7 Wonders Duel Review

The 7 Wonders game has been a great friend for families and groups of friends for many years. One of its biggest advantages is that whether it is played by 3 or 7 players, its duration will not change. However, this game has not been recognized in two countries. That's why its younger sister was born - the game 7 Wonders: Duel .

Subject matter

Players compete with each other to build wonders of the ancient world, develop their civilizations and leave their mark on world history. But in reality, there is no theme in the game. It's a successful set of mechanics that is rather gorgeously illustrated, but doesn't make sense and doesn't allow players to immerse themselves in the ancient world.

Components

The game has retained the excellent style of 7 Wonders and transparent iconography, which helps to learn how to play it very quickly and is logical. The fact that the game has virtually no text makes it accessible even to non-English speaking audiences. Also, if you have played 7 Wonders, the game will be very easy to understand. Everything else is of good quality, although it should be noted that the cards, which are the main element of the game, could be a bit bigger.

Mechanics

The game has perfectly preserved the feeling of 7 Wonders, but you have to understand that it is a completely different game, in my opinion, with fresher and more interesting mechanics.

The game is played in 3 rounds, where the players take a card from the pyramid of cards one after the other. Cards can be used to develop resources, science, military power and economy or to score points. Of course, they can be invested in the construction of the seven wonders.

Two mechanics - pyramid and alternate wins - are fascinating.

The pyramid from which the players draw cards is designed so that every other row is invisible and is only revealed when the bottom cards are drawn. Situations often happen when a player reveals a card, and there is exactly the card he wanted very much, but - nothing to do, the opponent's move and the choice is in his hands. Also, the pyramid allows you to calculate and predict which cards to take to limit your opponent's options.

Alternate victories create a nice tension, as it can happen that when certain criteria are met, the player achieves a scientific or military victory. In this case, the game is immediately stopped and the winner is declared. As a result, the players have a constant tension, which forces them to follow whether the opponent is not going to reach any of the criteria. However, it must be recognized that most often victories will be achieved with traditional points.

Multiplayer

Relatively high. The cards are laid out differently each time, there are slightly different miracles, and players can try to focus on certain victory criteria. But personally, I must say that in the first few games, all the mechanics seemed extremely exciting, but as you play more, the game's mechanics tire themselves out a bit. This is easily fixed with an extension though.

Rating

Would it be worth buying 7 Wonders: Duel if you already have 7 Wonders? Definitely yes, it's a completely different game, for a different number of players and for a different feel. The game is very accessible both in terms of mechanics and price, so I definitely recommend it to couples. Rating 7 out of 10.

You can buy the game at the Brain Games store at K. Barona Street 55 or at the online store: 7 Wonder Duel

Board Game Geek rating: 8.1

Author: Kristaps Auzāns

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