Cytress Board Game Review

Jim Gamer
10 hours ago
6 min read

Cytress

WBG Score: 8.5/10

Player Count 1-5

You’ll like this if you like: Blood Rage, Android: Netrunner, Neon Gods.

This is a free review copy. See our review policy here.

This games has already been previewed here. The game has since had a successful Kickstarter, and fulfilled to its backers. I have been sent a final copy as thanks for my help with the preview. So, now, lets check out how this beautiful and ambitious project from first time designer Sean Lee came out. Spoiler, pretty good!

How To Set Up Cytress

Place out the four districts around the mini map and load it with its associated Intel cards. Then place the three-tiered tower that makes up the city of Cytress. Place the District board below the Cytress tower and place the four contract cards below it. Then, on the Cytress tower, add five random Stratolite cards, placing the remaining deck next to the tower. Now give each player their own player mat, and rebel board, with resource trackers, Crew tokens, three Transports standees and one leader standee all in their chosen player colour, along with seven tube sections each. You are now ready to play.

How To Play Cytress

Players will now run through four different phases, across around four to six rounds. Some phases are simultaneous, others run in turn order.

The first phase is where players all simultaneously gain resources based on the symbols in their top left yellow Corpocrat cards. For each symbol there, players will move their resource tracker one space on their resource tracker board. As you gain more cards, your phase one resource generation will naturally increase.

Next, players will take turns placing their leader standee onto one of the four district boards. This will gain them the shown resources. Other players will gain any resources shown on their bottom left Privateer cards if they have any matching the area where other players send their leaders. In a two-player game, players will then move their leader to a second position once each player has chosen their first.

Next, players will move to the third and main phase of the game, where they will take turns sending out one of their three transport ships to one of the nine locations. Four of these sites will allow players to gain new Intel cards to add to their own personal player engine, improving their subsequent turns. You can also visit the District board to trade resources you have for others, gain new Intel cards, and claim the first player token (this is the only way it changes in the game). You can take a Bounty card to either add a Crew token to the mini map or move a crew token on Cytress to a higher level. Finally, you can visit the Renegade or Stratolite to drop a tube onto the mini map where you have a Crew member, and then move that crew member up to Cytress.

This is the main part of the game. When you do this from the Renegade, you can pay the cost to drop the tube with any resource you like, and place it onto any coloured space on the mini map where you have a crew member. When you do this from the Stratolite space, you have to choose one of the Stratolite cards to pay with a specific resource and ascend from a specific colour space, but you then get to move your transport ship off and have another bonus turn. That bonus turn, could be to visit the Renegade and drop a second tube this round!

When you do this, you need to decide which person you visit, how you pay, which crew member to ascend, and where to place them. Each of the three levels of Cytress has a different end-game scoring mechanic. The player who dominates each level with the most crew members on each of the three levels at the end of the game can use that level's scoring mechanic. The top level will allow you to score six points for each set of the four intel cards you have. The middle level offers the player who dominates this tier three bonus points for each of their intel cards in their longest lifepath (biggest collection of cards). The bottom tier allows the player who dominates here to gain three points for each crew on Stratos.

But at the end of the game, there are also points available for the player who has the most crew tokens surrounding each of the tubes on the mini map. Seven points for a three-high tower. Five points for a two-tier tower. And three points for a single tube.

So, when you are picking which crew member to ascend, where to place them, and what to leave behind, there is a lot to consider. With huge end game point swings available!

The final phase each round is to return all your Transports and leader to your player board, and reset the Stratolite cards in the Cytress tower. Player then moves to the next round.

The game continues like this until one player uses their seventh and final tube. They can use more, as there are plenty in the box, but this will be the final round. Players then score for their Crew on Stratos; the higher they ascend, the more points they earn. There are also points for the player who has the majority on each level and who controls each of the tubes on the mini map. Finally, there are points for each bounty collected from the bounty hunter. You will gain two points for each matching symbol on the bounty card on all the other Intel cards you gained during the game.

Is It Fun? Cytress Board Game Review

Playing this game is incredibly satisfying, and the experience is heightened with every turn you take. Each decision feels significant, as if it could tip the balance of the entire game in your favour or lead to your downfall. This sense of urgency and importance in decision-making forces me to engage deeply with the mechanics and strategies involved in this game from turn one.

Strategic planning in Cytress is essential, much like in any classic board game, but what sets this game apart is the necessity to consider every action meticulously right from the beginning. The game has a brisk pace, with most games finishing after just five rounds, and sometimes even four. This limited timeframe means players must be agile and decisive, as there is little room for prolonged development of strategies. You are thrust into the action immediately. The pressure to act quickly and effectively enhances the overall enjoyment, making every move feel impactful.

And this is not down a linear path, with obvious choices. The game offers multiple paths to victory, which adds depth to the strategic possibilities. Players can choose to focus on dominating a specific area of Cytress, thereby reaping the associated bonuses that come with control of that territory. Alternatively, players might prioritise gathering a wealth of resources early on, setting themselves up for success in the later rounds, or they could aim to control the mini-map, which can offer significant advantages around the tubes that get built there later in the game. Or, do you want to gain all the Bounties. They are limited to five after all. Each of these strategies is viable, and the challenge lies in determining which path, combination of paths, will yield the highest score for you by the end of the game.

The beauty of this game lies in its complexity and the interplay of different strategies. Can you effectively combine various approaches to truly dominate the scoreboard? This question lingers in the minds of players as they plot their moves, weighing the potential risks and rewards of each decision. The satisfaction derived from executing a well-thought-out plan, while simultaneously adapting to the evolving game state and the actions of your opponents, creates a rich and rewarding gameplay experience that keeps players coming back for more.

When I play Cytress, I am instantly absorbed because of this. But it does not slow the game down. These complex and rich choices do not mean you will have a slow game. Far from it. Two of the four phases are simultaneous and very quick anyway, and the other two rounds where you are placing your leader and transports, you are limited to a few locations anyway. You just need to pick a strategy, then plot your most efficient path to that.

But of course, like all good board games, other players are around the table and forever changing the state of the game as you play. You won't have everything your way. Players will place their leaders where you want to go. They will take spots on the mini map you intended to use. They will build tubes in places you didn't expect. And most intriguingly, they will take the Stratolite card you had planned to use! Adapting to this, alongside your pre-planned moves, is crucial to the success of this game, both in terms of your personal score, but more importantly, the group enjoyment from the game, which I have found, every time I have played, to be immense!