Mastering the Art of Duel: A Tour Through The Finest Dueling Board Games

In an era where digital entertainment has arguably become preeminent, it’s not hard to understand why the tactile experience of board gaming is so appealing; even more so, perhaps, with the highly competitive style of head-to-head combat found in dueling games, where two players battle strategically for dominance, attempting to outthink and outmanoeuvre their opponent. The sub-genre has waxed and waned in popularity over the years – and its current peak may be just a blip in the overall trajectory – but right now there are games aplenty covering various dueling themes and settings, ranging from fantastical card combat to gritty miniature skirmishes. Here are 12 of the most challenging, strategically rich and, most importantly, fun dueling board games available today.

MAGIC: THE GATHERING - An Evergreen Duel

Detrata: When it comes to card-based duelling games, nothing can quite touch the king: Magic: The Gathering, first published by Wizards of the Coast three decades ago. And it’s not just because it is the oldest; it is because nothing since has gotten the balance of card-based strategy, luck and tactical depth quite so right. Every move in Magic is a test of foresight and flexibility. Every duel is a challenge to plan ahead and adapt to circumstances.

WARHAMMER UNDERWORLDS - Strategy and Miniatures Collide

Next up, Warhammer Underworlds: a cardgame where movement accuracy is vital. Combining the deep, thematic world and beautifully detailed miniatures of the Warhammer universe with rapid single-model play, Underworlds is a turn-based game of short, sharp, tactical action that rewards cunning card-play and critical thinking.

RADLANDS - Post-Apocalyptic Tactical Dueling

Radlands makes a barren future look bright, at least for the senses. Resources are scarce, and the acts of building, sending, and returning forces are the lifelines of the perpetual duel, where each position and motion of pieces weighs on survival and victory as the combatants are tempered by this tight, tense chess.

UNMATCHED: COBBLE & FOG - Myth Meets Mystery

If you’ve ever dreamed of letting your favourite characters from literature, mythology and cinema fight to the death, Unmatched: Cobble & Fog gives you a system that is both extremely accessible and profoundly thoughtful. Each move strikes a precarious balance between bravado and prudence, while the dynamic skills of the characters that make up your showdown – including Sherlock Holmes, Dracula and Billy the Kid – guarantee a unique experience each time you play.

STAR REALMS - Build Your Deck, Dominate Space

In Star Realms, deck-building comes to duelling, as you build your deck while the game is in play. Every step you take towards beefing up your battlefleet, or attacking your opponent’s authority, makes for difficult decisions and the exciting challenge of adapting to the shifting game state.

SUMMONER WARS - Cards Turn to Combatants

Its blurring of the card and board-game genre means that your moves materialise as units on the field. In terms of strategy, Summoner Wars is (at the very least) a balancing act between attacking and defending your summoner and troops. The game is thus a dynamic and exciting contest of wills.

MAGE WARS ARENA - Spellcasting Supremacy

Step up to the battlefield of Mage Wars, and your first task is to select the spells you want to bring to bear in each round from an actual spellbook. Every tactical decision you make in this game is a game of chess, one in which you try to outwit your opponent with the right combination of spells, summonings, and attacks.

YOMI - Fighting Game Finesse

Yomi, named after the poker term for tells, draws on the feel of the hyperkinetic combat games to describe the frisson of knowing what your adversary will throw next, but being able to read him and place your own counter. Anticipation and knowledge – your understanding of your character and your expectations of his or her mind – are your winning weapons.

SMASH UP - A Collision of Crazy Combos

In Smash Up, you assemble bizarre factions (dinosaurs, robots, pirates, ninjas, zombies) and then pit them against each other in a battle to conquer bases. The winner is usually the player who combines their factions in the best way – not just to win certain bases, but also to predict how the opposing factions will interact, creating some of the most satisfying victories in all of gaming.

ONITAMA - The Essence of Strategy

Onitama distils the essence of strategy games by stripping down every game to its core, where every move is about complexity and depth of thought. This tactical duel resembles a martial arts battle with skills focused on the elusive power of foresight and planning, and deception plays a crucial role in every victory, making this a superb display of successful tactical warfare.

GODTEAR - Epic Skirmishes Reimagined

In Godtear, the skirmish genre is reinvented: objectives are woven into a setting of strategic positioning and the explosive clash of opposing forces; the action plays out in turns that encourage calculated thinking and – like a good fantasy game – demand that you take the initiative, wrench control from your opponent and force need upon them.

BLITZKRIEG! - World War II in 20 Minutes

And finally, Blitzkrieg!, in which you can relive the sweeping campaigns of the Second World War on a tabletop, with quick, frantic turns of play. Moves have to be bold but thoughtful: you are vying for control of different theatres of war, buffered by bonuses and tactics for your side.

MOVING FORWARD - The Essence of Dueling Games

But at its heart, the genre celebrates the exhilaration of head-to-head play, the sheer physical pleasure of a decisive move, and the satisfaction of reading your opponent and ‘trumping’ them. In the draw of a card, the placement of a piece, the building of a deck, they invite the player to think, and to think on their feet. The scope and diversity of the genre guarantees that, whatever your preferences of theme, difficulty or pace, there is a duelling game that rewards you with its challenge, and tests your tactical nous and decision-making. Moving forward, we can’t help but think about the endless possibilities for innovation, strategy and fun that board games hold, as we continue to discover new expansions of this diverse landscape of tabletop duelling. Pick your game, take your shot, and enjoy the art of the duel.