Winner of the German Game of the Year in 1996, and well-deserved. One of the most satisfying aspects about this game is that there are so many different ways to achieve a goal. In El Grande, each player represents a political faction in medieval Spain trying to spread their influence throughout various territories. The game consists of 9 turns, with a general scoring round after the 3rd, 6th, and 9th turns. The players with the most influence, 2nd most influence, and 3rd most influence in each territory receive the points. Players select and make use of action cards during each turn to alter the political situation in a given territory or to get bonus points instantly--but the cards with the most powerful actions offer the least long-term political influence, so selecing the best card is often a difficult choice. Because of the numerous scoring combinations possible, the outcome of a game is usually in question until the last territory is scored.

And as if that weren't enough, there are also two El Grande expansion sets available. The Konig & Intrigant expansion replaces the action cards from the basic set so that each player has an identical set of cards to play from. This adds balance, as over the course of the game, every player can perform the same set of actions as any other player. The Grossinquisitor & Kolonien expansion adds several new territories and a few more action cards to the game, making for even more possible ways one can earn points.

My game group typically plays one new game every week. Sometimes a new game gets played just once - sometimes twice, just to check whether the game is really as bad as the players thought after the first session.

Rarely, a new game gets added to our list of 'classics' - those games that we play over and over for months. El Grande is one of those. It has become the second most popular of the new games we have tried this year (the most popular new one being Citadels).

A great game for people that enjoy games that require strategic thinking.

I returned to El Grande recently after a long break ... and what can I say! My initial review was very wrong! Every game has been a winner: tense, exciting, tough decisions and of course that all important element: lots of opportunities to 'do people over'! Everyone who's played has enjoyed it and I've had no problems getting players to come back for more, in fact it's now enjoying an unusual amount of play (for a game that's over 7 years old) at my local games club! Each game is different as strange combinations of action cards force one to make unusual decisions and modify one's previous tactics.

How one's oppinions can change over time! Come back El Grande, all is forgiven, you're a true Classic!

A simply fantastic game. The rules are clear, easy to learn and easy to explain, but due to the game mechanics (described at length elsewhere), game play is deep and varies with each play. A tense, exciting, highly interactive, beautiful game. Worth every penny. Plays best with 4 to 5 players, though.