One of my favourite games! Everything you do is interconnected; it's thematic, grand and beautiful. Great production value. Has an official solo mode on BGG which is ok - I need to play it more. Definitely a heavy game. Carve out enough time to learn it and play it and you will be rewarded!

Beautiful art, an interesting resource tree, and excellent worker placement mechanisms. This game really works well among those looking for a resource management game with a lot of decision space and requiring players to both plan their own actions several turn in advance to maximize opportunities, as well as anticipate what other players will want to do to try to profit from them as well. Players will collect resource sets to gather cards from the river, giving them unique abilities or end game scoring, as well as progress with the guilds. Working on the river contracts takes resources away from being able to fulfill the other part of the end game victory points - providing resources to Akbar the Great. And that tension of how best to use your resources also applied to the components. You use the same items to mark what resources you have available, how much influence you have, and what contracts you fulfill, leading to a forced scarcity which is excellent.
My one gripe about the game is the unnecessary angled contract/Akbar board, which makes it easy to accidentally dislodge pieces on there. Other players have characterized it as an unintentional dexterity game. Having it as an ascending board leading up to Akbar is thematically engaging, but consequently awkward and potentially disruptive.
Overall, this is a fantastic game worth having in every heavy gamer's collection, but if there was a better way of doing that board, or an aftermarket product that simulates it better, it would be worthwhile, just to avoid that awkwardness of trying to advance without accidentally bumping the other pieces.