Review
Aldebaran Duel
Aldebaran Duel is a tight, quick two-player tableau builder that fits neatly into the gap after work. It does not reinvent drafting; it knows exactly how to make drafting annoy the person opposite you.
- Published
- 2023
- Designer
- Vladimír Suchý
- Publisher
- Dino Toys s. r. o., Maldito Games, Rio Grande Games
- Players
- 1–2
- Playing time
- 90 min
Aldebaran Duel is the sort of two-player game you can get to the table in the little gap left by an ordinary day, then find yourself eyeing your opponent with immediate suspicion. From the designer of Prague, Messina and Underwater Cities, this is a more concentrated proposition: brisk, tight, and deeper as the card set becomes familiar.
Drafting is the heart of it. Each round, you choose up to two cards from a shared offer, so every pick is both a step towards your own tableau and a very public decision about what remains available.
At first you take what helps you; soon you take what helps them, and counter-drafting brings exactly the right amount of muttering across the table.
TheCuttlefish
Cards can be played or burned to pay for other cards, which is where the design grows teeth. At first you take what helps you; soon you take what helps them, and counter-drafting brings exactly the right amount of muttering across the table. Now we are talking.
It is not revolutionary, and it does not pretend otherwise. It is, however, a satisfyingly substantial hour of karate: a quick duel with depth, where you will spoil your opponent's plan and enjoy doing it.
It is, however, a satisfyingly substantial hour of karate: a quick duel with depth, where you will spoil your opponent's plan and enjoy doing it.
TheCuttlefish
Source: BoardGameGeek
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