Carson City is a "build a town/worker placement" game with the chaotic and backstabbing feel of the old west. It is a fast playing game with a LOT of ways to earn victory points. It is also a game that I feel have a poorly written rulebook.
But once you get past that, and learn the game which can feel overwhelming at first but is actually very simple, it's great fun to play. The game mechanics make sense, there are a lot of choices and strategy.
The game provides a few alternative rules out of the box as well, with the double sided board, the double sided character cards and alternative duel rules.
In the end it does feel as if it covers everything and does it well, only negative critique is to the way the rulebook is written and the complete lack of a rule summary/crib sheet.
Check the full review on my blog:
http://anatolisgameroom.blogspot.com/2011/09/carson-city-boardgame-review.html