It's a spin on the Settlers of Catan game. It's always nice to have to pick a new strategy on a familiar game. The only thing I wanted to mention was the coins and other carboard cutouts that come in the package need some improving. You have to be careful when removing the carboard cutouts as you can easily tear the printed surface of the piece, or pull the top surface away from the remainder of the thick cardboard. The little pieces of cardboard that stick out from the cutouts (where they were attached to the sheet) are also a little annoying as the pieces end up looking "cheap", considering how much the game retails for. It would be nice to get some solid wooden pieces for coins or something along those lines.
Summary |: A game so similar to Settlers of Catan yet so different.
What's Great (: No sheep!! If you've played Settlers of Catan before, there's a very short learning curve and a very wide range of new strategies to adopt. A great "social" board game all about America - bring out the Freedom Fries!!
What's Not Great ): You might need to re-read the rules before you feel comfortable with them. Four-player games can get VERY crowded and you cannot expand this game to 6-players... all the more reason to tell little Johnny that he won't be getting a little brother or sister.
What You Need To Know ?-: If you haven't played a Settlers game before, you should start with Settlers of Catan. In this game you have limited options for placing cities and hexes stop producing!! ...in my experience, you can't actually ride on the trains.
Compared To The Other Reviews /-: The game is fun just like everybody says, but most of these people have spent many nights in Catan. I'm sure there's an historical aspect to the game - I'm just too busy winning to notice.
About Me }(-: I love playing Catan games and win about 66% of the time (I'll sign autographs later). This is the only Catan game that I can consistently beat my sister at (I can smoke her at Monopoly and Clue and Battleship... the game, not the "movie.")