This expansion is great, it offers a new 2 sided board that’s carefully reworked to be as fair and balanced as possible; one side of the new board is for the standard races only and the other side is balanced to playing with 1 or more of the 6 new races. The expansion is honestly great, if a bit expensive. But if price isn’t an issue and you love this game I really recommend picking it up.The new board is good, it doesn’t massively favor Black and Brown races (hobbit, swamplings, etc) in the large western landmass like the old board did, it’s also much better for the Fakirs too. The new races are very fun and not overpowered by any means, they do however get some very unique new rules and abilities that change the rules and bent the meta for sure. The new races also have new Fire and Ice landmasses that cannot be changed once placed and don’t alter the normal terra-forming schemes too much.There are also two new races (Shapeshifters & Riverwalkers) that are a bit stronger that the other races and really change the game up a lot. It’s a good addition and they are fun to play, though I have seen a lot of people take them out of more standard games. Over all, great expansion, a nice new double sided board and some fun new races, a bit expensive but to me it was worth it.A must buy for those who already own Terra Mystica!! Adds a new playing (double sided) board and factions. This is a great Euro-weenie game for the who family to enjoy. I'm more of a "war gamer" by heart, but this game is truly a good strategic level euro game where everyone is in it to the end. No player elimination like most games like Monopoly, Risk, etc. The rules seem to be complex but really if you dedicate some time to learn, you and your family will be rewarded with a great gaming experience. Highly recommend this and the base game Terra Mystica. If your new to board games, head over to Boardgamegeek.com where you will find thousands of gamers that will be eager to assist you in your new hobby.New factions are interesting and unique, but feel like the original factions are still enough. Anyways the updated board itself is a great improvement to help balance out those factions that were considered overpowered (still strong but not as strong)Since the base Terra Mystica game is so good, I had to get this. I was not disappointed. This expansion definitely gives you a lot for the money, here are some specifics:6 new characters/factions to add to the already ample selection from the base gameA new - two sided game board that offers more options for which world you want to use.Wooden pieces for two new factions (orange and white).New rule additions like the first player to pass in a given round can go first in the following round (and includes a handy little bracket and tokens to keep track).Overall, the new characters and all of the extras made it well worth purchasing, especially if you already like the original base game.Terra Mystica is the best board game of all time, in my opinion. I play a LOT of board games, review them, go to conventions, etc. I confidently state that Terra Mystica is the best because of the high skill ceiling, the skill curve, the incredible variety of scenarios, and the fact that the designers have set up 20 factions that are all unique, asymmetrical, and each play differently than one another. I have played over 180 games of TM and no two of them have had the same scenario because each time you randomize the bonus tiles, round scoring tiles, the end scoring tiles, and ideally the factions to auction off..Fire and Ice is a contentious, hit and miss affair in my gaming group. A lot of the TM fans in our group do NOT like much of this expansion. They feel the new factions are unbalanced and/or over powered. Furthermore, they don't like some of the optional rules changes to scoring. Perhaps they see TM as the perfect Euro-game that doesn't need anything added to it. I've also noticed that most on-line versions of TM do NOT use this expansion in their version of the game either. Let that sink in before you purchase this.Personally, I don't see what the big deal is, but I don't play a lot of TM myself. additions contained within the expansion don't seem that earth shattering to me. Though, the new factions do seem a bit strange to me. Perhaps hardcore players can see something I don't. Terra Mystica is one of the few heavy, mechanically sound, but very bland Euro-games I will play, but it's not a favorite. So, I have to say this a "try before you buy" expansion. Your hardcore TM fans might not like it.Very happy with this purchase. Following the manufacturers suggestions we have not used the Riverwalker/Shapeshifter board. Outside of that we've really enjoyed the expansion. The end game goals options has been a wonderful addition as is the new board. The new board slightly nerfs some of the easier races to play from the original game. The four additional races are fun, challenging, and very different from the original races. I also like the board to indicating passing/turn order.We have yet to do the auction option for races to start the game but it seems like it would make things interesting.All in all excellent additions to what was already an amazing game.This is a very nice add-on to the already amazing Terra Mystica. After playing the game many times, it's very nice to have a different board and 6 new factions to play with. The new factions require very different strategies which require you to think in a different way. Very much fun!Not much to say, if you love Terra Mystica, the expansion gives you more ways to play and that can't ever be a bad thing. The pieces are made of good quality material and with a bit of care, should last many play sessions.makes a great game even better.Adds new races and some interesting new mechanics.All the bits can just about fit in the original box.Great expansion for an amazing game!Creo yo que este es un juego que no puede faltar en tu colección si te gustan los juegos de mesa modernos.El juego es sencillo e intuitivo, sin embargo es bastante profunto y tiene a todos pensando intensamente en cada partida.Some of the new concepts are cool and make the game better, but they are not dependent on actually having this game box. Overall i don't feel like the expansion added enough new pieces. I would have loved to see new scrolls and definitely some more of the regular scoring tile verities. The end-of game scoring changes are nifty at times as they can change the way some players plan ahead quite a bit, especially with more players.