Head to head
Stuck between two games? These side by side breakdowns cover ratings, complexity, play time, and who each one is really for.
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7 Wonders vs 7 Wonders Duel
7 Wonders is the big-group draft. 7 Wonders Duel is the two-player masterpiece. Here is which one belongs on your shelf.
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Ark Nova vs A Feast for Odin
Two giant heavy Euros for long thinky nights. Ark Nova is a card-soaked zoo; A Feast for Odin is a Viking optimization puzzle. Here is how to choose.
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Ark Nova vs Gaia Project
Two of the biggest heavy Euros around. Ark Nova is a card-soaked zoo builder; Gaia is a no-luck space engine. Here is how to choose.
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Ark Nova vs Great Western Trail
Two heavy Euros that respect your shelf. Ark Nova is a card-soaked zoo; Great Western Trail is a smart cattle-drive engine. Here is how to pick.
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Azul vs Cascadia
Azul is a tidy, mean tile duel. Cascadia is a calm solo-friendly nature puzzle. Here is which one fits your table.
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Azul vs Sagrada
Azul vs Sagrada compared: two gorgeous, easy-to-teach puzzles. One is a mean tile duel, the other a calm dice grid.
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Brass: Birmingham vs Ark Nova: Which One Wins?
Two of the highest-rated heavy Euros going. Brass is a tight canal-era economy, Ark Nova is a card-soaked zoo puzzle. Here's which one belongs on your table.
Brass: Birmingham vs Gaia Project
Two heavyweight Euros that top a lot of shelves. Brass is industrial economics; Gaia is space-terraforming engine building. Here is how to pick.
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Cascadia vs Calico
Cascadia vs Calico compared: two calm tile-laying puzzles with Beth Sobel art. One is gentle, one is brain-burny.
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Catan vs Ticket to Ride
Catan vs Ticket to Ride compared: the two classic gateway games. One is loud trading, one is a clean family race.
Catan vs Wingspan
The grandparent of the hobby versus the modern gateway darling. Catan's trading versus Wingspan's calm engine build.
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Dune: Imperium – Uprising vs Brass: Birmingham
A sharp deck-builder versus the top-ranked economic game. Dune's desert scheming against Brass's industrial squeeze.
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Dune: Imperium Uprising vs Dominion: Intrigue
Dune: Imperium Uprising blends deck-building with worker placement, while Dominion: Intrigue is pure, sharp card crafting. Here's the pick.
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Dune: Imperium Uprising vs Dominion: Second Edition
Dune: Imperium Uprising adds a board to fight over; Dominion: Second Edition is the cleanest version of the original deck-builder. Here's the pick.
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Dune: Imperium Uprising vs Dominion
Dune: Imperium Uprising marries deck-building to a worker placement board, while Dominion is the lean original. Here's the honest pick.
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Everdell vs Ark Nova
Everdell is cozy worker placement with real teeth. Ark Nova is a huge card-soaked zoo puzzle. Here is the right fit.
Gaia Project vs Great Western Trail
Two beloved heavy euros: Gaia Project burns your brain with space terraforming, Great Western Trail keeps the depth but cuts the table-staring.
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Gloomhaven vs Frosthaven
Both are massive card-driven co-op campaigns. Gloomhaven is the gentler gateway; Frosthaven is the bigger, crunchier beast. Here's the honest pick.
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Gloomhaven vs Spirit Island
Two heavyweight co-ops compared. Gloomhaven's epic legacy campaign versus Spirit Island's brutal, brainy puzzle.
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Lost Ruins of Arnak vs Wingspan
Arnak is a gorgeous deck-building adventure. Wingspan is a calm bird engine-builder. Here is the right fit for you.
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Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 vs Pandemic Legacy: Season 0
Two of the best co-op legacy campaigns ever boxed. Season 1 is the classic disease-fighting saga; Season 0 is the 1962 spy prequel. Here's the pick.
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Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 vs Pandemic Legacy: Season 2
Season 1 brings white-knuckle dread, Season 2 builds the world as you go. Here is which Pandemic Legacy campaign your group should commit to.
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Pandemic vs The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship
Pandemic is the classic, breezy co-op; Fate of the Fellowship is Leacock's heavier, story-soaked Middle-earth take. Here's the honest pick.
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Patchwork vs Azul: Which One Should You Get?
