1. Intro: I confirm that this game is Through the Ages Elegant.
2. Weight: Heavy
3. Audience: This game would be a gate way game from medium into heavy euro game.
4. Players: For 1 to 5 players. Plays best with 4 or 5 players imho.
5. Solitaire: Yes
6. Bits: 8/10 . The pieces are good quality. The cards are good stock.
7. Rules: The rules are concise, clear and well written. If you are a moderator for the game its easy to explain in about 20 minutes.
8. Setup: 10-15 minutes
9. Game-flow: There are eight turns in the game. There is practically no down time. The flow is fast because there are only 3 player actions, The choices in those actions can cause you to pause but there is plenty of time to figure out what to do while others are playing their turns.
10. Randomness: Open card drafting based on turn order.
11. 629
Interaction: The player interaction is well balanced. Choices will deny others cards and there is some confrontation with wars. The wars however can be avoided or the effects can be minimized.
12. Downtime: Next to know down time.
13. Fun: This game leaves you wanting to play again right away because there are so many different paths to victory. Lots of tension right to the end. Victory point distribution will be close which adds to the end game climax of who is going to win.
14. Theme: There is a story to the game which is your empire and how you built it. I felt ownership of my empire and I definitely had to struggle to manage six different resources
15. Recommendation: I recommend this game for those that love civ games, heavy euros or for those players that want to advance from medium weight games to an elegant engaging short civ game. This game is much better than through the ages because it is less cumbersome that TTA and plays in half the time. If I had to chose between Nations and Through the Ages I would play Nations because it is faster and just as engaging.
PS: I have played Nations 6 times (on the A side and with the Advance cards added) with some very tough opponents and the game shines even more. In addition the game was played an additional 4 times by other members in are group. I bought the game the week before Christmas so this game is very hot . In fact it is hotter than any games I have seen our games group play since I have been a member (2008). My group has been together since 1975.
PREDICTION: This is the best Civilization game I have played and is far better than Through the Ages (43 plays of TTA). This game will rise to TOP 10 and overtake Through the Ages. I also predict that it will also overtake Twilight Struggle and become the number 1 game on BGG because it is that good
I recommend that you watch this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fijbN6sLeEg
Cheers and enjoy 299