Well, it's been 5 or so days now and I'm starting to understand the game. Yes, it's a bit addicting, mostly because I want a good city when I lose the beginner status. I have way too many big castles around me on server 7 and I'm quite a few miles from any of the BFM members in Warcraft. I checked into applying and they have the prestige requirement way too high for people just out of beginner status.
I'm also playing on the new server 23 and doing quite well. Everyone on there is new, no giant castles to be afraid of, just huge alliances already formed.