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Cleopatra and the Society of Architects
page 2

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Each of the categories has a different amount of building parts, and every time a category has been completed, Cleopatra strides one step towards her future residence. After the completion of the fifth category the game ends and a final score is made after having fed the most corrupted player to the crocodiles.

‘Cleopatra’ is not a difficult game; a turn merely comes down to the choice of taking (a row of) cards, or building (with a combination of cards). All (building) actions can be found on the twosided printed summary cards, and for the beginning player all questions get answered. Also the rules booklet is written very clearly. On the other hand it must be said that for the more experienced player there is little challenge to be found.

Players interaction is minimal and only occurs during the offerings. For the rest each player is busy preparing his hand of cards for building the next part, considering which row he will take from the market, and if he would take a chance with the row that has blind cards in it.
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Because before you know it you take a card with a corruption marker; but then again the blind card could as well be the missing piece of marmor for building the throne that collects a whopping 12 Talents!

The possibility to get rid of corruption markers during an offering is very limited and actually occurs only once a game; players who want to offer more often could mark the dice with an extra symbol side. As bidding offers an opportunity to get rid of three corruption markers, it is very temptous to bid high, but it is the Talents that lead to victory; so through a result of his highest bidding a player might as well lose the game.
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And do we have to say that the game looks great? Nah, that would be deficient: it just looks terrific! The game box is loaded with parts; you get a lot of game (nearly two kilos!) for your purchasing price. Even the box itself is part of the game; it is the basis of the palace. Days of Wonder seem to want to put a new standard with their beautifully executed games. This may result in a higher shop price, but you get a lot of components and atmosphere for it in return.
‘Cleopatra’ is a good and consistant continuation of the very playable family games series in which among others ‘Ticket to Ride’, ‘Pirates Cove’ and ‘Memoir’ 44’ preceded.
© 2006 Richard van Vugt

Cleopatra, Bruno Cathala & Ludovic Maublanc, Days of Wonder, 2006 - 3 to 5 players, 10 years and up, 60 minutes

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