I think it's undeniable that this has been the year of roll&write games (those in which the mechanics are based on rolling dice and writing/drawing something on a sheet of paper based on the results obtained)... it's a fascinating phenomenon and not easy to understand, even for me who see it from the inside.
But I ban the digressions and here we are to discover together Kingdomino Duel (2 players, 20 minutes) created by Bruno Cathala and Ludovic Maublanc, which transposes in roll&write sauce the mythical Kingdomino, game winner of a Spiel des Jahres and for which I do not think we need presentations.
IN THE BOX
The box, compact and elegant with magnetic closure, contains inside a thick block of 100 color sheets, each with on the one hand the kingdom and on the other hand the book of spells, the rules in various languages (including Italian), four special dice all different from each other (a sign that the circulation was really important) and two pencils. We also find an elegant transparent insert, which always keeps everything in place.
HOW TO PLAY
Each player receives a kingdom, while a third sheet is placed in the center from the side of the book of magic (of course in the first game you will use 3 sheets, but from the second on you will use as a book of magic one of the retri of the sheets used as kingdom in the first games). The dice have on their faces the symbol "?" and the symbol of 6 different coats of arms, each in several versions (with 0, 1, 2 symbols cross).
Players will alternate to roll the dice. The player who rolls the four dice chooses one; the other player then chooses two dice and passes the remaining dice to the first player. At this point both will have two dice (and therefore two coats of arms) and will put them together as they see fit to virtually create a "domino tile". In addition, only once per game you can color the roof of your castle and add a cross to a die with only the coat of arms.
Kingdom map
They will then have to draw that card on the map, putting also the crosses if present on the face of the dice, respecting the following rules:
- must be orthogonally counted with another "card";
- at least one coat of arms must be in contact with an equal coat of arms already drawn OR with the castle.
If it is not possible to respect these constraints, the turn is lost and nothing is drawn.
Book of magic
There are six spells here, each associated with a coat of arms. After the kingdom phase each player blackens a square of a spell track for each coat of arms of the same type drawn in that turn with no crosses on it. The first player to blacken the last square takes control of the spell and the circle... can then use it in the future, removing it from the spell book. Spells allow you to ignore placement rules, draw the tile by breaking it into two tiles from a square, change the face of a dice taken, add a cross to a coat of arms, etc.. One of the effects is activated at the end of the game, giving a bonus for the number of territories of a specific coat of arms (to be chosen immediately).
End of the game and winner
The game ends when one of the players has completed the grid with his coats-of-arms or when neither player is able to place in a turn. At this point, for each territory (adjacent squares with the same coat of arms) the surface is multiplied by the number of crosses in those spaces (for example, a territory of 4 equal coats of arms with 3 crosses is worth 12 points), plus the bonus for those who have unlocked the magic with the bonus on the territories.
FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
Summing up this Kingdomino Duel is a game that manages to entertain and above all to maintain a large part of the feeling of the original game in this transposition and - I assure you that I know - is not a trivial thing. In fact, the feelings are very similar and we are not faced with a simply sticky setting.
It's a great game for two, compact and easy to pocket even with very little space. It is no coincidence that transportability is a workhorse like that and this is no exception: it can be in the space occupied by an A4 sheet and is easily transportable. Perfect to play on the beach, on the train, at picnics, barbecues...
In terms of complexity we are faced with a title easy to explain (the longest part are perhaps the 6 spells, but will take away 2 minutes in all) with well-designed icons and clear. Even if someone has already played Kingdomino this variant Duel is explained even faster, since the two share the same rules for placement and scoring.
Despite its simplicity Kingdomino Duel faces many choices: we have to choose the best dice for us, be careful not to leave the other devastating combos, also follow the progress on the magic tracks by watching the other player (also understanding where / when to leave tactically) and all studying the best placement both immediately (generated points) and in the short / long term (possibility of future joints, distribution of blazons, etc..).
The duration of the game is very limited and the box does not lie about 20 minutes (I have 6 games behind me, all lasted between 15 and 20 minutes abundant).