Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

For the past several years, my primary gaming partner has been my wife. As you can imagine then, 2-player style games come out quite often at our house. This is the best 2-player game I have ever played, bar none. To start, know that I have never played 7 Wonders (the original game), so I can't compare it to that. We also are extremely late in picking this up due to owning Splendor, Among the Stars, and Roll for the Galaxy (as well as many others), each of which has 2-player engine building style gameplay, similar to 7 Wonders Duel [7WD]. Despite that basic similarity, however, 7WD has several features that simply places it on the top, where it will stay for quite some time. - It has multiple unique win conditions. This is so important in a 2-player game, I almost refuse to play any 2-player game where this is not a feature; at least give us multiple paths to the same victory condition! Knowing you will lose starting on turn three is no fun whatsoever. In 7WD, you can win by points, by conquering your opponent, or by gaining enough variety in the sciences. The latter two still count as a victory even if you have zero points. So it is entirely possible to be winning the whole game, then have your spouse swoop in for a victory on the last phase! This makes every game tense and enjoyable for both parties; you are never out of the fight... - It is an engine building game at heart. Engine building games are great for 2-spouse games because it allows you to win without stomping the other one into the ground. Humans are competitive; we tend to stay mad at the opponent for a while after a loss! So, having an engine building game where it is more "your city versus theirs" is nice. For whatever reason, psychologically the loser feels less angst towards the winner about the loss, probably because the loser knows the losing city wasn't built properly! - It is inherently random. Each game is set up in a Tri-Peaks style pyramid, meaning each game is unique. On top of that, you only see the faces and abilities of about 50% of the cards; the rest are face down. This provides a substantial amount of replay value between games, as within each phase of each game you are constantly having to rethink which victory you are pursing and how. The facedown cards do not always fall in line with your first thought! - It is thematic. Building an ancient Greek city is such a cool idea. - It is fast. We are parents. As much as we love sitting around playing five hour adventure romps on cold nights, a 30 minute game is much more reasonable. Plus, 2-player games are just better when they are shorter: finish it up, move on to the next round, give the loser a chance for redemption - or time to grab a beer... - The titular Wonders are very well done, in both their art and their mechanics. They provide a race mechanic (8 are dealt, but there can only be 7 on the board!) and are incredibly helpful with their game-altering mechanics, but they are not inherently overpowering. I have still won games where my wife dropped all four of hers on the board in one fell swoop. Again, that's rare, but it's yet another example of how you aren't out of the fight until its over! 7WD has set the bar for 2-player game enjoyment. It isn't the most complex, it isn't the prettiest (but its close!), and it is certainly only one genre: engine building. But it understands what a 2-player game needs and delivers on all fronts. Hopefully, other genre's of 2-player games will learn from 7WD's success.