Very nice big board. Best played with 12+ players. This board brings alot of possibilities to employ your strategie. The city's earn the most armies. You can play it fast or controllish. You can focus at one corner or spread it out. I've seen a lot of different strategies succeed.
This is a huge board, and can lead to epic battles. With a large number of players, expect it to take a long time. Feel that the board might be weighted to give an advantage to players on the east coast, but maybe some more rounds on it will nullify that feeling.