A friend of mine had this game, and recommended it to me. I was a bit skeptical because I could not see the "conflict" in the game, which tends to add to a games excitement. My 14 year old daughter set the game up quickly but struggled with the rules. They are a bit complex, but once you actually play through the situations, it actually makes a lot of sense. The rules end with a glossary of rules, which we found very helpful. The game play is fast, entertaining, and friendly. While not a cooperative play game, sometimes it felt that way when you trade resources. It's actually quite surprising how friendly the game is, compared to say, Monopoly where you win by decimating the opponent and putting them into bankruptcy. Not so with this game, everyone is doing well at some point or another, and the winner is the one who does the best, not eliminates the opponents. Nice. We play this quite often and it a great game for middle schoolers and high schoolers. It holds their attention quite well, gets them talking to each other and thinking about trades that are both good for them, and good for their opponents and its really fun. I love this game!