Duel for Cardia

• Designer: Mathieu Rivero and Faouzi Boughida
• Publisher: Hans im Gluck
• Players: 2 or 4
• Age: 9+
• Time: 15 minutes
• Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/4gucImm
• Played with review copy provided by publisher

Cardia is a fast paced, strategic card game for two players: Choose your card wisely to win each encounter against your opponent. In gratitude for her liberation, a mighty djinn created the wondrous city of Cardia. Legend has it that whoever wins over the four factions and gains their five powerful signet rings will rule the city. Your goal is set!

Players will each pilot one of two Decks, made up of the same cards for each, with values from 1-16 and with each card having unique abilities. Play your cards at the moment your opponent does not expect them and use their abilities wisely to outwit them!

To start the game, the decks must be set up.  Each player has a sixteen card deck which is identical to their opponent’s deck.  There are 2 characters for each rank, and one must be chosen for each rank.  The game comes with the characters split into two distinct 1-16 decks, but you can choose to switch them piecemeal if you like.  The location cards are shuffled and placed in a deck at one side of the table.  If you choose to play with a location card, choose one to play with – each has a rule that applies for the duration of the game.  Players shuffle their decks and draw a starting hand of 5 cards.

The game is played in a series of duels – where each player secretly and simultaneously plays a single card.  The card with the higher influence (rank) will gain a signet on it.  The card with the lower influence will be able to activate its ability.  If there is a tie, no one gets a signet and no one activates their card.  The first player to collect 5 signets on their cards will win the game.

The game isn’t as simple as that previous paragraph though – many of the activated abilities will affect cards to be played in the future, and some will affect cards played in the past.  As you activate a card, this might change the way that a previous battle is resolved, and this can change which card gets the signet in that fight.  Note, that if this happens, the new “loser” of that fight does NOT get to activate their newly-losing card.  The activation only happens on the initial confrontation when the card is newly played.

After the current card is resolved, both players draw a new card into their hand to bring their hand size back to 5 cards.   The process is repeated until one of the end game conditions is met:

• A player wins if they have at least 5 signets (and more than the opponent)
• A player loses if they cannot pay a card
• A player wins if they activate an ability that says they win

My thoughts on the game

This has definitely been the summer for card-based dueling games.  Interestingly, I have known about this for about two years – I had actually played a prototype of this when visiting the Hans im Gluck offices a few summers back.  Of course, I hadn’t remembered the title, and I think the theme had changed – but as soon as I read the rules, I remembered the game instantly.

The duel with identical decks is quite interesting – it’s all about how players are able to use the cards in their hand.  Sure, there is a bit of card luck involved – but the way that the card and their actions work together… it’s all about finding out how to make the combos work.

Another important feature of the game is that lower numbered cards are not necessarily bad – after all, you have to lose an individual battle in order to activate its ability.  Thus, for most battles, each side is getting something they want – either you’re getting a signet for winning OR you are getting an ability activation. 

There are plenty of times in the game where you’re actually trying to figure out how to lose with a high value card – in general, the strength of the card action improves as the rank improves.  (And at least for Deck I, the highest card ability is to instantly win the game…)    Better yet when you can lose with a high card to get the ability – but then modify the cards in the battle later to also get a signet out of it!

One other strategy that I have found useful is to force your opponent to discard to deny him options. In the base rules, you only draw one card per turn – so if you force your opponent to discard cards, their hand size is essentially reduced for the rest of the game.  This can really be used to your advantage as it is often quite helpful to have as many cards to choose from as possible.  If you can force discards from their deck – this may help you win a longer game simply because they’ll run out of cards first.

Once you are familiar with the first deck, the second deck is filled with somewhat more complex cards, and you get to experience the challenge of learning how those cards interact with each other.  Next, you can mix and match the cards to make each game really be different.

Further, the location cards can definitely spice up the game – the overarching changes to the game can really force you to re-evaluate how to play the game.  I’ve been pleasantly surprised how a series of three games using the same deck but different locations plays out so differently.

Games tend to run quickly – for us, usually in the 8-10 card played range.  I will caution you that it is helpful to have enough table space – the lines of cards can get quite long in a prolonged battle!  Everything fits in a diminutive box, and for its size – Cardia packs a huge punch.  This one has already moved into my travel game kit as one of the 2p games.

Thoughts from other Opinionated Gamers

Mitchell T: I played the first deck of Duel for Cardia five times. I found it entertaining and fun, but it didn’t grab me as much as I thought it would. That could be because my playing partner was less than enthusiastic. The game needs a regular partner who loves it so you can establish the right vibes for the necessary “meta.” I can see the potential here and I look forward to a few more plays. 

Joe Huber (2 plays of the finished prototype): I find Mitchell’s reaction interesting, because for me – no fan of two player games – Duel for Cardia grabbed me much more than I expected.  Even halfway through my first game, I wasn’t sold – but then the game clicked, and I was disappointed only to have one more opportunity to play it at that time.  If I played two player games more, this would definitely be a game I’d pick up – it’s very clever.  As it stands, it’s one I look forward to playing more with friends who enjoy two player games more than I do.

Ratings from the Opinionated Gamers

• I love it! Dale Y, steph
• I like it. Mitchell T, Joe H
• Neutral.
• Not for me…

Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/4gucImm