Asmodee 7 Wonders Duel Board Game BASE GAME - Intense Two-Player Battles in the Ancient World, Strategy Game for Kids and Adults, Ages 10+, 2 Players, 30 Minute Playtime

Quick take: The original 7 Wonders is well known for being a great 3-7 player game, though it struggles with a tedious variant for 2 players. 7 Wonders: Duel takes this 2 player criticism head on with brand new game mechanics, but keeps the spirit of the original game intact. Positives The 7 Wonders universe has always had great artwork and gameplay, and Duel meets all that. However, Duel takes a significantly different approach to how cards are built throughout the game. The main 7 Wonders game and all its expansions were based on a hand of cards passing around the circle, and then card-drafting your civilization from that. Duel takes a different approach of laying the cards out in different combinations of face up and face down pyramid shapes, with cards overlaid on top of others. This ensures that both players can see some of the cards that will be available in future turns, though not the face down ones. On your turn, you might hesitate to build a Stone Quarry (even though you really need stone!) because doing so would open up a key card or cards for your opponent. These back-and-forth risk/reward decisions that players will make would be interesting enough on their own, but Duel also adds a twist to three more mechanics: military victory, science victory, and Wonders. Military Victory. In Duel, at the start of a game players will start with a neutral position on a two-way "tug of war" style military chart. As military strength is built up, the military token will swing back and forth between the two players. If one player is not careful to keep the other's military in check, they can easily be overrun and lose immediately when their opponent's army reaches their capitol city. In the original 7 Wonders, one could often ignore military power entirely and still win. In Duel, if your opponent decides to go for a military win and you ignore it, you will most likely lose. This adds a much appreciated tension to the game and makes the "Duel" moniker very applicable. Science Victory. Another way for an immediate victory in Duel is to build six unique Science symbols. This is harder than it sounds, since your opponent will be doing everything he can to ensure that you don't. However, since being "too" defensive is equally as poor of a strategy, they'll have to allow you to get close, but not too close. With equally skilled players, these Science and Military victories won't happen as often as the typical "Most Victory points" win, but they are immediate and satisfying when they do. Wonders. Each player will start with 4 Wonders available to build, and only 7 can be built during the game. The Wonders in Duel are satisfyingly expensive, and several of them have a "take an extra turn" mechanic that can be used strategically to bury a card that your opponent especially wants, and then snatch the next card underneath it before your opponent has a chance to take their turn. This enhances the tension of the back-and-forth card taking because you're never sure when your opponent is going to use it to take two turns at once. Negatives In the ten games that we've played, everything seems near-perfectly balanced. Everything, that is, except one specific Progress token which led to a runaway victory when paired with a specific Guild card. In fairness, we were both new to the game at the time, so I didn't have a game plan to combat it. It may have just been a random "perfect storm". Since then, we've been able to mitigate that from happening. Other than that minor quibble, I don't really have anything else negative to say. Final Thoughts Duel benefits greatly from the two-player only design. It plays relatively quickly (35 min) but packs a lot of interesting decisions without being too brain-burning (i.e. Five Tribes). After ten plays, you start to appreciate even more the tightness of design. The interplay between the Military/Science/Victory Point strategies keeps you on your toes and ensures that you can't just fall into the same game plan every time. We're huge 7 Wonders fans in our group, and happy to say that this game would stand up even without the 7 Wonders name. It's easily our favorite "two player only" game that we own. I wouldn't be surprised to see this game get a flood of expansions as well; it's that good. Quick note on the components: the cards are reduced in size quite a bit from the original game, mostly because of necessity, but that makes it also easy to transport. Note: full review of this game, including gameplay descriptions, more bad puns, and a lot more pictures available at playbegins.com

An excellent two player strategy game, feels completely fresh after dozens of matches. You take turns choosing cards to take (or sell) to add buildings to your civilization, each with its own cost, requirements and benefits. You also have access to Wonders, which you choose from a pool of options at the beginning. They require a lot of resources and the sacrifice of a normal card in exchange for powerful effects. Over three rounds, you're aiming for one of three victory conditions, while trying to stop your opponent from doing the same: military conquest, scientific advancement, or simply having the highest score based on a range of factors of the first two weren't achieved. Once you get the flow of the game and are familiar with the card's functions, gameplay is fast and the three rounds pass in no time. The cards are beautifully illustrated and manage to communicate all the information needed in simple symbols, though there are also reference guides in the box if you need clarification. I've never played the original 7 Wonders to compare, but this is a seriously well-designed and elegant strategy game. From the first card draw, you always have to balance what you want with reducing opportunities available to your opponent. There's this constant to-and-fro tension which makes the “Duel” name very apt. No system in the game is complicated, and yet the strategy that emerges from it is: surely the mark of great design.

