decisions on the highest rated games ie top 100 instead of taking a risk with something rated lower. Hence why I'm glad you brought it back into the spotlight again 👍

[@kriba6755]

Cyclades is also one of my favourites. A game that also combines bidding and area control is Tammany Hall. A cutthroat area control euro. Also one of my favourites

[@frankhaselhorst9368]

Alex, Daniel on the Dungeon Dive is a great guy focusing on dungeon crawls (primarily). I would love it if you reached out to do a video or podcast with Daniel on dungeon crawls games. His channel obviously gets less viewers because it is specific to his loves. It would be neat and different (ahem. Entertaining).

[@johnpanagos5835]

Great game. Love it! I agree, I love this Matagot Trilogy. I will be there too for Cyclades and Inis (though Inis seems to already be in a good version).

[@bardsamok9221]

Metal inis pieces please and some different cards, same vibe, similar art

[@PaulMazzoni]

I have been looking into getting this (which looks like will need to be a used copy), and this was a very thorough review that has me thinking about whether it's right for me. Thanks for the excellent review!

[@shanerion]

There’s a new edition in the works, so you might want to wait for that

[@PaulMazzoni]

@@shanerion What are your sources as I’m not finding anything about a new version? I saw someone speculate but that’s it.

[@shanerion]

@@PaulMazzoni Bruno cathala posted a picture of the new board on Facebook saying it was for new Cyclades. Someone must have scolded him from the company, so he pulled down the description, but I believe the picture still remains

[@brent272]

One of my favorite games!

[@BoardGameCo]

It's so good!

[@vladycavret2886]

If you like area control and bidding, you should take a look at Dune (reprinted by gale force 9). It has also asymétric powers, battle wheel instead of dice. My favorite in this gender.

[@BillyIndiana]

This one has been on my wishlist for quite awhile. I love Inis & Kemet, but my wife does not like Kemet & is only willing to play Inis on rare occasions, so I suspect it will usually just sit on the shelf. Maybe when we can gather in groups again, I can find a gaming group to join. Thanks for the review👍

[@ProfOfHifi]

Games in order of fun factor: 1 Inis, 2 Cyclades, 3 Kemet. I only have Inis in my collection anymore. I also like the bidding of Cyclades as the best bidding mechanic in any game. In a away i still would like to have it. I just hate that one teleport card which always ends the game. I understand why its there, but i dont like it. Cyclades gets better with expansions.

[@BoardGameCo]

Yep, worst case scenario I've heard people house ruling the pegasus as only carrying two troops

[@roland124rt4]

Nice video, I wish there were more camera shots/editing though.

[@BoardGameCo]

Same :) one day, when I have more bandwidth.

[@andrewclifton1233]

How would you prioritize the expansions?

[@BoardGameCo]

Titans. Then Hades.

[@ShelfClutter]

I had no idea Bruno Cathala co-designed this 😍 This just moved way up on my "must play" list. I wonder if madagot intends to re-release this on KS like they did with kemet. Thanks!

[@DamienMcKinnon]

Just get the original version if it's still available, I doubt they could improve on the artwork in this game, its absolutely gorgeous.

[@bardsamok9221]

Did you see the cyclades KS yet? New version out next year!

[@bardsamok9221]

And they didn't wreck the board like with Kemet haha

[@ShelfClutter]

@@bardsamok9221 I did and I am a backer 😁

[@sieq82]

Hi Alex, quick question in 4 player game is the 4th good constantly unavialable or only during the first two cycles ? Otherwise thanks for review. This game is a gem and even my 60 year old mom liked it a lot and she much prefers usually playing Azul :)

[@BoardGameCo]

In a 4 player game one god is always cycling.

[@sieq82]

@@BoardGameCo thanks for clarification. Which expansion would you recommend as a follow up Hades or Titans ?

[@TheMartinChronicles]

@@sieq82 you might check out the SU&SD review of Cyclades:Titans. They lean heavily toward Titans over Hades.

