Cyclades

Version and setup: This entry follows Matagot’s original base rules for 2–5 players; each player hides 5 GP behind a screen and sets up units, cards, and the modular map as shown for the player count. Each player takes one offering marker, randomly ordered on the turn track; the second marker is used in the two-player game. The objective is to control enough Metropolises when a cycle ends.

Cycle and player count: Update creatures, arrange Gods, collect income, resolve offerings, then act from the first God down to Apollo; check victory only after the complete cycle. Five players use all four major Gods. Four players hide the last God and put it first next cycle before shuffling the others. Three players use the first two Gods, then the other pair next cycle, and reshuffle all four on the following cycle. Apollo stays last.

Income and creatures: Gain 1 GP per controlled prosperity icon or marker, including sea-commerce spaces occupied by your Fleets, and hide the money. Only the 4-GP creature appears in cycle one; cycle two offers up to two, then the usual track has three. At cycle start discard the unused 2-GP card, slide others right and refill. During any God action except Apollo, buy and immediately use one or more creatures at current prices, without refilling after purchase. Each Temple discount can be used once per cycle; pay at least 1 GP per creature.

Offerings and auctions: Players choose Gods in turn-track order. Each ordinary God grants this cycle’s action to only one player. To take an occupied God, a later player must bid more; the displaced player immediately chooses another God, resolving any resulting chain of bids before play continues. Priests reduce offering costs, but the final payment for an ordinary God cannot be less than 1 GP. Apollo is free and may be chosen by multiple players.

God actions: Poseidon recruits one Fleet for free, can recruit more for increasing costs, build Ports, or pay for special Fleet movement. Ares recruits one Troop for free, can raise more, build Fortresses, or move Troops along the player’s own Fleet links. Zeus grants a Priest, lowers future offerings, and allows Temples or creature replacement; Athena grants a Philosopher, and four Philosophers make a Metropolis, while Universities support the building route. Apollo gives 1 GP if you control several islands, or 4 GP if you control only one, and lets you place a Prosperity marker for +1 GP on that island in future cycles. If several players choose Apollo, only the first to choose him places the marker. He does not recruit, build, or move. Each building normally costs 2 GP.

Movement and battle: Poseidon spends 1 GP to move a group of Fleets up to three sea spaces, joining or leaving Fleets en route; an enemy space stops movement for battle. Ares spends 1 GP to move Troops from one isle to another along friendly Fleet links. Do not attack another player’s final isle unless you can demonstrate that taking it would win the game. Each assault rolls a die plus participating units, with +1 per relevant defensive Fortress or Port. The lower side loses one unit; ties remove one each. If both still have units, defender may retreat first, then attacker; otherwise fight again. If both land forces disappear, the defender retains the isle and its buildings with a territory marker.

Metropolises and victory: Owning all four building types, even across islands, forces an immediate exchange of one of each for a Metropolis. Four Philosophers must likewise be discarded immediately for one. Use a Metropolis space on your isle, destroying ordinary buildings there if needed. If your only isle already has a Metropolis, the Philosophers are still discarded and the new city replaces the old without increasing your count. Conquering an existing Metropolis is another route; a Metropolis has all four building powers. At cycle end, at least two wins in 3–5 players, or three in two players. Multiple qualifiers compare remaining GP; no further equal-GP rule is given.

Two-player exception: Each player uses two offering markers and bids for two Gods; the later marker can displace the player’s own earlier choice, but both offerings must still be resolved and paid. The remaining rules follow the method the rulebook specifies for four players, with the two-player victory threshold of three Metropolises. Do not apply the usual two-city goal from a larger game to a two-player match.

Retreat and control: Land retreat needs a friendly isle connected to the battlefield by your Fleet chain. Naval retreat needs an adjacent empty or friendly sea space; without one, retreat is unavailable. Leave a territory marker when your Troops vacate an isle. It remains yours, but an opponent landing there claims it without a battle, even with a Fortress present. Within a God action, recruiting, building and special actions can be interleaved rather than choosing only one category.

Recruitment costs and limits: Poseidon grants one free Fleet and up to three extra at 1, 2 and 3 GP. Ares grants one free Troop and up to three extra at 2, 3 and 4 GP; each player has at most eight of either unit. Place new Fleets in empty or friendly sea spaces adjacent to your isles, and Troops on your isles. Zeus and Athena grant one free Priest or Philosopher respectively, and allow exactly one extra for 4 GP. Each corresponding ordinary building costs 2 GP and may be built repeatedly if space and money allow.