I'm a space junky, and playing this game taught me a lot of rocket science. My game group has a couple of NASA scientists in it and I can now understand 95% of what they are talking about.
Sid Meier has made a number of great computer games inspired by old board games (which have then gone on to inspire other boardgames). In this case he has taken the old Avalon Hill game Conquistador (which was never a good title for the game) and turned it into Civ in the New World. Although a lot like Civ and a number of other 4x games this game does a good job of distinguishing itself by addressing a very different type of history. The game is as addictive as any TBS game I've ever played. The graphics show its age as does the 8-bit sound track, but I keep finding myself coming back to it and enjoying it anew.
