Condottiere is simply a very portable and deep game that scratches a whole lot of itches.

If you like Area Control and/or Light War games, you will enjoy Condottiere. The challenge with these games however is that they often take a few hours (think Shogun, El Grande, Imperial, Struggle of Empires).

I am not going to get into the rules, but rather share why you should include Condottiere in your game collection.

1. Sometimes, you have the itch to play something like the afore mentioned games, but don't have the time. Condottiere scratches that itch.

2. It leaves you wanting to play again. When a game is done, you immediately feel the need to convince the group to play again.

3. It is very competitive/confrontational. I like games where there is direct interaction and confrontation. With Condottiere, this is definitely the case. Players must talk to each other, encourage moves, discuss hands, but most importantly battle. While the card-play for battle is fairly straight forward, the mental game is what makes the card-play-battle mechanic a gem. When you are in a battle, you need to think about whether you will have cards for the next battle, what your current opponent might have left, what they might not have and ultimately make choices on this information.

4. Poker Reference. This game has been compared to poker in some ways. While I love poker, I don't think that it is a fair or altogether accurate comparison. This is important for those of you sitting on the fence, because if you want to play poker, you'd just play poker. Or, if you hate poker, then you are probably purposefully staying away from this game. Whatever your stance is, please know that the only way this game resembles poker is in that there are cards and there is bluffing. One could say that this game is like Risk because there is a map or like El Grande because there are colored cubes.

5. Size. One of the reason's this game appeals to me is it's size. While I love "monster games" with all of the bits and pieces, and the huge board, this game has appeal because so much can fit in that tiny box (about the size of a mac 'n cheese box). There is a board, a bunch of cards, two pawns and enough control markers for 6 players.

6. Price. Related to size, is the price. While FFG lists this game's MSRP as $19.95, I was able to pick it up for less than this at my FLGS. Price is important for those looking to build/round out their game collection.

7. Scalability. It seems that there are not that many games of this size/price/type that are playable for 6 players. While the box says 2-6 players, I would suggest that 3-6 is optimal.

8. Easy to Teach. I have been able to teach this game in about 5 minutes. This is important if it comes up as a "filler" where time is a factor or if you are teaching game newbies who lack attention spans when things get more complex than Scrabble or Connect Four. You may even want to use this as a "gateway" game.

9. Complexity and Satisfaction. Sometimes, "fillers" fail to provide a complex enough gaming experience to satisfy that itch. I believe this is one of Condottiere's strengths. In a short amount of time, 3-6 players can experience a deeply engaging gaming session. When the battles are over and even when the game is over, you will be left second guessing your moves, strategies and wondering what you should have done and what you will do differently next time.

All of these reasons have made Condottiere a prized game in my collection and one that will continue to come out with all types of gamers.