Kids View: Cyclades

What is the Game About?

You have to build four metropolises to win and each metropolis needs four different types of buildings to be completed (temple, university, fortress, and port). To be able to build, you have to first bid for different gods who are kept track of on a separate board. You shuffle the four god tiles (Zeus, Athena, Ares, and Poseidon) and then lay them in random order on the board and players then bid to be able to use their powers for a turn. The first bidder each round is the player who went last the turn before that. You can always choose Apollo who is free, and always last, but he gives you money, so it's not too bad. The gods let you build different buildings that you need to make a metropolis and other things. Athena lets your build a university, Ares lets you move troops and Poseidon lets you move ships. There are also cool creatures you can buy. They come up randomly but have some cool abilities you can use.

What do I Like?

I like it because it is based off of the movie (ed. from Dad - she means Clash of the Titans, hehe). I like the way all the characters are and what they have to offer. The board set-up and all the pieces are awesome. I like how they let you choose Apollo so that you can rest or pass or earn a little money. The creature cards and figures look really, really cool.

What do I Dislike?

It can be really frustrating when you spend time building your own metropolis and then some one else has just been building up their army and just comes and takes yours. Some of the creatures don't give you a lot of help compared to others. I don't like when some one bids higher and then you have to bid on a different god and you don't get your first choice. The bidding can be hard and sometimes mean.

Kids View: Dust

What is the Game About?

You try to earn points by taking territory, capturing power sources (they look like targets), and building up an army. You can build tanks, mechs, fighters, bombers and subs. You also have to protect your capital and your power sources so that you don't lose points and so you can build things. You also cannot build things without your power sources. You use special dice in battles. The game also has cards. They are used to give you a certain amount of actions, to tell you what turn order you go in, and give you a special action for that turn. My favorite special card is Sigrid who lets you re-roll all of the misses in one battle roll. The first player to 30 points wins the game.

What do I Like?

It is not that complicated and I like the strategy because you have to concentrate on the power sources and on capitals. You don't have to worry as much about the whole world. The mech figures are really cool. The cards are easy to follow because they don't have words and they give you lots of choices.

What do I Dislike?

It is hard to play on the floor because the board is like a puzzle and doesn't fit together very well. I do not like the Mech Dropper card when some one else has it because it lets them attack with too many mechs and take you out really easy.