The closer we get to Essen, the more we want to talk about it

And when we get there, we'll release the first expansion for Cyclades, the game from Bruno Cathala and Loduvic Maublanc that has received a warm reception from public and critics alike. So much warm reception, in fact, that it's out of stock. Don't worry, though – it should be back on shelves before the winter season, in case you missed your chance to get a copy.

What with the gods delivering such great news, the authors and publisher have decided to release an expansion. It will contain four different modules, which will give you four new ways to play and a fair amount of new detail.

We won't go into much detail today because Matagot likes to draw out the news for an unreasonably painful amount of time. They will reveal everything here, on the site, and God only knows what they have in mind.

But if I tell you that there is a god who loves the undead – well, that's not telling you too much, is it?

The least I can do is show you some of the illustrations by Miguel Coimbra, a very good artist who is very bad about succumbing to threats of physical violence. He has allowed us to show you a few heroes, because he wanted to keep all his fingers.

Once our lazy illustrators complete the final cover, we will show it to you, right here. And God willing the creek's don't rise, we'll have copies of the expansion in the US by November. Of course, that's assuming Matagot's curse doesn't rear its ugly head and add a few weeks to the release schedule.

Cyclades: Expansion
A game by Bruno Cathala and Ludovic Maublanc
Illustrated by Miguel Coimbra
Published by Matagot
For 2-5 players aged 10+
Available in November 2011