Wow! What a great game. It took waaaaay more than the 90 minutes it said on the box, but then all four of us were new to the game, and only I have read the rules, (twice). We still made a few mistakes, but as we got into the third age, we were all finally getting some good strategy going. I'm sure our next game will be even better.
We discovered that there is a lot of value in the "screw your neighbor" tactics. I anticipate more PvP action in our next game too.
My only complaint in the game is that I don't think all bits and pieces of the game fit into the box very well. I've got some ideas on how to tackle that. If I can work them out I'll share them here.
All-in-all, AoC is a wonderful game, and I can't wait for the expansion!!!