I rarely write reviews, but this board game really deserves it. If you are looking for a medium weight 2-player game, do not hesitate to buy it. The game is well-designed and offers multiple ways to win (science, military, points), making it very replayable. And there are two extensions (as of 2025) that you can buy to enrich the base game. The game is fast to set up, although for a medium-weight game it does have a bit of a learning curve. My husband, being a gamer, got all of the rules right away, but for me it took a game or two to understand all the complexities. There are just a lot of different types of cards and special tokens that take a while to learn, but then in my eyes this makes the game more replayable. The game is called “7 wonders” but building the wonders gives you only some of the points. You also get points for various cards and tokens, and if you win via military or scientific victory, points do not count at all. I personally like the fact that there are options to try to win without accumulating and counting points. My husband, on the other hand, is used to complex games where you count points at the end. So this game offers something for us both. What I also like is that there is a good deal of interaction between players (stealing cards and coins, balancing a military score). Next to Splendor Duel, 7 Wonders Duel is our favorite to play when we have an hour or so in the evening. The two games are actually fairly different, but if you like one of them you may like the other!

7 Wonders Duel is an outstanding board game that is perfect for two players. The game is easy to learn, but provides endless hours of strategic play. The game mechanics are well thought out and each turn offers new challenges and opportunities for players to build their civilizations. The game components are of high quality, with well-designed cards and a sturdy game board. The rules are clear and concise, making it easy for new players to jump in and start playing. The game play is fast-paced and exciting, with players making decisions about which wonders to build, which resources to gather, and which military actions to take. One of the best aspects of 7 Wonders Duel is that each game is different. The wonder cards and the order they are played change with each game, offering a unique experience each time you play. The game also scales well, with different difficulty levels available depending on the skill level of the players. Overall, 7 Wonders Duel is an excellent board game that provides a challenging and enjoyable experience for two players. Whether you're a seasoned gamer or new to the hobby, I highly recommend this game. It's a great addition to any game collection and is sure to provide hours of fun.

Depuis le temps qu'on me conseillait ce jeu et qu'il manquait à ma déjà imposante ludothèque, voilà c'est fait et je confirme les commentaires précédents. C'est un jeu à la fois simple dans sa mécanique, très beau visuellement et très riche en possibilités. Adaptation du jeu Seven Wonders à deux joueurs, cette version se joue en collectant des ressources pour augmenter ses forces tout en contrôlant autant que faire se peut le développement du joueur adverse. C'est sur cet équilibre que la victoire se fera. Et ce n'est pas simple puisqu'il faut contrôler le tour de pioche plusieurs coups à l'avance. Le jeu se passe dans l'antiquité et le design est vraiment très beau avec du matériel de bonne qualité et la possibilité de jouer des extensions. A chaque tour, on doit ramasser une carte grâce à soit de la monnaie soit des ressources qu'on collecte via les cartes au cours du jeu, tout est dans l'art de bien gérer à la fois ressources et finances. On peut faire un certain nombre d'actions avec ses cartes et, c'est retors, mais on peut aussi plomber l'autre ce qu'il faut d'ailleurs faire impérativement. A Seven Wonders Duel, il faut garder un œil sur tout car votre adversaire peut gagner financièrement, militairement, par la conquête de points de victoire ou encore par son avance scientifique. L'atout de ce jeu réside dans sa simplicité d'une part et sa grande richesse de possibilités d'autre part. Il sera parfait pour jouer à deux voire en équipes de deux, dès l'âge de 8/10 ans selon les enfants car les façons les plus retorses de jouer leur seront un peu compliquées à saisir. Il y a une petite part de chance au tirage mais une grosse part de calcul et de réflexion. Du reste, on peut tester ce jeu sur Board Game arena donc ça permet de se faire une idée. Très addictif pour des parties de 15/20 minutes.

Great game, if you love 7 wonders or you'll like this.

Adaptation pour deux réussie, des heures de plaisir en perspective.

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