Two gorgeous two-player puzzles. Patchwork is a cozy quilt of tetris pieces, Azul is a quietly cruel tile draft. Here's the one that fits your table.
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Root vs Scythe: Which One Is Right for You?
Root is a brutal asymmetric war game in disguise. Scythe is a calmer Euro wearing a war costume. Here's which one your group will actually love.
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Scythe vs Terraforming Mars: Which One Wins?
Two beloved heavy engine-builders that feel nothing alike. Scythe is asymmetric area control, Terraforming Mars is glorious card chaos. Here's how I'd choose.
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Spirit Island vs Iberia
Two co-ops with very different ambitions. Spirit Island is a brainy puzzle; Iberia is a prettier, tighter Pandemic. Here is how to choose.
Spirit Island vs Pandemic Legacy: Season 1
Spirit Island vs Pandemic Legacy compared: two top co-ops. One is an endless brainy puzzle, one a one-time story.
Spirit Island vs Pandemic
Two cooperative classics head to head. Spirit Island's brutal brain-burner versus Pandemic's tense team puzzle.
Spirit Island vs The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship
Two co-ops that do not go easy on you. Spirit Island is a brainy puzzle; Fate of the Fellowship is story-soaked Tolkien. Here is how to choose.
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Splendor vs Azul: Which Gateway Game Wins?
Splendor is the classic chip-grabbing engine-builder. Azul is a tidy, mean tile duel. Here's which gateway game earns the spot on your shelf.
Terraforming Mars vs Ark Nova
Terraforming Mars is the great card-driven engine. Ark Nova is the modern zoo-builder. Here is which heavyweight wins.
Terraforming Mars vs Gaia Project: The Verdict
Two heavyweight engine-builders. Terraforming Mars is the card-driven economy, Gaia Project is the open, dice-free brain-burner. Here's which one to bring home.
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Ticket to Ride vs Carcassonne
Two classic gateway games head to head. Ticket to Ride's route race versus Carcassonne's grow-a-map tile puzzle.
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War of the Ring: Second Edition vs Root
Two of the best asymmetric games around: War of the Ring is an epic Tolkien duel, Root is a sharp woodland brawl. Here is which fits your table.
Wingspan vs Ark Nova: Which One Should You Get?
Two beloved animal games at opposite weights. Wingspan is a calm bird engine, Ark Nova is a huge card-soaked zoo puzzle. Here's how to choose the right one.
Wingspan vs Cascadia
Two gorgeous nature games for calm, friendly tables. Wingspan builds a slow bird engine, Cascadia is a quick tile puzzle. Here's which one fits your group best.
Wingspan vs Everdell
Wingspan vs Everdell compared: two gorgeous nature-themed engine builders. One tends birds, one builds a critter city.
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Dune: Imperium vs Dune: Imperium Uprising
Same designer, same brilliant deck-building and worker placement mash-up, two boxes. One is the tidy original, one is the louder follow-up. Here's how to pick.
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Wingspan vs Wyrmspan
Same lovely engine-building bones, two very different evenings. One is the gentle bird game everyone can play, the other trades feathers for dragons and asks a lot more of you.
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Gloomhaven vs Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion
Same designer, same brilliant card-driven combat, one giant box and one friendly one. Here's how to figure out which Gloomhaven actually belongs on your shelf.
Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion vs Frosthaven
Same designer, same brilliant card-driven combat, wildly different commitments. One fits in a spiral-bound book, the other weighs 30 pounds. Let's figure out which box belongs on your shelf.
Dominion vs Dominion: Intrigue
Same designer, same deck-building bones, one big difference in personality. Dominion is the peaceful original, Intrigue is the version that makes you watch your neighbors.
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7 Wonders Duel vs Splendor Duel
Two of the best two-player boxes you can own, both with Bruno Cathala's fingerprints on them. Same shelf, same 30 minutes, very different knife fights. Here's the pick.
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Terraforming Mars vs Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition
Same red planet, same designer, same card-combo joy. One asks for two hours and a big table, the other gets you there in about an hour.
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Clank! vs Clank! Catacombs: Which One Wins?
Same designer, same dragon, same wonderful greed. One gives you a board you'll learn by heart, the other builds a fresh dungeon every game. Here's the one I'd grab.
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Clank!: Catacombs vs Clank! In! Space!: A Deck-Building Adventure
Two takes on the same brilliant idea: build a deck, steal treasure, and run before something eats you. One rebuilds the map every game, the other builds a smarter heist.
