Polis: Fight for the Hegemony

This is a great game with a giant BUT.The good part is that you get a lovely intricate game about the conflict between Athens and Sparta. It covers economics, battles, and even cultural competition. The rules are moderately complex but not bad if you're used to more complicated strategy games (think Agricola or Hannibal; if all you know is Risk, don't get this game). It's kinda a Euro wargame, with a bit of luck thrown in. (There are dice rolls for sieging cities as well as random events which have a moderate affect on the course of each game.) It's got a unique and well-designed system that makes more than worth its sticker price.The "but" is that the game is a real brain churner to figure out, even for experienced gamers. On the surface it seems fine, no terribly tricky rules, but actually trying to figure out how to run your city-state without going broke or starving your people is really really hard. I like this game a lot but if you're not prepared for a steep learning curve you may end up hating it.The aesthetics of the game are very nice. A pretty well laid out board which is easy to read, and elegant wooden pieces.

This is a very good teaching game; it is resource based, meaning you spend much, much more of your time trying to round up wheat, or grapes and olives to trade for wheat, or silver with which to purchase wheat, or wood to build merchant ships with which to trade for wheat, than you do actually launching phalanx attacks.That said -- it is very much a grand strategy game. You have to do things to be in a position to have the silver to buy the wheat, or to take over a province and pillage it for the wood you need for the navy, etc. And for students of the Pelopennisan Wars (sp) it is invaluable: There is a very good reason Athens attacked Syracuse, against all odds, in real life, and there's a good chance you will too, despite the odds against. (Hint: wheat. Other hint: Safeguard the Pontus.)It's a two-player, quick to learn the rules, fairly quick to set up, a good few hours (2-3) to play, but quite satisfying.

easier to play than Pericles, but some of the same concepts apply - its a good mil-pol game.

It's interesting. Looks like it would be fun to play

Nice game but the box came dented.

An excellent two-player game. High re-play value.

This game is intense. My first game I felt like I had so many options that I didn't know where to begin. Do I get wheat to feed my people or metal to build my army or wood to build my fleet or silver for bribes or wine and oil to fund a festival?!? So many things to decide! The tribute board and the market value tracker are very cool systems for collecting resources. And resource collecting makes up a big chunk of the game. The other chunk is all about troop placement and controlling cities/regions/trade routes. The rules are relatively simple for how much is packed into this game. Some things were confusing at first (like combat cards and market value tracker) but made a lot of sense after my first play through.There will be moments when you realize you screwed up and this game will make you pay for it. This is a very challenging and competitive 2-player game. Check this one out if that's what you're looking for.