Review – Res Arcana Duo

Rumors of a third Res Arcana expansion have been a long time coming, but I think even veteran players were surprised by Duo. This is a small, two-player only version of the game, although 99% of the components can be fully integrated with other Res Arcana material. Why design the game this way? Because according to designer Tom Lehmann, the player base of Res Arcana needs to grow to keep making new content for it. The hope is that this cheaper version, aimed at couples (no attacks!) will bring new players. But veterans like me, is it still worth buying this “introductory” game? Let’s take a look!

First, let me tell you that I already lied in this review – “introductory game” this is not. There are no attacks, but the game is not functionally simpler than its big brother, at all. The card effects are just as unique and interesting as other releases, and open up new avenues to explore. In addition, some cards seem insanely powerful compared to artifacts of the past. While this is a common complaint of “power creep” in games, I like that Tom Lehmann uses this method to fix perceived holes in designs, rather than tweaking the rules or significantly modifying the game. 

The two rules changes that do exist are: there are only two Places of Power in a game of Duo, and the drafting method is different, and is unique to two-player games. I like the drafting method, but it does require memorization of the 16 artifacts in play to be optimal – which means Duo gets a lot of replayability, but means the method isn’t as effective in my preferred “shuffle everything together” style of play. I’ve played Duo on its own several times and really like it, but for me it will soon be expansion content.

The thing that’s important to describe in these releases is how much Tom Lehmann adjusts the feel of the game simply by the effects on the cards, without changing the rules significantly. And Duo is quite a bit different from anything yet. Places of Power like Dragon’s Lair and Catacombs of the Dead led to very “linear” strategies in the original game, and the counterbalance was to add strong attacks that could derail them, or equally strong linear strategies. Since Duo is meant to be played first on its own, this was a chance to rewrite the whole script, and Tom sure did so. 

Many players felt the original Res Arcana promised a “MacGyver” feel, where players had to make do with whatever was thrown their way, but this promise was negated by Places of Power too strong to bother even playing your Artifact cards. Duo is much more in line with this promise – players are highly unlikely to blast their way to victory with one particular strategy, and instead have to cobble together 10 points from a combination of Places of Power, Monuments, and Artifacts worth points. To me, this is the real strength of Duo and what makes it a worthy purchase – it’s like how Dune: Imperium – Uprising is the same game as Dune: Imperium yet feels totally different, but without the extra rules bloat and without the integration confusion.

Res Arcana is one of my favorite games of all time, with well over 1,000 games played digitally and fifty or so in person. Whether you’re a veteran player or someone curious about the game, this is a very easy recommendation, particularly at its $25 price point. There are many “small” two-player games around that price, but very few of them are this good.