EJ Holleman
Netherlands
Hengelo
Overijssel
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Cyclades: Hades expansion review
My favourite game of the last two year must be Cyclades. Not only because I’m a real ‘mythology-freak’ (I love those stories) or because I really like Greece (every year we go there on holiday), but also because I found the game had lots of options to conquer the islands of Greece.
Just when you thought you were going to win the game, another player plays Pegasus, or buys another Philosopher and builds a Metropolis.
In the base-game, you‘re never sure that you are going to win! Besides that, I like the rule that you can not be removed from the game, unless another player is going to win that turn.
Of course, there is some major king-making in this game, but this does fit the game! The cherry on top of this already delicious cake is that the game is very scalable. That means it’s playable and fun for 2 to 5 players (thanks to the double sided boards).
And now, finally, the expansion is here: Hades. I’ve been waiting a long time for this one!
A new god enters the game, together with new miniatures, new creature cards and Divine Favors. The expansion contains 4 modules, which can be used one by one with the base-game or all together.
Module 1: Free Positioning Round:
In the base-game, you had fixed starting islands for every player. With this module, players can have an auction for placing armies and ships on islands of their choice. The highest bidder has (of course) the first choice. Besides the islands you want, you also get a bonus, depending on the god you’ve chosen: a fleet (Poseidon), an army (Ares), a philosopher (Athena), a priest (Zeus) or a prosperity marker (Apollo).
With this module, you have more start-options. You can choose to divide your soldiers and ships to your liking, as long as it’s on at least two islands (with Ares, you can even start on a third island!).
Module 2: Hades and his Undead:
Hades can not be chosen every turn. His tile is set up next to the board, with his Threat-side up. Throwing the die, you can make him appear (turn the tile to the Hades-side). Once he appears, he replaces the god above Apollo, and players can bid for Hades. Hades offers a one-turn Undead army, with the option to attack (just like Ares). At the end of the round, the Undead leave the board, and Hades tile is turned to the Threat-side.
The best thing, as mentioned, is that you’re no longer dependant on Ares for attacking (or the Pegasus). In lots of games I’ve wanted to attack, only to get outbid by another player. With this expansion, there are more options for attacking, and this will make the game even more aggressive.
The second ability of Hades is that he can build a Necropolis. This building takes the same space as a Metropolis. For every standard soldier or ship (no Undead) that is destroyed in battle, you may put a coin on the Necropolis. At the start of the round, during income, the player that owns the Necropolis receives the money that’s on it.
Modules 3: Heroes and creatures:
Heroes are very powerful cards with miniatures, which can be chosen just like mythological creatures. There are 6 heroes included. They have a military power when they are on the board (on a players’ island), but when sacrificed they can really do some fantastic stuff! Because of their godlike powers, they have an upkeep of two gold, which you have to pay right after receiving income. If you choose not to pay, or cannot pay, you lose the hero.
When you recruit a hero, you’ll receive a miniature to place on one of your islands. You may not sacrifice your hero the turn he/she comes into play, so you must be very sure you’ll can pay or protect him/her for one turn, because other players will probably act on you recruiting a hero!
There are four new creatures, and one old, but revised Chiron. Erinyes steals a prosperity marker from another player, Empuse steals the gold in the Necropolis, Cerberus gives you the income from another players island and Charon revives a hero from the hero-discard pile.
Module 4: Divine Favors:
Besides the philosophers and priests, there are also priestess cards. These can be discarded instead of paying a heroes’ upkeep cost, or to use a miniature, placed on the board, a second turn.
How to get those wonderful priestesses? By Divine Favors! These are new god tiles, but a bit smaller than the other gods. These Divine Favors do not show up once Hades is in play. Otherwise, one of eight Favors is put next to the god above Apollo. When this god is chosen, you also receive the Divine Favor. Most of these give you a priestess card, but some others give you one of ten magic items.
The Favor must be used the turn you receive it, otherwise it’s discarded. The Favors range from extra gold from your islands to doubling your armies for gold. Once used, you must dicard the tile.
Magic items must be used as stated on the card. They can protect you from attacks, give you an extra die when attacking, etc. After use, discard the card.
So... Does the game get better with the expansion?
Yes! Yes! Yes!
For starters, I’d recommend the base-game: it’s full of choices and backstabbing, and I can imagine that starters must first get grasps of it before trying Hades. In the base-game it’s important for your gameplay-qualities that you’ll learn which creatures are in the deck, and how to use every god to its fullest, but after some plays you really have to get this expansion.
The expansion makes the game the magnificent beast it deserves to be. New gods, magic items, new creatures, heroes... Lots and lots of options to (re-)consider, and bidding on the highest god is not always the best option, because of the Divine Favors on the lowest god.
Apollo gets a bit weaker in this game. I found him a bit useful in the base-game for getting income, but with Erinyes, who steals prosperity markers, it’s far more dangerous to put lots of those on your islands.
The godtile Hades gives more attacking options, more income, and the heroes give you a big bang with which you can really turn the tide.
I really like this game. I enjoyed the base-game enormously, but the expansion makes it ten times better! If you own Cyclades, and like it, get Hades. You won’t regret it.
Thanks for reading,
EJH
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Benjamin Parker
United States
Manchester
Connecticut
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A very well-done review. I played Cyclades at my LGS a couple of months back and thoroughly enjoyed it. With the expansion, I may end up actually buying both at the same time... oh dear.
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John Herrera
United States
San Jacinto
California
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Great review, thanks. How do you find playing with two players and the expansion? I can't wait for this to be available over here.
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EJ Holleman
Netherlands
Hengelo
Overijssel
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@John:
I haven't had the opportunity to play the expansion with just 2 players. Looking at the base-game, which played a bit different but still very good, I suppose that the expansion will do the same.
Point of attention: with two players it's possible to get Ares AND Hades, and thus the possibility to recruit armies for both of them (and even for less money).
EJH
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Ej, can you tell me about how long does each game last compared to vanilla?
Seeing that you have 3 heroes that gives you straight Metropolis, I assume that is goes shorter?
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EJ Holleman
Netherlands
Hengelo
Overijssel
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The expanded game takes about the same time as Vanilla. There's a little more bookkeeping, but a slightly faster Metropolis-buildup.
EJH
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fido
Belgium
Unspecified
Unspecified
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i think it all depends on who you're playing with..the game took longer with Hades when we played it with our regular group wich was used to playing Cyclades. I found that with Hades players started playing more aggressive than they did with the base game..
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Jake Waltier
United States
Seattle
Washington
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Thanks for the run-down. This sounds pretty sweet.
ejh231171 wrote: Module 2: Hades and his Undead:
Hades can not be chosen every turn. His tile is set up next to the board, with his Threat-side up. Throwing the die, you can make him appear (turn the tile to the Hades-side). Once he appears, he replaces the god above Apollo, and players can bid for Hades. Hades offers a one-turn Undead army, with the option to attack (just like Hades). At the end of the round, the Undead leave the board, and Hades tile is turned to the Threat-side.
Don't you mean "just like Ares"?
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EJ Holleman
Netherlands
Hengelo
Overijssel
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Eh... yeah..... edited!
Thnx...
EJH
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Posted Fri Dec 30, 2011 9:24 am
