I have been a fan of the Illuminati family of games all the way back to having to cut out my money in the pocket box edition. It is no surprise that I really enjoy Deluxe Illuminati.

Components
110 cards, a sheets of die-cut money, 2 dice, and rules.

Setting/Theme
The basic them of Illuminati is that each player controls one of several different secret cabals which hope to rule the world. The theme is sort of real world meets conspiracy meets tongue-in-cheek humor. The major groups are the Illuminati, each of which has a unique victory condition and special power. They compete to build an empire of less powerful but better known groups ranging from the Boy Sprouts to the city of New York.
The theme is well-executed and the game strikes a good balance between humor and serious play.

Rules
The rules are too complex to provide a good overview here, but a simple rundown would look like this:
On his turn a player gathers his income (megabucks) for the groups he currently controls. He can then take actions with his groups. They can try to control (takeover), destroy (just what it sounds like) or neutralize (return a controlled group to uncontrolled status) other groups, either uncontrolled groups or groups in their own or another player’s power structure.
Groups have up to 5 different alignments and groups which have similar alignments receive bonuses on takeovers, while groups with opposed alignments take penalties. In most cases, any player may interfere in the fight by spending megabucks to help either the attacker or defender.
The game ends when one player achieves either his special victory condition (based on his group) or gains control of a number of groups depending on the number of players.

Production
The game is well-produced. The cards are on good stock and the artwork is interesting, sharp, and clear. The game is generally well thought out, which is no surprise given that the current edition represents roughly the 4th try at the game (Illuminati, an earlier Illuminati Deluxe, the collectible Illuminati: New World Order, and this edition).

Recommendation
If you like the idea of a fun-filled conspiracy game, this one could be for you. It does have a tendency to get a bit fiddly as the megabucks start to fly (not as bad as when they were paper, though). There are a lot of rules to keep track of so despite appearances, this is not a filler or light game.