7 Wonders Duel

In many ways 7 Wonders Duel resembles its parent game 7 Wonders: over three ages, players acquire cards that provide resources or advance their military or scientific development in order to develop a civilisation and complete wonders.

What's different is that, as the title suggests, the game is designed purely for head-to-head play, with cards drafted not from hands but from a display of face-down and face-up cards arranged at the start of a round. A card can only be taken if it's not covered by any others, so timing comes into play, as well as bonus moves that allow you to take a second card immediately. As in the original game, each card you acquire can be built, discarded for three coins, or used to construct a wonder.

Each player starts with four wonder cards, and the construction of a wonder provides its owner with a special ability. Only seven wonders can be built in total, though, so one player will end up short.

Resources can be purchased at any time from the bank, or gained through cards for future building; as you acquire resources, their cost increases for your opponent, representing your dominance in this area.

Victory comes in one of three ways: reach your opponent's capital with the military marker for an immediate win, collect any six of the seven different scientific symbols for scientific dominance, or — if neither occurs — score the most points at the end of the game.