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Sylla – An Overview of Ystari’s Newest Game
Designer Dominique Ehrhard has criss-crossed game genres with his creations, which range from Crazy Circus and Mongolfiere to Serenissima and Condotierre/Iliad. With Sylla, which French publisher Ystari Games will release at Spiel 08 in October, Ehrhard and the Ystari crew offer a title with all the hallmarks of a prototypical Eurogame.
In Sylla, players are vying to take over leadership of Rome from Sylla, otherwise known as Sulla or Lucius Cornelius Sulla, who is stepping down from his position as dictator after reforming the legal system and the Senate. To win this position, you’ll need to earn prestige by showing strength in the areas of civic spirit, leisure and health – but the value of each of these areas will depend on the actions taken during the game.
Having support from Senators, Legionaries, Merchants, Vestal Virgins and Slaves will allow you to construct buildings (each with a special ability), stave off attacks on and negative events in Rome, and receive revenue to spread among the Plebians or pool with other players to build great works. You’ll be fighting ever-increasing famine, which costs prestige to those who can’t support the people. Decadence is a constant threat, lowering the spirit of the public through their own besotted behaviour.
Sylla, which is for 3-4 players with a playing time of 60-90 minutes, will cost about the same as Ystari’s recently released Amyitis and Metropolys, roughly €36. Rules for two players will be available on the Ystari website because as Cyril Demaegd notes, “The two-player version is fine, but it’s not the ‘real’ game.” I’ll publish a more detailed preview closer to the game’s release at Spiel.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on Jul 24, 2008 at 04:00 PM in Game News, The Industry at Large / 2397
Comments:
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You can’t help but notice the similarity (at least on the surface) between Sylla and Tribune. I assume this is the case because Tribune, at least, didn’t start out as a Roman themed game and so it can easily share the trappings of another similarly themed design. Whether Sylla will have more Caesar in it than Schmiel’s game does remains to be seen, but it sounds interesting and I’ve always been a fan of Ehrhard’s heavier games. So here’s another take on the theme vs. mechanics debate. Which comes first in an Ystari game: the mechanics or a desperate search to find a title that includes a “Y” and an “S”? :-) Posted by Larry Levy on Jul 24, 2008 at 09:24 PM | #
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It indeed doesn’t sound all that new, but that doesn’t mean it’s not going to be different enough to warrant playing or owning it. It’s on my radar. Posted by Surya Van Lierde on Jul 25, 2008 at 05:05 AM | #
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Hi ! In fact Sylla has not much in common with Tribune (which is a game i appreciate a lot). I think the theme is strong since it’s a “political” game (even if it’s not a diplomacy game). I see it as a crossover between Republic of Rome (for the general theme) and Sankt Petersburg (for the rythm and duration ;) One thing is sure, the game is really different from the actual trend of management games and we hope people will find it refreshing ;)
REgards,
Posted by Cyril Demaegd on Jul 25, 2008 at 05:21 AM | #
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Thanks cor the info, Cyril, the game just went up on my radar a bit higher! Posted by Surya Van Lierde on Jul 25, 2008 at 05:41 AM | #
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Holy crap! Is this the first Ystari game with the S before the Y? Posted by William Bussick on Jul 25, 2008 at 07:47 PM | #
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Oof - okay, who will get me one of the exclusive versions from Essen? Ystari and gorgeous coins = must-have.
...ERB
Posted by E.R. Burgess on Jul 27, 2008 at 12:56 AM | #
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