The Quacksalber von Quedlinburg – Kennerspiel des Jahres 2018 – is one of my favorite games and bag building is one of my favorite mechanisms. It is one of the games that we love to play with people who don't play much or don't play because it is so easy to learn, has hardly any downtime and can be explained while playing. "The Duel" now brings the popular potion brewing game to a 2-player format. Can it hold its own next to its big brother?
The announcement of the duel variant made me curious, but also raised questions. Does a duel variant need to be played in a game that has practically no downtime, even with five players? How can the more solitary bag building become more confrontational? Is it smaller, so that you're more likely to take it with you on a trip than the big quack? In the test, I got an impression of the game and can answer these and a few other questions.
Back to the Bag
The course of the duel is not much different from that of the big quack game. The fortune-telling cards have been replaced by coin tosses. The person who is behind chooses one of the two coins thrown. The other person gets the other coin.
Then you can start brewing potions straight away. The rat tails' catch-up mechanism has been replaced with similar effects elsewhere. In a duel, brewing takes place in individual moves. Nothing happens at the same time.
A person draws chips from their bag until the three spaces in the neck of the bottle are filled. Then the patient is moved a number of steps towards their own market stall, according to the value of the three chips. Then it is the next person's turn.
The firecrackers can also cause the potion to explode in a duel. If you are cautious, you can stop voluntarily beforehand. In both cases, you have to wait until the other person also ends their turn in one way or another.
If a patient reaches a market stall, the person places it on their own side in the guild house. In most cases, the other person then receives a small bonus. Whoever treats six patients first wins the game.
After brewing is before buying
Once both have finished their potions, the effects of the ingredients that have “aftereffects” are activated.
Next, trading takes place on the market. The round cards also serve as the trading platform. An offer is printed on the left side. The person who finished their potion last now places a second offer of gold pieces and chip upgrades on the other side. The other person now chooses a side and the other gets what is left over.
The last thing you can do in a round is buy new ingredient chips. You can buy as many as you want, but only once of each color. Then the bags are filled with all the chips again and a new round begins.
If no one has managed to cure six patients, the game ends after the seventh round. Whoever has cured more patients wins. In the event of a tie, the patient still on the way decides. If there is no patient, a final draw is made from the bag. Whoever reaches a total of 10 first wins.
Information about The Quacks of Quedlinburg – The Duel
| Number of people: 2 people Age: from 10 years Playing time: 45 minutes Difficulty: Family game Long-term motivation: moderate Mechanics: Bag building, push-your-luck Game idea: Wolfgang Warsch Illustrations: Dennis Lohausen Publisher: Schmidt Spiele Official Website: The Quacks of Quedlinburg – The Duel Year of publication: 2024 Language: German Cost: 24 Euro |
Conclusion
I don't really understand why "The Duel" exists. It doesn't convince me in the aspects that are important to me in a two-person version and in many ways it even does things worse than the big quack. It's neither more portable, nor is it smaller or faster to play, and it doesn't really give you the feeling of a duel.
The things that were changed compared to the normal Quack are not really successful. The coins instead of the fortune-telling cards provide much less variety and we found them boring in the second half of the first game, as their effects are nothing special. The same applies to the market phase. You can tell that they really wanted to bring interaction into the game. But you will look in vain for exciting decisions here.
The biggest mistake the game makes is definitely the fact that there are now separate turns. This leads to downtime that can become far too long. If you're unlucky and explode quickly, you'll spend minutes watching the other person draw chips, apply effects, and move patients. The person still brewing also tends to rush through their round, as you quickly realize how boring this phase is when you're not brewing at all. The excitement of drawing at the same time, which makes the big quack so interesting, is completely missing.
Moving the patients is nice, but ultimately not a brilliant idea that would make the game significantly more exciting. The effects triggered when healing the patients ensure that the other person can catch up more easily. This element, like the rat tails, is a very good mechanism for this purpose. The ingredient books also offer varied effects.
Visually, you can clearly see which game world you are in. The artwork is again well done and captures what you already know from the other games from Quedlinburg. For the price of just over 20€, you get good quality game material.
Overall is The Quacks of Quedlinburg – The Duel a game that I don't need. The basic game works great with two players (and above all much better than the duel), you have the option of playing with up to five people (with expansion) and simply find the game feel much better there. Regardless of whether you're new to Quacksalber or a fan, I wouldn't recommend the duel to either group and would advise playing with multiple players.
| Preview | Product | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Schmidt Spiele 49447 The Quacks of Quedlinburg, The Duel,... * |
14,99 EUR |
||
|
Schmidt Spiele 49341 The quacks of Quedlinburg, Kennerspiel ... * | 29,90 EUR | ||
|
Schmidt Spiele 40630 With Quacks & Co. to Quedlinburg,... * |
22,99 EUR |
* = affiliate link. If you purchase via one of the links, we receive a portion of the purchase price as a commission. There are no additional costs for you, but you can support our portal by doing so. Last updated on 2024-12-10 / Affiliate Links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API. Images from Amazon PA API.
