C. J. Robinson
United States
Kalamazoo
Michigan
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At the outset, I want to make it clear that I like this game and I would recommend it to others. Although it is good, it is not great (but it could be) and I had to overcome some reluctance before I bought it.
Duel of the Giants is the second game from Friedemann de Pedro. His first game, Duel in the Dark simulated the British nighttime bombing of Nazi Europe. In DotG the focus is the Eastern Front and tank warfare between Germany and the Soviet Union.
I was reluctant to purchase DotG because of the marketing faults with DitD. DitD had moisture, mold and odor problems with the box and paper contents. Then the game was supplemented with several add-ons that had to be purchased separately but were included in the second edition. Additionally a couple of later expansions, (the V-1 bunker tile and a deck of Tactical Cards) don’t seem to be available in the United States. Given this background, I approached DotG with some reluctance.
Because I like Memoir ’44 and Battle Cry, DotG appealed to me as the game uses a hex-marked board, adds landscape tiles (hills, forests and swamps), gives each player tanks and for the German player a few other weapons (a Stuka and ATGs) and strips the luck of a card draw and dice rolls out of game play. The game is a battle of wits and tactics as two (or more) players attempt to outmaneuver each other with the Russian player attempting to get as many of his 8 tanks across the board to the German player’s side, while the German player needs to stop that from happening. The winner is determined by victory points, although it might have been made easier by merely counting how many Russian tanks survived.
While not moist or moldy (the game came with a silica gel pack in it), the DotG box and rule book had a definite petroleum distillate smell to them. However, the odor seems to becoming less and less, though noticeable, with play.
As I just indicated, the victory conditions seem a little “gamey”, but more on this later. The rulebook although fairly clear, could be improved. Each page explains some aspect of the game in both German and English text. I’d rather had separate rulebooks for each language. Credit and praise must be given for the inclusion of a phase-by-phase example of an entire game in the second half of the rulebook; however, a FAQ or casebook would have been a helpful addition as the game example doesn’t cover every aspect of the rules.
The components of the game include 11 plastic figures: 10 tanks and a Stuka. Unfortunately the German Stuka is the same dark green color as the Russian tanks! Other weapons, such as ATGs and mines are represented by cardboard markers. The various weapons are accompanied by their own information card which displays its firepower and vulnerabilities. The Stuka is the only weapon without its own information card, but such an inclusion would have been helpful to game play. The Stuka is limited to no more than 5 moves on a single turn and 4 consecutive turns; needing to land or ditch by the end of its final turn. An information card (with a wooden cylinder) to track the plane’s use of its movement allotment would be helpful. It is also unclear whether an attack by the Stuka on a Russian tank counts as movement. (I think not, but clarification of the point would be helpful.)
DotG comes with scoring markers to accommodate a 3- 4 play game; unfortunately, there are no solitaire rules which was one of DitD strengths. This likely stems from the “cat-and-mouse” aspect of DotG where both players set up “dummy” placements of their weapons. I like this fog of war and reconnaissance aspect of the game. For instance, while there are only 8 Russian tanks in play, they could be in any of 16 locations marked by star shaped tiles until revealed by play. This Stratego-like set up and movement of pieces works well, but the bluffing aspect is diminished because the star-shaped tiles should have been set into bases or stands to permit them to stand up so that the Russian player can easily see which tiles conceal a tank and which are dummies. Currently, unless the Russian player can remember where the tank tiles are located, he may have to flip the tiles to see whether they are dummies or not.
Game play takes place on one of two sides of a board (a summer side and a winter side). The game set-up is free form between the players as to the location of terrain tiles and weaponry. This modular approach should create a lot of replay ability to the game. While I really like this aspect of the game, it would have been nice if a few scenarios had been included in the game; such as a beginner’s scenario and a few historical scenarios based on actual tank battles that took place on the Eastern Front.
The game board is “tight”, being comprised of a 9 by 11 grid of hexes. However, there are “half” hexes on three sides to accommodate additional boards to play mega games with additional copies. Again, this is a nice touch. Some might complain about how the landscape tiles are configured. There are 20 summer tiles and 20 winter tiles. The tiles are two sided, forcing a player to decide which side to use. In my view this is much better than merely producing 20 or 40 tiles each with a summer side and a winter side. I applaud the thinking behind this aspect of the game. The winter tiles only have a few additional rules associated with them. While I have yet to try it, there seems no reason why the tiles can’t be mixed to provide spring and autumn battles.
