Customer Reviews

Cleopatra And The Society of Architects

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Cleopatra is, in a quick overview, a game that focusing on trying to acquire enough good points to win without acquiring enough bad points (which may cause you to lose even if you had the most good points). It's for 3 or more people, but there is a variation on the Days of Wonder website for 2 people.

In Cleopatra, you draw cards from a marketplace and use them as resources, much like Settlers of Catan or railcards in Ticket to Ride. With the resources, you can build several different portions of Cleopatra's Temple. For building the pieces, you get various amounts of good points (called Talents). At the end of the game the person with the most Talents wins. Unless...

The "unless" is if you have the most bad points (called corruption amulets) then you lose. You gain these amulets by taking various shortcuts. The number of amulets you have is also secret, so the game is a balancing act of taking shortcuts to get ahead, but not taking too many such that you end up being the person with the most amulets.

The game also involves other various strategic elements. Of the different Temple pieces you can build, there are bonuses that allow for some strategy in choosing what to build and when. There are also a few cards mixed in with the resources that allow you to do something special (lost amulets, take a discarded card, charge other players resources, etc.) at some cost (usually you gain amulets). There is also an event that may occur at some point in the game in which all players bid their talons (good points) secretly, and whoever bids the most loses several amulets while everyone else gains amulets (whoever bid the second-most talons gains one or two, the next gains two or three, the next three or four, etc.). And of course whatever you bid in talons you lose even if you were not the highest bidder, so this adds a good burst of strategy.

The game is made mostly of plastic pieces that are pretty durable, though there are some cardboard pieces that I wonder if will go the distance. Because it is Days of Wonder, and prior similar cardboard-based games have done fine, I'm not lowering their score for this.

In short, this is not my favorite Days of Wonder game, but it is a clever addition that is fun and pretty easy to learn. It would appeal to people of all ages and, assuming they can grasp the rules above, they should have no trouble playing it. It well-deserves a rating of 4 stars, and I'm sure some will think it deserves even a 5.

This is one of the best games that we've played. All of our friends who have played it instantly become addicted. It's also great because it's shorter than most of the others ranging from 1 hr-1 1/2 hrs. I definitely recommend it if you play any of theses games: Settlers of Catan, Agricola, Puerto Rico, or Shadows over Camelot.

All of Days of Wonder's Games are good if not great. This game is sort of like Ticket to ride. In ticket to ride you use cards to buy trains, but in Cleopatra you use cards to buy pieces of a temple to complete. There are other twist to it, but that is the core mechanism. Buy it now!

I took a little while to understand instructions but as soon as I and my friends understood them we played and enjoy it a lot. I won all times friends are too corrupt haha.

This game is fun and a bit different than your normal game as you use the box as part of your board! It plays differenlty too and keeps you engaged. Lots of fun to play but it is a game for 3 or more players. It was very easy to figure out how to play the game. (About 40 min to learn and about an 75 min to play.) Def. buy if you are looking for something new and unique. It is out of print on the Days of wonder website but you may be able to find it on amazon or ebay or other websites. I bought mine from a small gameing store in Chicago and I live in CA.

I've never seen a more creative game--it's even fun to lose. Getting eaten by the crocodiles, offering "prayers" to Anubis--or anyone else who will listen, 3D building that's not cheap & flimsy--wow. Best game I've played yet!

The thing I love the most about the "big-box" games from Days of Wonder is that you can can immerse yourself in a very thematic gaming experience for just a couple of hours, and there is something for everyone whether you like Camelot, pirates, smuggling, mystery, fantasy, military, etc.

"Cleopatra" is certainly one of the most entertaining and visually appealing of any game based around Ancient Egypt. Other reviewers have already stated the finer points of the scoring mechanics, strategy and appeal, so I only have this to add:

The Days of Wonder website says the English version of this game is out of print. The good news is that some of them can still be found at discounts. Get this one while you can, and share it with as many people as you know who enjoy a good board game. You'll get a weird look when you tell them you need the bottom of the game box to start building the temple, but once they figure out the strategy and the temple starts coming together, they will be asking you with huge smiles where you got this game.

Everyone seems to have something different they like about it. For some it's just the theme and visual components, for others it's the challenge of knowing when to risk getting extra "corruption" tokens in exchange for more points. For me, it's definitely the pentominoes that make up the courtyard. I could spend an hour just playing with those by themselves.

Hard for me to pick a favorite game from Days of Wonder, but this one is fantastic. Get one if you can find one.

Not the best of the Days of Wonders games but made to their high materials standards and a respectable later addition to the game library. Game play is fairly fast and the concept of trading off short cuts that involve poor quality materials and workmanship is interesting. Players are trying to be the second most corrupt builder in the game (the first gets thrown to the crocodiles) which is an interesting game dynamic. The games are less than an hour once you know the system.

Overall, it's a fun game but one that does not stand out compared to "Ticket to Ride" or "Small World", also by the same company.