Long set up, table hog, and not the easiest teach. The basics in how to do everything is relatively simple though, and how to execute is a different story. A very tactical game where you need to keep your eyes constantly on what will score in the end game, that can change in a moments notice. Enjoyed it a lot, but it may not be for everyone.
I'll start with a caveat right away: this game involves dice, be it a few or a gratuitous quantity. If you don't like games that involve a good dose of randomness (which can, to a certain extent, be mitigated), stay away from those cute little foxes I MEAN LOOK AT THOSE FACES HOW COULD YOU STAY AWAY????
*cough*
Sorry.
The Fox experiment charmed us from the moment we opened the box. The setting, historically accurate (to some degree, I imagine), is new, and darn pretty. Could the game system be completely reskinned to something else? Hell yeah. But the designers went with this one, and it's fine by us.
Gameplay: fluid, pleasant, not too much administration despite what we initially thought. Once you're used to the tasks in-between turns, it goes quite smoothly. The game doesn't overextend its welcome, either. We always found ourselves wanting one more round - generally a good sign!
The material is where we ding the one star. Cards are paper thin. If you shuffle carelessly, you just may ruin one. Plus being so thin, they're lighter, and therefore more liable to fly off with the slightest breeze. Dice are nice in general. The only one we found a tad meh is the friendliness (green) die, along with its token. Lackluster for us.
Overall, we really enjoyed our time with The Fix Experiment, and look forward to bringing it to the table again, preferably with more folks!
P.S. - Word to the wise: as tempting as it may be, don't constantly speak with an exaggerated Russian accent. Your partner may want to leave/divorce you.
Everything arrived safely and quickly, real happy to have found a copy of Zuuli which is mostly only available in the UK right now.
Similar concept to Karuba of connecting huts to things but a bit more chaotic since each player pulls a random tile from the center pool each turn. I found the puzzle and risks very fun as I cursed all the previous placements I had made. The scoring takes the longest but we laughed and gasped at our very low and occasionally high counts.