How to Play

Cyclades

2-5 players 60-90 min 7.5 Board Game Geek Rating

In this ancient Greek strategy game, players compete to construct two cities first across the Cyclades islands. Each turn involves bidding for exclusive access to one of five gods who grant different abilities: Ares enables army movement and fortress construction, Poseidon controls naval forces and ports, Zeus provides priests and temples, Athena offers philosophers and universities, while Apollo boosts income for future bidding rounds.

Published 2009

Cyclades

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

1
Select player colors
Choose or randomly assign colors for 2-6 players, giving each player 2 offering tokens, 8 Fleets, 8 Troops, 6 territory marker discs, 3 Titans, and a screen
2
Determine turn order
Drop turn/bid markers from your fist one by one to establish initial player order
3
Distribute starting gold
Deal 5 GP to each player (7 GP for continents map)
4
Set up the board
For islands map, distribute troops and fleets according to the setup diagram for your player count
5
Deal God tiles
Place face-up God tiles equal to number of players minus one, leaving remaining tiles face down
6
Prepare Special Metropoleis
Shuffle and deal 2 Special Metropolis cards face up next to the board
7
Set up Hades tile
Place Hades tile next to the board with "Threat" side up and column at space "0"
8
Build Mythological deck
Shuffle Mythological creature cards with Divine Artifact cards, Heroes, and additional creatures
9
Prepare card piles
Make separate piles for Philosopher cards, Priest cards, and Priestess cards next to the board
10
Shuffle Magic Items
Place Magic Items cards face down in a drawing pile
11
Shuffle Divine Favours
Place Divine Favour tiles face down in a drawing pile
12
Deal Monument cards
Draw Monument cards equal to player count and place face up
13
Draw first creature
Deal the first card from the Mythological deck
14
Place Ancient Ruins
At end of first Offerings Phase, the first Apollo player places two Ancient Ruins tokens on different uncontrolled land spaces

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

1
Roll for Hades
First player rolls 2 combat dice and advances Hades Column by the total
2
Refresh creatures
Deal one new card from Mythological deck, shift existing cards right, discard the oldest
3
Refresh Gods
Shuffle all gods and deal face-up tiles equal to players minus one
4
Collect revenue
Take GP produced by land spaces, seafaring commerce, and 1 GP per Cornucopia controlled
5
Place initial bid
Bid for a god of your choice by placing offering marker
6
Respond to overbids
If overbid, immediately bid for a different god (may return to original god later)
7
Observe bidding limits
Cannot bid more than your current GP amount
8
Bid for Apollo
Apollo costs nothing; multiple players may choose Apollo simultaneously
9
Pay offerings
Settle all payments except Apollo, discounting 1 GP per Priest (minimum 1 GP)
10
Call upon creatures
Pay the cost shown on Mythological creature, Hero, or Divine Artifact cards
11
Recruit units
Each god allows recruiting specific units (not Apollo)
12
Build structures
Each god allows building one structure (not Apollo)
13
Perform special actions
Pay to use god-specific abilities (not Apollo or Athena)
14
Use Divine Favour
For last visible god before Apollo (when not Hades): receive bonus Priestess or Magic Item and use power during action phase
15
Move Titans
Pay 1 GP for first space, 2 GP for second, 3 GP for third, etc.
16
Sacrifice a Hero
Use sacrificial power on Hero card (not first turn in play, not if bidding for Apollo)
17
Roll dice and calculate strength
Each player rolls one die, adds number of Troops/Fleets, defender adds fortress/port/creature bonuses
18
Remove casualties
Lower result loses one unit; ties mean both lose one unit; loser chooses which unit type to remove
19
Decide retreat or continue
Defender decides first, then attacker; if neither retreats, new assault begins
20
Complete battle
Continue until one side eliminated or retreats
21
Claim territory
Winner gains control of disputed space including any buildings
22
Retreat restrictions
Land retreat requires Fleet chain to another controlled space; sea retreat requires adjacent empty or friendly sea space
23
Receive prosperity marker
First Apollo bidder places marker on land space of their choice
24
Collect income
All Apollo bidders receive 1 GP (or 4 GP if controlling only one land space)
25
Protect last territories
Cannot attack a player's only remaining land space unless doing so would win the game

Winning

How to claim victory.

1
Own two Metropoleis
First player to control 2 Metropoleis at the end of a cycle wins
2
Control five Divine Artifacts
Controlling all 5 Divine Artifacts wins immediately, without finishing the cycle
3
Team victory (6 players)
Team controlling 3 Metropoleis triggers endgame and wins immediately
4
Economic development
Build four different building types (Port, Fortress, Temple, Academy); discard all four to place Metropolis on red dotted square
5
Intellectual development
Acquire 4 Philosophers; immediately discard them to create Metropolis
6
Military conquest
Capture a land space containing an enemy Metropolis
7
Team elimination bonus
In 6-player team games, conquering another player's last territory allows immediate Metropolis placement if team already owns 2+ Metropoleis
8
Choose Special Metropolis
First player building a Metropolis chooses one of two Special Metropolis cards
9
Receive remaining card
Second Metropolis builder takes the other Special Metropolis
10
Transfer with conquest
Special Metropolis card passes to new owner when territory is captured

watch & Learn

Let the pros teach you with these top videos.

Cyclades - Opis i pravila

Cyclades - Opis i pravila

Instructional

Cyclades Mythological Creature cards EXPLAINED

Cyclades Mythological Creature cards EXPLAINED

Instructional

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FULL rules

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