The tank miniatures are a treat. They are detailed and the turrets move (an important part of the game), but don’t spin freely. The tanks are not merely one-piece molds but are comprised of several pieces. Take care not to drop them as the can come apart, as happened to me, but reassembly was easy, without damaging the unit.
The rules are not overly complex and the rule book provides several pictures to illustrate movement and combat, although it takes a few plays to grasp how combat takes place and how scoring is resolved. Here is where a FAQ or reference sheet would be handy.
The absence of a card deck or dice permits the winner to be determined by the skills of the players. However, determining the end of the game is not well explained. The rules state that the game ends when one opponent has no weapons on the board. Since the German Panzer tanks can’t be eliminated, they will remain on the board in any case. The Stuka, if it has landed, remains on the board and presumably is subject to destruction by the Russian tanks. It seems that very rarely will a game end by removal of all German pieces.
The end game confusion is compounded by the example of play in the rulebook. The sole remaining Russian tank leaves the field giving victory to the German player. Historically, that is what the tank would have likely done. But where victory points determine the winner, the Russian player should have opted to score more hits against the German weapons, so as to acquire more victory points, at the risk of being eliminated, so as to try to win the game. It might have been better to provide the Russian player with 9 tanks and require him to get 5 across the board in order to win.
In conclusion, despite some improvements that could or should have been made (a Stuka info card and the ability for the Soviet player to read the backs of the tank markers), I’m glad I purchased this game and I look forward to repeated plays. Don’t let your experience with Duel in the Dark hold you back from considering Duel of the Giants.
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Kenneth Stein
United States
Toledo
Ohio
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Nice review. Thanks for pointing out the end game ambiguity. At least we can agree on what to do before we hit that point and not have an argument at the end. It seems like the rule should be "when there are no more Russian tanks on the board the game ends." At that point no more points can be scored by either side.
Regarding differentiating the Tank markers for the Russian player:
Align the markers with the top of the star pointing towards the german player. Put a Sharpie ink dot in the "crotch" of the star that now faces you. Easy to see by you, but hidden from the German side.
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Steve Bullock
United States
Palm Coast
Florida
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Very nice review. I agree with you about the game end.
I play the game ends when THREE T-34s exits the board, and the player with the most points wins.
If less than three T-34s exit, then the winner is the German player because he stopped the Russian advance- even if the German player has fewer points. This makes the Russian player be a bit more cautious.
Yes, I know, this is indeed a heavy handed house rule.
Oddly, this game gets very little press, despite (to me) it so much better than Duel In the Dark.
I for one feel that the Stuka killing a T-34 is NOT a movement/action point. It is simply something the plane can do, much like landing (which I do not consider the actual action of taking off or landing a separate movement/action.) Not to mention ya gotta milk as much action as possible out of that lone Stuka!
And I am a proponent of the "Two Stuka Kills Per Game" house rule...
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volnon wrote: I for one feel that the Stuka killing a T-34 is NOT a movement/action point. It is simply something the plane can do, much like landing (which I do not consider the actual action of taking off or landing a separate movement/action.) Not to mention ya gotta milk as much action as possible out of that lone Stuka!
I just got a copy of this game recently and have read through the rules a couple of times. I don't see anywhere in the rules that says firing any weapon in the game requires the expenditure of a movement/action point, so I'd be inclined to agree with you both regarding the Stuka. If the tanks and ATGs don't have to use a movement/action point to fire, why should the Stuka, right?
I am looking forward to getting this one to the table, it seems like a fun game. The rules could be less ambiguous in many areas, but with practice and a little discussion before beginning play, there would seem to be nothing insurmountable. I like the low-luck factor and the free-form setup quite a bit, as well as the way movement, combat and firepower work. The game requires a lot of thought and foresite to be successful.
Scenarios would have been nice to be sure, but being a fan of Memoir '44, I just happen to know where there are plenty of scenarios to get ideas for this game! In fact, here are a couple of links for anyone interested...
http://www.daysofwonder.com/memoir44/en/content/scenariofans...
http://www.daysofwonder.com/memoir44/en/content/scenarioapp/
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jeff miller
United States
West Jefferson
North Carolina
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Good review, but I don't read any end game ambiguity. The explanation of victory points logically imply that the game is over when all the T-34s are off the board, either by crossing or by being destroyed. As far as the Stuka is concerned it only does two things, scout and eliminate one Russian tank. I don't think a card would explain it much better.
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