Municipium -- Territory control game.

I picked up Municipium from a BGG seller who was just awesome. I had previously picked up a couple other games from him, and he held this one for me. It is a 2-4 player territory-control game designed by Reiner Knizia. The box speaks quality, but that is to be expected from a Knizia game. Inside:

Quality cards, wooden pieces, cloth bag, nice-looking board, well-written rulebook. I was excited already. First game was played with 2, just myself and a friend from our game group. You have 7 "family members" and 3 "family cards". There are also 12 "Common cards". During initial setup you place all seven of your family members. During your turn you may move up to 2 of your family members along the road to a different location. You then must either draw a common card, or play a family card. The family cards are generally more powerful and more beneficial to you, but you only get to use them each once during the game. The common cards may be reshuffled into the game after running out, but they may benefit your enemies more than you depending on the circumstances.

The fun comes in executing the different locations powers. Whoever has the most influence (family members) in a given location gets to exercise its power. The temple allows you to break influence ties. The tavern lets you move your enemies pieces, etc... The goal is to obtain citizens of four different colors, and then trade those in for decurion coins. 5 coins and you win.

You can find it at Amazon for about $30, or BGG for around $20.

FUN: 3. It's a solid game, but nothing special.

THEME: 3. I like Roman-themed games, and this one works out okay.

QUALITY: 4. Wood pieces, thick cardstock, good quality.

ART: 3. It's okay, nothing fancy.

INTERACTIVITY: 4. Quite interactive.

COMPLEXITY: 3. Simple to learn and play, nothing too deep here.

LUCK: 3. Balance of luck and strategy.

Decent little strategy game that doesn't require too much time.