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Aeon's End vs Aeon's End: War Eternal
Same brilliant no-shuffle deck-builder, two different boxes. One started it all, one refined it a year later. Here's how I'd pick between them without buying both.
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Eclipse: New Dawn vs Second Dawn: Which to Get?
Same designer, same galaxy, nine years apart. It's the rare case where one game is a full remake of the other, and the answer still isn't automatic. Here's the pick.
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Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization vs Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization
Same designer, same epic civ-building brain-burner, nine years apart. So is the 2015 New Story worth it over the 2006 original, or is this a coin flip?
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Great Western Trail vs Great Western Trail: Second Edition
Same brilliant cattle-driving brain-burner, two different boxes. One's the 2016 original, one's the 2021 glow-up, and the right pick depends on what's already on your shelf.
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Great Western Trail: Argentina vs Great Western Trail: New Zealand
Same Pfister brain, two very different animals. Argentina is the deeper, thornier cattle drive; New Zealand is the friendlier, more flexible sheep walk. Here's how I'd pick.
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Brass: Birmingham vs Brass: Lancashire
Two sibling games, one industrial revolution, and only so much shelf space. Birmingham is the polished favorite, Lancashire is the merciless original, and the right pick depends on your table.
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Agricola vs Caverna: The Cave Farmers
Same designer, same worker placement brain, two very different moods. One squeezes you until harvest, the other hands you a cave and says go play.
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Too Many Bones vs Too Many Bones: Undertow
Same gorgeous chips, same dice-building hero climb, two very different boxes. The real question isn't which game is better. It's how many people are sitting at your table.
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Nemesis vs Nemesis: Lockdown
Same designer, same screaming, two very different boxes. Here's how the original ship stacks up against the Mars facility, and which one your table should bring to horror night.
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Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition vs Twilight Imperium: Third Edition
Two editions of the same all-day space opera, one clear question. Do you pay for the refined 2017 version, or hunt down the scrappier 2005 classic?
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Star Realms vs Star Realms: Colony Wars
Same designers, same 50 Authority, same tiny box of spaceship violence. One is the 2014 original, one is the cleaner 2015 do-over, and you only need one to start.
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The Crew: Mission Deep Sea vs The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine
Same designer, same silent co-op trick-taking magic, two different boxes. One climbs a 50-mission campaign, the other remixes tasks forever. Here's how I'd pick between them.
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Concordia vs Concordia Venus
Same brilliant Roman trade game, two boxes. The real question isn't which one is better, it's whether the Venus additions earn their place at your table. Here's the honest answer.
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Ticket to Ride vs Ticket to Ride: Europe
Same designer, same card-collecting heart, two very different maps. One is pure and friendly, the other gambles on tunnels, and you probably only need one of them.
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Azul vs Azul: Summer Pavilion
Same designer, same gorgeous tiles, two very different personalities. One is a quick, quietly mean duel and the other is a kinder, deeper puzzle. Here's how to pick.
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Codenames vs Codenames: Duet
Same word-clue brain, two very different nights. One's built for a loud roomful of friends, the other for exactly two people and a lot of tension.
Pandemic vs Pandemic Legacy: Season 1
Same team, same diseases, two very different boxes. One is a game you'll replay for years, the other is a story you tell exactly once.
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Welcome To... vs Welcome to the Moon
Same designer, same flip-and-write heart, very different boxes. One is a single perfect puzzle, the other is eight puzzles stitched into a campaign. Here's how to pick.
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Dune vs Dune: Imperium
Same desert planet, two completely different games. One is a talky 1979 betrayal machine, the other is a tidy modern Euro. Your group decides which one deserves the shelf space.
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War of the Ring: Second Edition vs Dune: War for Arrakis
Same design brains, two legendary settings, one shelf spot. Do you want the full Middle-earth ordeal or the faster, prettier desert war? Let's settle it.
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Gaia Project vs Terra Mystica
Same design team, same no-luck terraforming brain-burn, two very different tables. One's the fantasy original, one's the space-age sequel, and your player count picks the winner.
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Gaia Project vs Age of Innovation: The Verdict
Two heavy Euros built on the same Terra Mystica bones, both brilliant, both brutal to teach. One heads to space, one lets you build your own faction. Here's how to pick.
Terra Mystica vs Age of Innovation
Same designer, same power bowls, same glorious brain-burn. One is the 2012 classic, the other is its 2023 glow-up, and choosing between them is trickier than you'd think.