[@thomasvanh9578]

The problem with Athena is that the building has no effect. Gibe it one and she is as powerful as zeus i think. Something else. Can you compare with Rurik? Its both with auction bidding and area control but still trying to do lots of other things like building an empire out of the war idea? This one iz more war inspired in my opinion, lr sm i wrong?

[@BoardGameCo]

Rurik has a very different feeling, both solid though.

[@jakesanders9834]

Yeah, I got the Kickstarter for Kemet. Hesitant to get Cyclades and Inis because of the "maybe" for future Kickstarters. So I patiently wait.

[@oerthling]

Cyclades seems like a likely candidate for Matagots next KS. Inis OTOH seems unlikely to me to hit KS in the foreseeable future. Cyclades is older, out of print and in need of a cleanup, together with its expansions. Inis OTOH is in very good shape and just recently had a fresh printing.

[@oerthling]

@Patrick White I'm going by many comments that say that they either don't use the expansions or have some issues with them.

[@oerthling]

@Patrick White But then your own argument undermines your position. If Cyclades needs ALL expansions then it definitely needs a cleanup.

[@oerthling]

@Patrick White I (and that will be true for many people) can not try everything. So we use various informations as filter. Will I condemn a game before playing it? Of course not. Will I use reviews and comments as a filter to decide what games to get? Obviously. I own Kemet and Inis and like them both (Inis is one of my favorite games). There are aspects about Cyclades that both make me interested and less interested. On the plus side Cyclades looks interesting, looks nice and the power/action bidding looks good. On the down side I have many games that do similar things and are likely better. I'm still interested in getting it, but it seems out of print. It's not available from Matador or local shops. I would have to hunt for it on ebay. But I'm not motivated enough to pay extra for used copies. So a fresh edition on KS would be a good opportunity. All I said above is that it looks like Cyclades is more in need of a cleanup than Inis - which is why I think it's much more likely than Inis to be Matagots next KS. And this thread is below a video where a fan of the game (top 20 for Alex who has near 300 games in his collection) listed a couple of flaws in the base game. And that goes along with many comments I have read over the years criticizing various aspects of the expansions. Nobody says the expansions are bad or that the base isn't fun. It's overall a highly rated game. But even highly rated games can profit from a refresh (see Kemet for example - initiative has already been tweaked several times). Your argument that people criticizing aspects of expansions should use them all is not as convincing a counter-argument to a refresh as you seem to think. And has nothing to do with whether the base game is still a fine game or not (nobody said otherwise).

[@oerthling]

@Patrick White One paragraph I think we have very similar to tastes in boardgames and the next you confuse me with not being very interested in area control games. ;) I also like RS a lot (paid way too much for the KS parts on ebay :) ). Not having played Cyclades I can't be sure. And I do think that Cyclades is likely worthwhile to have. But area control games and/or games with bidding that I likely enjoy more: Inis, RS, Dune, Kemet. Soon(ish) Ankh.

[@cobisari]

How would you rate the three (+ crossover with kemet) expansions? Would you consider reviewing those as well?

[@manojgowda8195]

Hi bro I don't know will you reply I just want to shoot few questions 1)apart from kraken can we place other figurines wherever I want in the board?or only in the spaces I control? 2)how exactly the territory token works?

[@iggyflop3777]

Is it very good for 2 players ?

[@BoardGameCo]

It's better with more, 3-5, for myself even 4-5.

[@iggyflop3777]

@@BoardGameCo Thank you

[@negoc78]

You forgot about Rurik ;) that one you have :)

[@BoardGameCo]

Oh man Rurik is great too :)

[@richardcarneski8789]

My fave of the Matagot 3. By far the least forgiving of the three, everything is so precise and elegant in this game. Not for this who are afraid to put an absolute value on actions.

[@oerthling]

Interesting. The opposite of my view. Inis > Kemet > Cyclades - IMHO.

