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Boardgame lovers often find themselves in a pickle when asked to choose between 7 wonder and 7 wonders duel. The hard pill to swallow is that both board games might look and sound similar because of the name; however, there are quite many differences between the two.
Talking about the two boards games, 7 wonders is an 11-year-old game created by Antoine Bauza. In this game, players need to draft cards using three decks of cards, which broadly feature depictions of ancient civilizations, military conflicts, and commercial activity.
7 wonders duel indeed resembles the parent game 7 wonders, but is it as good as the original one? Let’s find out by looking at some differences between the two games.
Basics & How to play
7 wonders, a game from 2010, is quite famous among people of all age groups. The basics of the game are that there are roughly three rounds or eras wherein players need to pass around cards taking one from the stack turn by turn. These cards have various options- they either build up your empire or help you raise your wonder of the world. You will win only if you collect the right cards and make suitable investments.
While 7 Wonder Duel is somewhat similar but very different in its own way, as the name suggests, only two people can play this game. The final goal is the same – to either build an empire or construct your wonder of the world. But the process is different. Here, players will not draft cards from the stack but from another pile of cards displayed in a face-down and face-up manner. The catch is, the player can take the card only if other cards do not cover it. In a way, 7 Wonders Duel is all about the timing.
Theme & Plot
7 wonders game is a dedicated deck card game which the players need to play with three piles of cards. This game can accompany up to 7 players at a time.
7 wonders duel game is a similar card game with three piles of cards, but the number of players is confined to two individuals only. Accordingly, certain updates are given to the game to make it intriguing. For instance, unlike the 7 wonders game, all the cards are not revealed here.
Time taken to play one game
The 7 wonders game is a simple yet enticing game that takes about just five minutes to set up and can last for around 30 minutes considering one game with three-to-seven players.
But the 7 wonders duel game may take a bit more than 30 minutes in some cases, as the number of players is confined to two people only. However, the setup time is almost 5 minutes.
Objectives of the game
7 Wonders can have a range of objectives starting from just bringing up the civilization to victory along with new interaction, political supremacy, and Conquests based on the version of the game.
Whereas, 7 wonders duel games have almost two objectives: giving your civilization to victory and political supremacy only.
Player count
7 Wonders game is a versatile game with respect to the number of players. In general, it can be played by at least 3 members to as high as 7 members.
Whereas, 7 Wonders duel game is a condensed simpler game that is designed to indulge two players only.
Pricing
The 7 wonders game can start from around $30.00 to as high as $49.99 based on the version of the game. Different versions can have distinct sets of objectives.
The base version of the 7 Wonders Duel game starts from almost $18.69 and can range to $29.99.
Why can 7 wonders not be played in 2 people, while 7 wonders duel is a two-player game?
The nature of the games is such that players need to be highly secretive and not reveal what card they have got. If the original game is played between 2 people, the mystery and suspense would be revealed, and there would be no fun playing the game. This is the problem with a secret drafting game; if you play this game as a two-player game, the other player will get to know what cards you have and what moves you are making.
This is not the case with 7 Wonder duel. Although this is a two-player game, it is designed so that the secret is not revealed and the suspense is retained and preserved throughout the game.
In a battle between 7 Wonders VS 7 Wonders Duel, some pick the original parent game since they prefer more people playing it, while some love the complexities of 7 wonders duel. Nonetheless, both the games are a favorite among people of all age groups and give you the thrills of a secretive board game. So, try out for yourself and see which one you and your gang like better.
Happy Gaming!