7 Wonders Duel is about what you’d expect when you redesign a game that goes up to 7 players to allow only 2. That’s not to say it’s bad, only that its balance between systems to interact with and players to interact with is a bit off. Fortunately, the systems here are enjoyably tight and have been buffed up with a pristine level of polish by veteran game authors Bauza and Cathala. Nevertheless, a game of 7 Wonders Duel feels as much like playing against it as it does your opponent. Co-operative games notwithstanding, that is rarely a good thing. No aspect of the game’s design plays to the strengths of 2-player experiences. You spend more mental energy calculating cost benefit analyses and counting icons than you do on responding to the other player’s actions. Because of this, 7 Wonders Duel, though cleverly built, is a somewhat lifeless game of resource optimization and multi-tasking that falls short of creating a compelling competitive dynamic between its players. The main thing 7 Wonders Duel succeeds at, and much of the praise it has been awarded is due to this, is updating the diverse elements of 7 Wonders to work smoothly in the context of 1v1. It is still a tableau builder played across three rounds called “Ages”, but player-to-player card drafting, 7 Wonders‘ mechanic magnefique, has been significantly retooled into a solitaire-esque spatial puzzle where cards are arranged in overlapping patterns and players take turns selecting from those unencumbered. Thusly, player selections free up cards underneath, creating pathways toward others…
Mr. Jack is a simple two-player deduction game for ages 9 and up with a dead hooker on the box cover. Depending on your personal tastes that may be all you need to know about this game, but assuming it isn’t I’ll continue. 8 investigators have shown up to the scene of Jack The Ripper’s latest crime in the hopes of finally putting an end to his reign of terror, but 1 of the 8 are not who they say. In fact, they’re Jack himself! No way! Yes way. Throughout the game, one player acts in the interest of the hidden Jack, keeping his identity secret by sowing confusion, while the other seeks to bring him to justice. Mr. Jack may sound exciting on paper, but iffy theming, nebulous player roles, and an overly restrictive design reduces its narrative to a slow, mismatched tug-of-war. The game is played on a heavily-abstracted map of London with sewer entrances and street lamps scattered throughout. At each of the 4 corners is an escape route for Jack, 2 of which are cordoned off. The starting locations of the 8 investigators, covered sewer entrances, lit street lamps, and cordons are all predetermined and do not vary game to game. Before the game begins, the Jack player draws an “Alibi” card telling them which investigator they are impersonating. The investigators then have exactly 8 rounds to uncover Jack’s identity and catch him. If they fail to do so, guess wrong, or he escapes they lose (as does…
Jamaica is a gorgeous, easy to play, family-friendly racing game that is also really, really bad. Its microscopic decision space, inconsistent theming, and complete lack of player agency make it very difficult to suffer through. You’d think a game about tearing a path through the Caribbean in a pirate ship would be at least mildly exciting. Think again. This game is boring. Its age rating may be 8+, but I’d say just 8 might be more accurate. Let’s get the obvious out of the way: Jamaica‘s production is phenomenal. The board is beautiful, the art is ebullient, and the components are outstanding. The single exception is the rulebook. Jamaica‘s rulebook can go fudge itself. I hate it. Whoever thought unfolding a rulebook like it’s a gosh dang treasure map wouldn’t get old is an imbecile. It gets one point for novelty and loses a hundred for utility. Not a good trade-off. I have never felt more ridiculous looking for the answer to a mid-game rules question, as amusing as I’m sure my vexation was to the other players. Note to y’all game publishers out there: don’t get cute with your rulebooks. Anyhow, as previously stated Jamaica is a racing game. Players who cross the finish line by the end score the full amount of points for the race, and the others are scored on how close they were to finishing. Additional points are awarded for amassed gold and treasure, so you can actually win the game even if you don’t finish the race. Seems weird,…