I ordered this after having played it once. My parents did the same. The gameplay is novel, the game itself attractive, and the learning curve is low. It made an impression.

Three ups:

- The game is fairly durable. We've been teaching my four year old to play and the only damage has been some bending of resource cards. Everything else is wood or thick cardboard.

-The gameplay is simple enough that my four year old is able to play, yet deep enough that neither myself or my wife feel we've mastered it. Between the strategic and diplomatic aspects of the game and the ability to randomize the board, the game plays well time and time again without the feeling of repetition or blandness of some games ("Sorry!" Comes to mind...). In addition, gameplay is fairly short, an hour is our average, and setup is quick. Great for a rainy day.

-It is a handsome game. The level of detail in the hex pieces draws the eye, the resource cards look similar enough that my four year old grasped the relationship intuitively, and the player pieces are elegantly simple.

Three downs:

-The price. At almost double the price of a regular board game, I was uncertain of the value. We love it, and the only problem I have with the price now is that I hesitated for almost two years because of it. I wish I'd bought it sooner.

-The resource cards. They aren't very sturdy compared to all the other pieces. Not even as hardy as good playing cards.

-Two player games leave something to be desired. This is a fairly common problem with boardgames, but I'd like to find something captivating enough to play weekly and not have it age from being played with just me and my wife. This definitely needs three players, and I believe the box states just that.

The take home points: My only regret is not buying it sooner. If you have two people you can play with regularly, this will provide hours of entertainment.