Hello there, I got my hands on Torres after seeing it on Tanga and doing a mad dash to purchase it before it ran out. You know how Tanga can make you panic at times. It had been on my radar for years...and you all know the lure, the power of Tanga. But then it was MINE.
I figured it would be a good game for my non-gaming husband as he does have a little thing for chess, and I recall this was referred to as 3D Chess before (but can't say I agree with that much now).

The game was delivered to my house, but then I feared it. I let it sit on my table unopened for days. I just knew the rules would be intense and confusing. And AP points, what would I do with those? I hadn't played one of those games before, Action Points would do me in, I just knew it. Still, I opened the box with trepidation, saw the big colored Rule Book, and hoped it included lots of different languages. Thank the heavens it did. There are only 11 pages of English rules, big print and nice illustrations to go along. I read the rule book, mentally going over each rule in my thick skull, and it wasn't hard. I didn't fully grasp the moving through castles thing for the 1AP cost, but after a few games and reading the rules section here, it clicked.

This is the Rio Grande Games version of the game and I liked the way it looked, but had nothing to compare it to. The components seem very nice and they will last a long time.

After reading the rules, I cajoled my 8 year old gamer to have a play test game with me. She readily agreed and we got 90% done with the game when we had to quit. Later that night, we got the older 12 year old sister to play. She picked it up easily and we finished the 3P game with the 8 year old winning.
A day later another 3P game was done and I am so happy that the kids can play this and EVEN LIKE IT. Honestly, that makes me wonder if I am doing something wrong when playing it, but I am a bit of a rule freak, so I think I got it down pat. We also don't have a lot of downtime, we take our turns pretty quickly, realizing our errors shortly afterwards. My husband, bless his heart, turned down 2 opportunities to play with us. I am on the verge of giving up on him, sigh.

CONCLUSION
Maybe I haven't read everything that there is to know about Torres, but I always felt it was a very AP game with a lot of downtime and not much of a family game. Well, I think it is a fine family game. The rules are not that difficult or fiddly. My gosh, what I went through to learn the rules for Last Night on Earth makes Torres look like childs play. For some reason I want to compare this game to Downfall of Pompeii, that is how difficult I think it is. I know I have barely touched the surface of playing this game well, and having 8 and 12 year old opponents is not the same as playing with an experienced player, but I think the fact that these ages can play the game, and play it with some smart moves makes it an accessible game to everyone. I guess in that respect it is like chess.

I think we all give it about a 7.9 rating, and I think that may even be a little conservative. Admittedly it isn't a lighthearted game that you can laugh at while you play, like Incan Gold, Ubongo, or even Pompeii, but it holds your attention, plays pretty quickly (under an hour) and has good strategy. It definitely has its place in a collection of games.