[@t.b.1568]

They need to make a remake of this game.You can t find it now,but if ,it s so expensive! I watched so many vids i love the idea,the design and the mechanics....but sadly i don t have it,damn!

[@logiclust]

Back in Metropolis, circuses and elephants Where the oranges grew

[@PMMagro]

It is a good game. Very much easier to play with the titans expansion. More forgiving to new players and funnier with few players (not as dependant on the right God).

[@BoardGameCo]

Titans is excellent :)

[@richardcarneski8789]

Alex, just curious on your take of “pulling back the leader”. I don’t feel it in this game but do feel it tons in Inis where it is usually the second or third rat that gets the cheese in that game (after epic tale cards have been spent up). Do you share the criticism in that game as I know it’s your favourite of the Matagot 3? For me it made every Inis game feel too samey and encouraged sandbagging, which is why it’s my least fave of the three, Kemet has a slight turn order imbalance which makes it number two for me. But in Cyclades our group has found it’s about looking for that surgical strike while also keeping your options open for two ways to get your second metropolis instead of just one.

[@danefabri1792]

Alex, where did you hear about Cyclades getting reprinted by another company?

[@BoardGameCo]

On facebook awhile ago....don't remember the details. They were playtesting and in the comments confirmed it wasn't with Matagot.

[@danefabri1792]

@@BoardGameCo that's a worry! I just hope they release an upgrade kit like Kemet.

[@shanerion]

It seems like Cyclades is getting a Kemet-style revamp. So don’t buy Cyclades now if you don’t already have it! Wait for the new one!

[@BoardGameCo]

Oohhh...where did you see this?

[@shanerion]

@@BoardGameCo Bruno cathala just posted a picture of the new modular board on Facebook. Looks like a combination of the original base game and titans. An archipelago like the base game, but each island has enough space for land battles like titans. Board is in multiple pieces so the island layout can change. I’m actually kind of bummed because I recently bought base + titans. But after the kemet revamp I had a feeling this would happen so I never took them out of shrink

[@kombainasable]

have you ever tried Evo? this strangely felt almost identical, just overproduced, even if designers differ and Evo was first designed before Cyclades designer made a mark on BGG. you may like Evo as cyclades version an adult could have playing with even (your) small kids (eventually). it's same bidding, small world style map (same designer), and more exciting premise (to me and kids), as you are evolving dinosaurs and bidding on mutations instead of boring athene :P

[@chosenvalleybuffalo103]

If you like Cyclades, you will really like "Empires: Age of Discovery."

[@BoardGameCo]

I do :)

[@WolandSilent]

I higly dislike base game, but with Titans exp is one of my fav

[@BoardGameCo]

Yes, this is a common opinion for sure. For myself I like different aspects of what each does to the game.

[@WolandSilent]

@@BoardGameCo also, base game does not work at all for 2 players. On the other hand, I love playing Titans with my gf (we are using "team play" rules)

[@unskeptable]

Why do you dislike it ?​@@WolandSilent

[@WolandSilent]

@@unskeptable design is clunky,, but Titans expansions is all you need to make it work

Still payed yesterday (4 players) - it was awesome! We used new setup, original gods only, original board, Artefacts, objects, heroes, metropolis enhancements. I'm still looking to buy monuments and ruins.

[@s.t.5993]

It’s pronounced keklades with a “k”

[@BoardGameCo]

That doesn't sound right....googling it seems to be a soft c.

[@s.t.5993]

@@BoardGameCo as a greek i have to go with “Κυκλαδες” 😅😅

[@johnpanagos5835]

Not a huge d6 unknown.... Sounds like the Dw_ _ _ _ _ _ s of E...... unknown

[@calevenice]

I recommend that you try 8-minute Empire Legends: boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/142326/eight-minute-empire-legends

[@BoardGameCo]

I've played both the 8-minute empires, I like them to a degree and would probably play them if they were actually shorter, but in the end I find that the actual length the games take versus the experience they deliver... I would never say no to one, but I didn't feel the need to own them.