7 Wonders is a classic gateway game, offering a simple, competitive game for players to compete on advancing their civilizations and building wonders. While this game certainly deserves to be a contender for great gateway games, 7 Wonders Duel takes this simple, strategic concept and makes it a quicker, more cut-throat battle.

The game offers a few ways to win, through victory points, military might or scientific symbols. While the victory point contest is similar to the original game, a separate military tracker can affect points and gold, as well as end the game immediately, if one player reaches their opponents end. Finally, if a player collects 6 of the 7 scientific symbols, they will also win. These options add a nice, strategic complexity that keep the games exciting and even.

Another level of strategy is added by the way card drafting is done. All of the cards for a round are set up randomly in specific patterns at the beginning of each round. Some will be face up, some face down, and some cards will be ‘covering’ a corner of a card above it, preventing it from being drafted at that time. Therefore, when cards are drafted from the base row, they may reveal or unblock cards above them, allowing them to be drafted by your opponent immediately. The choices you make here require mastering timing, as well as synergy amongst your cards.

Overall, I think this is a great game. It plays quickly and grants the victor a very satisfying win in the end. I do wish they had used full sized cards, instead of the small card-size (similar to ticket to ride), and this is a game that when played repeatedly becomes to feel samey, resulting in some 7-wonders-fatigue, if you will. But every once in a while, I’ll get the itch that only 7 Wonders Duel can scratch, and that’s why it will stay in my collection.

7 Wonders Duel is the crown jewel of 2 player board games.

You may also like: 7 Wonders, Targi

Information for this review is based on my plays with 2 players.