Brass: Birmingham vs Terraforming Mars
Two heavyweight strategy games, two very different evenings. One is a tight economic knife fight, the other is a sprawling engine you build one card at a time.
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Terraforming Mars vs Earth
Two card-driven engine builders, one red planet and one green one. The right pick comes down to how heavy you like it and how chatty your table is.
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Terraforming Mars vs Underwater Cities
Two heavy euros about building a colony somewhere humans really shouldn't live. One wants a full table and a snowballing engine, the other wants you, a puzzle, and maybe one friend.
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SETI vs Terraforming Mars: Which One Wins?
Two space-science Euros where the theme really earns its keep. One hunts aliens on a tight timing puzzle, the other builds a sprawling card economy. Here's my pick.
SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence vs Ark Nova
Two medium-heavy euros where the theme actually matters, and you probably only have shelf space for one. Here's how the alien hunt stacks up against the zoo.
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On Mars vs Terraforming Mars
Two heavy Mars games, two very different evenings. One is a card-driven engine you feed for two hours, the other is a brain-melter that wants your whole night.
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Lisboa vs The Gallerist
Two Vital Lacerda heavyweights, one shelf spot. The Gallerist is the friendlier teach with the prettier table, while Lisboa is the deeper puzzle. Here's how I'd pick.
A Feast for Odin vs Agricola
Two Uwe Rosenberg classics, two very different moods. One is a generous Viking puzzle, the other a farm that never stops squeezing you. Here's how to pick.
A Feast for Odin vs Caverna: The Cave Farmers
Two huge Uwe Rosenberg boxes, two very different evenings. One is a sprawling Viking efficiency puzzle, the other a cozy dwarf-farming sandbox. Here's how I'd pick.
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Agricola vs Le Havre
Two Uwe Rosenberg classics, one shelf spot. Agricola squeezes you on a hungry little farm, Le Havre hands you a harbor full of math. Here's how to pick.
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The Castles of Burgundy vs Grand Austria Hotel
Two beloved dice euros, two very different moods at the table. One is forgiving and endlessly replayable, the other is a tense little knife-fight over numbers.
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The Castles of Burgundy vs Orléans
Two beloved euros, two very different kinds of luck. One hands you dice you can bend to your will, the other hands you a bag full of surprises.
Concordia vs Brass: Birmingham
Two beloved economic games, two very different evenings. One is a clean, gentle puzzle, the other is BGG's reigning number one, and picking between them is easier than you'd think.
Concordia vs The Castles of Burgundy
Two of the cleanest medium-weight euros ever made, and neither one is winning a beauty contest. The real question is simple: do you want dice at the table or not?
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Power Grid vs Brass: Birmingham
Two brainy economic games, two very different evenings. One runs on auctions and money math, the other on quiet, ruthless efficiency. Here's how to pick your heavyweight.
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Maracaibo vs Great Western Trail
Two heavy Pfister Euros built on the same brilliant movement engine. One sprawls across your whole table, the other keeps every turn clean. Here's how to pick.
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Barrage vs Brass: Birmingham
Two of the best heavy economic games you can put on a table, and they want very different things from your group. Here's how to pick the right fight.
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Nucleum vs Barrage
Two heavy Euros with Simone Luciani's fingerprints on them, and only room for one on most shelves. The real question is how much you want to fight your friends.
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Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar vs Teotihuacan: City of Gods
Two Tascini-designed Mesoamerican Euros, one shelf spot. Tzolk'in rewards patient long-game timing on those famous gears, while Teotihuacan is a chewy chained-action puzzle that really wants four players.
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Voidfall vs Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition
Two heavy space 4X boxes, two completely different evenings. One is a silent no-luck puzzle, the other is an all-day shouting match with friends. Here's how to pick.
Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy vs Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition
Two galaxy-sized 4X games, one very different question: do you have an evening or an entire Saturday? Your calendar decides this one more than your taste does.
Everdell vs Lost Ruins of Arnak
Two of the prettiest medium-weight games you can put on a table, and they scratch weirdly similar itches. Here's how to pick between the critter city and the creepy island.
Lost Ruins of Arnak vs Dune: Imperium
Two 2020 games fused deck-building and worker placement, and both pulled it off beautifully. The real question is how mean you want your game night to feel.
