Gustavo Vazquez
Brazil Curitiba PR
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Sylla, as it have been stated before, can't be truly appreciated in the first or second time you play it. I can say it for myself - only after some plays, and with the right companions - true gamers - I could recognize the game for what it is: a very creative and interesting one. It has some mechanics that are quite unique, and the decision-making is hard and demanding.
But enough about the base game - let's talk about the expansion. It is, in my opinion, the best kind of expansion there is - the one that blends so well with the original that even in the first play you can't suppose the game wasn't always like that. It's the expansion I have absolute no reason to remove, even when showing the game to first-time players.
What do you get?
Two new disasters. Maybe this is the best part of the expansion. Each one, if not resolved, flips one Legionary/Vestal virgin - I mean, the same characters that can resolve them! When those disasters strike you must re-think your way of playing - mainly if they show up on the first round. It's one of those cases when you must make some arrangement with the other players to save your skin. And, having two more disasters, it makes the possibilities of which one will show up more interesting.
A new Great Work. The Forum is very interesting - the player with the most votes gets 1 Res Publica token of each type... and the second place gets one token of his choice. Another nice addition.
A card to remind you who is the first consul. Quite useful indeed. (sometimes people get confused )
New characters. The Philosopher allows you to duplicate another character on phase IV onward - a Merchant pays you 2 deniers, a Vestal Virgin can place two cubes (on the same catastrophe), a Senator has two votes, etc. An amazing addition, it makes a lot of sense and allows you to keep your strategies more adaptable. The Gladiator gives you 1 VP. Besides, if there's crisis on Leisure, it counts as one chit of it. Okay, the second power is not that frequent (but it happens), altough the first one is quite useful for certain players. For those who like to earn prestige points during the game and not accumulate tokens, the Gladiator is a must!
One important factor of Sylla is there's not one character that is better than the others. I believe it is the same with the new ones - they are not weaker or stronger than the old ones, they just ask you to think in new strategies to play.
So, if you own Sylla, I think the expansion is a must. It makes the game complete. There's nothing there now to add or to change!
If you haven't, please give it a try asap!
As we "say" in Sylla: 
[Images from: Nathan Morse and Christopher. Thank you!]
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J. S.
United States Manhattan Beach California
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Thanks for bringing this game top of mind again. It is really awesome and would never think of playing without the expansion.
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