Hi there - I had a chance to play the new edition yesterday and wanted to give an overview of it.

My first thought opening the box is - WOW! The components are brilliantly illustrated, the rulebook is in color with lots of pictures and explanations, and the mapboard - prepare yourselves now - is fully mounted! Quite a change for the GMT set, but it was neat to see. In addition, the map has the linen texture you see on higher quality Euros. One quibble - the cards don't have illustrations, which I find appealing in Nappy Wars and Here I Stand. You may have heard the colored leader stand mix is off, so you'll need to supplement with HIS or TNW black stands.

As for game play, here's how I saw it. Two caveats: it was my first play, and I had to leave before the final turn. But, I was able to get enough of an overview to offer an opinion.

The game simulates the wars surrounding the struggle for succession following Alexander the Great's sudden death in Babylon. Each player takes charge of 2 generals, forming a faction. They are randomly assigned, so no 2 games will ever be the same. I was initially intrigued by the interesting side games - you try to get legitimacy for your faction by performing various deeds like marrying Alexander's relatives, burying/guarding Alexander's corpse, and taking possession of his heirs. However, that wasn't really a big part of the game and in the end it was really an area control contest much like Hannibal. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I wish there were more paths to victory.

The good: The game does a great job of simulating the chaos surrounding Alexander's death - your faction could be completely cut off, united, or surrounded. I also like the legitimacy mechanic, which affects your ability to convince royal troops to fight for you.

The bad: If you fall behind early, it seems like it would be difficult to climb back into the game. There's also a LOT of down time, especially if any of the players are afflicted with Analysis Paralysis. During your turn, you play a card and THEN get to move all of your generals, which with four players takes a long time. My biggest criticism, though, is that the legitimacy mechanic wasn't fully utilized. I'm hoping that was because we were all newbies, because I love the idea of playing for legitimacy rather than VP's (yawn). By turn 3, it was just a land grab. I'd much rather play Here I Stand, which is also a long game but has so many unique paths to victory.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Will I play again? Probably not - I hate the idea of getting stuck in a death march. On the other hand, maybe an experienced group could make it go much faster.