This is truly a great game, and though I haven't played all of his designs, I consider it the best game Stefan Feld has made and it has quickly become one of my favorite games. It's just so rewarding, the modular board and set up ensures familiarity but fresh decisions every game. The future round information provided allows for quite a bit of planning, but you don't have to and can play more or less tactically and still have a great time as well. While a lot of the feld designs feel very much like point salads and lack a real feeling of tension (a notable example is the commonly lauded Trajan, which I rate highly as well, but which feels like it runs out of steam with everyone just kind of falling across the finish line), this game plays very very tight and every action is really important. This is a bit on the heavy side as a result, and depending on your expertise the set up can appear INCREDIBLY intimidating, but the rules aren't that tough and especially if they are explained to you the average gamer should have no problem picking it up pretty quickly. HIGHLY recommended.