The top of the game screen shows twelve districts, arranged in a random sequence, equally divided at the start between the Stag (dark) and Cross (light) factions. The large number on each district is its inherent strength in conflict, measured in influence points. The three numbers near the bottom are the potential victory points awarded to each player of the winning faction if the district loses a conflict and changes allegiance; the more players in the winning faction, the fewer points are awarded. Each district contains a building site, shown as a small square. At the beginning of the game, each player builds a Market or Bank in one district. As the game progresses, there are further opportunities for building. Only one building can be placed in each site, and each player can have no more than three buildings. Markets in friendly districts provide influence cards each turn, and Banks (regardless of their location) provide potential victory points at the end of the game."

Although it sounds complicated and, indeed, requires a lot of learning and practice to succeed, the effort you put into Turncoat pays off handsomely when you realize that its clever rules do elevate the oft-ignored importance of turncoats and spies in computer games to unprecedented levels. The amount of victory points you receive for each conflict your faction wins depends on the type of conquered district, as well as the number of players in the winning faction. Since your objective is to be a member of the winning faction in a conflict because only the winner is awarded victory points, using the so-called Turncoat and Spy roles effectively is key to success. To beat computer players (all of whom are driven by challenging AI), you need to not only back your faction in a conflict, but must also switch factions as soon as you think your luck has changed. All in all, Turncoat is a very interesting, fun, and unique blend of Monopoly, Acquire, and card games in which effective bluffing is required. Highly recommended to anyone who likes abstract strategy games in the best tradition of Machiavelli. The only downsides to the game I can think of are the considerable learning curve (a tutorial would have helped), and the fact that you need to install the Microsoft .NET package (about 20MB) before playing. Two thumbs up!