Just about everyone who's a gamer has spent a lot of time hurling dice about and conquering the world in the classic game of Risk--and many of us have spent a lot of time playing it solitaire in one digital implementation or another, because it's a quick, fun way to kill fifteen minutes before your next meeting or the like. But when you come down to it, the problem with Risk in a soloplay environment, particularly, is that it's the same thing all over again. Same board, same AIs--and it does pall after a time.
That's the genius of Lux Delux. The game itself comes with a whole slew of different maps--along with a pretty decent random map generator. It also comes with a bunch of different AI "personalities" who play quite differently. And there's a "plugin manager" that allows you to download literally hundreds of fan-created maps from Sillysoft...as well as a map editor that lets you create your own. Plus, for coders, there's an SDK that allows you to create new AIs or random map generators.
In other words, if you like the basic gameplay, and want virtually infinite variety, Lux Delux supplies it--in a nicely implemented game with pretty visuals and decent sound. It's no surprise that the game was an Independent Games Festival finalist.
