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Michael Riewe
Germany
Ludwigshafen
Unspecified
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As an avid Eurogamer I stumbled over Cyclades and came to love it for its theme, mechanics and varied gameplay.
That said this game isn't kind to people not being used to such games despite the fact that it looks just like your friendly neighbourhood eurogame at a first glance.
So here are some observations to help those who wish to master Cyclades on their first few steps away from games like Agricola and Puerto Rico.
1. Area majority
"All right, this game has islands and troops, it must be an area majority game so I grab Ares and Poseidon and conquer as many island as possible!"
Yeah, well, this usually is not the way to win this game even though it at first appears to be. Ares is a sexy looking guy and red has always been a signal color - so why not take him whenever he is available?
To win this game you need exactly two islands, that is why. Any more Islands are only dead weight unless they have been *heavily pimped* with buildings or production icons.
Indeed very often a player with only one island left outproduces a player with many islands who is also very vulnerable because it is so hard to defend. So choose your targets wisely and only attack to economically cripple other players or, of course, to gain a metropolis.
2. Action economy
"Ha, action economy is the winning factor in most of the euros I played so far. I will wring every drop out of the god I got every turn."
It takes some guts to be left with a cheap Poseidon after heavy betting for other gods and then do nothing but place a single ship despite having a treasure cove of gold behind your screen, but it is often worth it.
The trick with Cyclades is to bide your time and save your gold until the god comes along that you really want. Don't feel bad to "waste" an action if it saves you good money. Just make sure that the other players have to shell out a lot of gold for their choices and you should be golden.
3. Look innocent
"Why is everybody ganging up on me?!"
Easy answer: because you deserve it.
It is a defining factor of Eurogames that you can't really screw your fellow players. From Agricola to Dominion these games are very kind to the leader because there is not much the others can do to "steal" a "hard earned" victory.
Well, you better build up some guts because in Cyclades the second you appear to be on the winning track you get stabbed every inch of your way.
The easy way is to get close to building your Metropolis but actually not doing it. Ideal is having 3 talky guys (aka Philosophers) and 3 buildings (ideally missing the university) and thus do not present you opponents a red warning flag.
Sometimes it can be wise to get a metropolis on your heavily defended small island when another player might conquer your second undefended large island with three buildings on it but usually try to only build a Metropolis if you think that you can get a second one fast.
Also try not to p*ss off anyone by conquering/using monsters right and left but focus your attacks instead, ideally on the leader.
If it is ok with your table you can also proclaim how awesome player xs income has been for some turn and how he/she will easily overcome everyone else to ure your fellow players away from you (just be aware that this may lead to meta gaming if you do this very often).
4. Apollo and planning of rounds
"Income is always good. Apollo is free of cost and means big bucks so you must take him first early game and then forget about him."
Apollo is a very powerful god, especially in the beginning, that much is true. But this comes with a price and the price is a juicy island! Placing these production tokens without the ability to protect them can hurt alot.
The true power of Apollo is in the late game when all the gods receive insane bids (espcially true in 3-4 player games when gods are missing) and you can bail out after racing everyone and save your money for the next turn. In Cyclades you need to figure out the next turn as much as this turn. Esecially in 3 and 5 player games when you know what gods will be available next turn the ability to outbid anyone can mean to end the game in your favor.
5. Zeus and screwing other players
"Zeus is all about saving money. Thats great!"
Well, it really is. Having a lot of Priests can be a winner, but having a lot of money can be so too.
What makes Zeus so special is his sometimes overlooked ability to cycle through the monsters and nothing screws a well laid plan so thoroughly than a monster like the Pegasus, the Griffon or the Kraken (just remember that when you cycle the chimera that the discard pile is immediately shuffled).
This also means that two temples are often worth their money when it is usually not very helpful to build more than one of each of the other buildings.
6. Poseidon and easy income
I don't dig this Poseidon guy. Ships are ok but nowadays everyone takes either Pegasus or doesn't conquer a lot to not spread out too much.
Indeed, at a first glance Poseidon may look like a weak god. While you might use him to threaten the juicy islands of your opponent to lure him into a bid race for Ares just to bail out for a cheap Athena when he spend a lot of money, Poseidon has an often overlooked use and that is to use him to trade.
For some reason those ships at the fringe of the map seem so innocent until your opponents realise that you are racking 10 incone with a single small isle (14 even with Apollo) each turn just because of your ships.
Finally the Sylph can really screw you sometimes and a ship here and there can prevent that.
7. Athena and winning the game
Bah, Athena gives me only useless Philosophers and useless Universities."
Yes, Athena is useless, you should never take her.
Go ahead. Do it. Shun Athena. Then tell me how many games you've won.
The problem is that as soon as anyone in your gaming group realizes that it is very easy to set up a one turn winning with Athena (3 Philosophers and missing only University) and starts to avoid building Metropoli early, that Athena will be the game winning god in most of your games. It's just that Athena alone will not be enough but more often than not it is a good idea to place a low bid on Athena that saves you money when it is not contested and gives you a Philosopher instead of racing bids for another god.
Just remember you need to stop at three Philosophers.
That conludes my observations. I hope you may be tempted to play this awesome game despite the fact that it is not a classic Eurogame.
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R. Olaf Schaefer
Germany
Weimar
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Good observations!
Dornam wrote:
Just remember you need to stop at three Philosophers.
On a subtle note: I think it's often better to stop at 2 Philosophers (with the obvious idea to have enough money for 2 Philosophers on a decisive turn). With 3 you are less flexible to boost prices for Athena or bid on her at all. Attentive opponents might let you get a cheap Athena at the wrong moment, because you have to build that not yet wanted Metropolis.
One disadvantage of having only 2: With Satyrn (steal 1 Philosopher) present 2 might not be enough to end the game, but I think the advantages of having only 2 overtrump this in the long run. (Satyrn/Chimera might even overtrump 3 Philosophers anyway ;-))
Dornam wrote:
Ideal is having 3 talky guys (aka Philosophers) and 3 buildings (ideally missing the university) and thus do not present you opponents a red warning flag.
You are right, that you have to be very strong already to present a red warning flag and you want to avoid it as long as possible. But having 3 Philosophers and 3 buildings (university missing or Cyclops present) pretty much is a red warning flag ;-) (of course only if you have two islands or Pegasus is in reach).
Btw: Did you try the expansion? It's really good and somewhat modifies your correct observations about Ares, Zeus, Apollon.
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Michael Riewe
Germany
Ludwigshafen
Unspecified
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Indeed 3+3 is a red warning flag if your fellow players pay attention, but it is still less obvious than already having a Metropolis.
Alas, I did not play Hades so far but I guess I will buy+try it soon.
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I don't think you can actually buy two Philosophers in one turn. You can only buy one.
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Johan Haglert
Sweden
Örebro
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Get one + buy one = two.
Fact. You may already agree 
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