Two weekends ago Tim and Bronwyn brought over a new game Tim picked up while in Sydney called Thurn and Taxis.
The title of the game refers to the worlds first Postal Service/Stage Coach company, founded by the noble house of Thurn and Taxis, who started out Italian, but established the company in Germany and eventually moved there.
The object of the game is to collect city cards in order to lay out a route. When you claim a route you may place a stage house in either every city you pass through in one region, or one house in every region you pass through. Being the first to service all of a region, or achieve the longest routes gives you the points that win you the game, with the 2nd person getting less points and so on.
The feel of the game is very much like a mixture of El Grande and Ticket to Ride. Unlike many German games it currently only goes to four, but given it has won the 2006 Spiel des Jahres award (like Ticket to Ride, Settlers and numerous other games that spawned spin offs and expansions), I fully expect an expansion or 5/6 player version in the next 12 months.
I would currently rate it 8/10, and a fairly quick and fun game.