As far as I can tell this is a close to perfectly balanced pure strategy board, you can get unlucky with initial distribution but almost all of the ones I've had so far gave chances for both players. It's lots of fun to play. Highly recommended.
Brilliant idea behind the game. Game play is a lot of fun. Sometimes short term gain is more important, sometimes you need to play the long game.
Problem, however, is the huge first player advantage. The extra starting unit and max units allowed for player 2 is not enough to even it out. White (player 2) needs a very good initial distribution to have a chance against a competent opponent.
I was just recently introduced to this board, but it's quickly becoming one of my favorites, as it's a pure strategy board. The game-play does take some time to learn, and it's important to note that the propagation happens only to territories you control, not to all surrounding territories (as misstated in the rules). Looking forward to some more games on it!
Strategy game at its best. Better than 5 or 7. Play a few rounds in private before you go step into the ring with the guys who start the public games, because they'll end up wiping the floor with you.