Best played with 4-5 people. The simple layout means no one player has an early advantage. It requires careful strategy to determine where to build up units to deny another player from getting a card.
I actually totally disagree with the people saying initial distribution determines the outcome. Well, maybe it would for 2-player games, but that's always the case (with boards not designed for those games). I've played several three- four- and five-player games on this board and it's not an issue at all. At this scale, interestingly enough, the difference between 3 and 4 armies a turn just isn't that much. Everyone is very careful every turn so in fact the game becomes pretty challenging as you try to outmanuever your opponents. With so few territories and only 1 fortify, leaving a single army in the wrong spot can spell your doom.
However the limited number of colors available is simply unforgivable. There is just no reason to treat people that way. That alone frankly drops my review to 6 stars from probably 8.