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Conclusion:
Concordia plays like a throwback to Euro games. Lots of wooden bits, a tad abstract yet with a theme, and plays in about 1.5 hours. The game is meaty without being overwhelming. On any given turn, you have one decision (which card to play), but you have to plan ahead to accomplish your move.
There are a few ways to score and while you can do a little of everything, by specializing you can use the modifiers to your advantage. Sometimes this will be a plan coming together, other times you will have to think on your feet.
The biggest flaw of the game is the scoring. It is tough to explain to new players and there is a lot of it. Once you master it, it all plays perfectly with the game. I feel you need to commit to the game for a couple of plays. Also, the intermediate scoring rule is a must for the first game (this allows all players to score during the game one additional time early in the game to get the hang of it).
Overall, I liked the use of a single card per round to keep down time to a minimum. This really kept the game moving. This is a game that could have been bogged down with AP. Instead, the rounds fly by.
Also, the decisions you make really feel they impacted the end game scoring. You are trying to out think and maneuver your opponents. You can build houses or expand out, get more people, get more land, get more cards, etc.
This game is currently a keeper. After playing it, I was ready for a lighter game as it can be taxing. While not the deepest game on the market, it is a thinker and theme is pasted on.
Components:
The components are top notch. While the art in the game is limited, the quality of the components is great. The wooden meeples/ships are solid as are the wooden houses. The board is colorful, easy to read, and double sided. The cards feel great in your hands and will last for a long time. The text is big and easy to read. I had zero complaints about the cards or any of the components.
Everything is made to last and easy to use. This is a good example of a "classic" Euro game.
Rule Book:
The rule book led me to believe I was missing something, but I was not. The game is that easy to learn. 336
I wish the player aids were better. Instead of a small card with limited text, I wish it included a player aid with more details on final scoring.
The explanation of all the cards was fantastic. The rules are pretty easy: play one card and do what it says. Scoring is the beast here and I wish the examples were more plentiful.
Overall, I'm happy with the rule book. You can literally start playing within minutes and use the "intermediate scoring" to quickly get a handle on scoring.
Flow of the Game:
The flow of the game is rather simple, yet your decisions are important.
All players start with the exact same cards. The cards allow you to get other cards, build cities, move armies (abstracted; there is no war in this game), sell/buy items at the market.
On your turn, you play one card and do what it says (see above). That's it.
I'll explain a few things that you can do, but this is not a recitation of the rules.
1. There is a set of cards you can purchase and add to your hand. These cards cost goods. They allow you to do actions (like the cards that start in your hand) and also have multipliers for end of game scoring. These cards will increase your end of game score by a lot. Sometimes your decision is do you buy a card that will help you get "things" you need now or that will help end of game scoring. This is something you must balance.
2. You can move your armies/ships around the board. This will allow you to build houses. By building houses you will score end of game scoring and to obtain goods.
3. You can buy and sell goods at the market. You have a warehouse that can hold a finite amount of goods. You cannot just ditch goods you don't need/want, so you have to sell them. Money is going to be tight in this game.
4. You add additional armies/ships to the board. This helps you get around the board to build more houses. Building these houses can increase the amount of goods you can get and scoring at end of game. The number of people you have on the board also scores end of game points.
5. You can get more goods. 629