Cyclades (Ki-KLA-thes) appears to be a 'guys on a map' wargame about Ancient Greeks battling to control the titular islands. In fact, this nifty little game is a 'Euro hybrid' in disguise! Players gain income from the spaces they control on the board, then bid gold to earn the favour of one of the Gods, each of whom grant a different set of actions for the turn, such a building an army or gaining money. The Gods also allow you to construct buildings; you'll need one of each kind to make a Metropolis and two Metropolises wins you the game.
...well, you
could do that, or you could call on Ares and Poseidon and conquer a metropolis by brute force, or pay tribute to Athena and gain 4 philosophers who also create a metropolis, or maybe offer coins to Zeus who can help you get the specific monster you're after to help your cause. If all else fails, Apollo will give you some pocket money.
"Wait, monsters?"
"YES."
Cyclades features a veritable cornucopia of mythological all-stars to help you out. Witness the Kraken zoom about, eating ships like Pacman eats pills! Freeze your enemies with Medusa, or crush their buildings with a mighty giant! NOT SO EURO NOW, ARE WE?? Auctions, dice-based combat, fancy plastic miniatures and clever, simple mechanics; Cyclades has everything I like in games in one fancy-pantsy box. It's a vicious, often cut-throat affair though, you have to have a lot of irons in the fire and you are never safe!
The game is as much about preventing your opponents' victories as it is securing your own and if you're uncomfortable with seeing your best plans brutally crushed, then you may not get on with this one, that said, it never feels like a player is out of the running, nor is there player elimination; it's not over until the fat Siren sings! I would recommend Cyclades to anyone who likes a solidly-made euro game and can stand a little bit of dice-and-toys thrown in, it's a great little game and beautifully produced to boot.
Now with added video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1oPsjw0250
