Sylla

Become the leading Consul of Rome by drafting, voting and bidding while keeping the city out of disaster.

Designer: Dominique Ehrhard
Published by: Ystari Games
Editions by: Rio Grande Games

Sylla casts you as a Roman who wants to become the premier Consul. The game takes five years, each split into seven phases, and the idea behind it is to blend the political feel of Res Publica Romana with the pace of Saint Petersburg in about an hour. It is semi-cooperative, because no single player can steer all of Roman life. Someone has to deal with plague, persecution of Christians and decadence, and everyone else pays if nobody does. You draft cards, vote and bid, and the person who handles Rome's crises best while hoarding the most prestige wins. A 2008 game for three or four, with a bit of backroom politics.

Five years of seven phases eachSemi-cooperative Roman crisesDrafting, voting and bidding

Who it's for

You like Roman politics and games where you must work with rivals you also want to outdo.

Not for you if…

You want a purely competitive game or one with no downtime between phases.

Vibe's take

Political and a little uneasy: you need the others to keep Rome afloat, but you also want to beat them. The negotiating is as important as the cards.