With my "executive reviews" I try to distil the essence of a game in a brief summary, adapted to time-challenged gamers (like myself).
Introduction
The <PERSON> family was one of the more famous and active in Europe during the Middle Age and the modern era. In this game the players try to replicate the successes of one such family, gaining control of vast territories, cities and ports.
Theme
The historic theme is not too deep in the game, which undoubtedly has some quite abstract elements in it. We are however pretty much within the average for a typical Euro. Think about, say, Carcassonne or Thurn & Taxis and you get the idea.
Components
Very good quality components here. The board, which represents medieval/modern Europe in a hex-ized way, is sturdy and beautifully illustrated. Cards and chits are very good. The most unique components are certainly the plastc "fiefs", 12 for each color. They are quite big, but are not a symptom of overproduction: they are functional and work really well.
Mechanic
The game is a mix of card-drawing, placement and action-choosing elements. In each turn every player draws a card which indicates the fief he has to place, and then he choses secretly, using his set of action cards, where and how the fief will be placed. This requires some planning, since the fiefs have quite different and complex shapes, and the placement rules are very specific. Moreover, the action cards used in one turn cannot be used in the next. If you cannot place the fief, there is always the possibilty to donate it to the church, which will compensate you with some victory points. 336
Points are scored both during the game, for cities and ports controlled, but also at the end. In this final scoring every player gets points for his controlled cities that were in his secret mission card (every player gets one such card at the beginning, with 6 target cities on it). A special bonus is finally given to the player with the most connected fiefs.
Complexity
The rules of the game are fairly simple both to learn and to explain. After watching two or three rounds played you are ready to go.
Length
A standard game is quite short. You should never go beyond the 60 minutes mark.
Replayability
Good, I'd say. There are two elements which contribute to that. Every game starts with a different random scenario, which reflects a specific historic moment, showing which parts of Europe are rich (i.e., give more points) and which are suffering. Moreover, in each game every player gets a mission card requiring him to concentrate on different parts of the board.
Number of players/Solo playability
The game cannot be played solo, it's for 2-4 players and seems to work well in each player configuration.
Language-dependant elements
None. The rulebook is the only thing you have to read. I got the German and the Italian ones in the box, but the English rules are available to download.
Final take
A good family game, quick, easy to play and to learn. The mechanic is nice, the production value very good. I would have loved a little bit more theme, but even as it is the game deserves at least 7,5/10. 629