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Viticulture Essential Edition vs Everdell
Two cozy worker placement darlings, one open spot on your shelf. Viticulture hands you a Tuscan vineyard, Everdell hands you a critter city, and the right pick depends on your table.
Viticulture Essential Edition vs Agricola
Two farming worker placement favorites, one spot on your shelf. Viticulture is the warm, easy teach. Agricola is the relentless squeeze. Here's how to pick the right one for your table.
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Lords of Waterdeep vs Stone Age
Two of the friendliest doorways into worker placement, and you probably only need one. The real question is simple: do you want dice in your Euro or not?
Stone Age vs Agricola
Two worker placement classics fighting for the same shelf spot. Stone Age is the friendly five-minute teach with a dice cup, Agricola is the hungry-family brain-burner, and your table decides.
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Architects of the West Kingdom vs Paladins of the West Kingdom
Same designers, same medieval kingdom, two very different evenings. Architects is the friendly on-ramp with a mischievous streak, Paladins is the brain-melting puzzle box. Here's how to pick.
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Paladins of the West Kingdom vs Viscounts of the West Kingdom
Two gorgeous medium-heavy euros from the same trilogy, the same designers, and the same shelf space. One is a head-down puzzle, the other loves your table more.
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Champions of Midgard vs Lords of Waterdeep
Two beloved worker placement games, two very different personalities. One hands you dice and a monster to punch, the other teaches your whole family in five minutes.
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Raiders of the North Sea vs Architects of the West Kingdom
Two Shem Phillips worker placement games, one shelf spot. Raiders is the tighter two-player Viking raid, Architects is the friendlier crowd-pleaser with a real solo mode. Here's how to pick.
Catan vs Carcassonne
Two classics, one open spot on the shelf. Catan brings loud trading and dice drama, Carcassonne brings quiet tile-laying with a sneaky edge, and the right pick depends on your table.
Carcassonne vs Azul
Two of the friendliest gateway games ever made, and they scratch surprisingly different itches. One builds a cozy map, the other picks a quiet little fight.
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Splendor vs Century: Golem Edition
Two gorgeous gateway engine-builders, one shelf spot. Splendor is the tighter classic, Century: Golem Edition is the friendlier crowd-pleaser, and your table decides which one wins.
Splendor vs Splendor Duel
Same gem-and-card engine, two very different moods. One is the breezy gateway classic, the other is a sharp little knife fight for two. Here's how to pick.
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Cascadia vs Harmonies
Two gorgeous, calm nature puzzles that teach in five minutes and never pick a fight. So which one earns the shelf spot? It mostly comes down to how you play.
Harmonies vs Azul
Two gorgeous abstract puzzles, one shelf spot. Harmonies is the calm nature garden, Azul is the tidy little knife fight, and picking between them comes down to your table.
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Wingspan vs Forest Shuffle
Two gorgeous nature games, one shelf spot. Wingspan builds you a bird engine that hums along sweetly. Forest Shuffle makes every single card a tiny agonizing choice. Let's pick.
Forest Shuffle vs Earth
Two gorgeous nature tableau games from 2023, and you probably only need one. Here's how to pick between the quick, snappy forest and the deep, humming engine.
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The Quest for El Dorado vs Clank!: A Deck-Building Adventure
Two gateway deck-builders, one calm and one chaotic. El Dorado is a clean race to a finish line, Clank! is a greedy dash past a dragon. Here's how to pick.
Azul vs Calico
Two gorgeous tile games, two totally different evenings. One's a tidy little duel, the other's a quiet quilted brain-burner. Here's how to pick the right one for your table.
Patchwork vs Calico
Two quilt-building puzzles, two very different tables. One is a quick head-to-head duel for exactly two, the other is a brain-burny solitaire dressed up in cats.
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The Isle of Cats vs Cascadia
Two gorgeous nature-flavored puzzles, one shelf spot. Cascadia is the calm, quick teach. The Isle of Cats is the chunkier, fiddlier brain-burner. Here's how I'd pick.
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Jaipur vs Patchwork
Two of the best two-player games ever made, both quick, both tense, both tiny. The real question is whether you want a rivalry or a puzzle.
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Jaipur vs Targi
Two tiny boxes, both built for exactly two players. Jaipur is a fast trading duel, Targi is a quiet hour-long brain-burner, and picking between them comes down to your evenings.
7 Wonders Duel vs Jaipur
Two of the best strictly two-player games ever made, both quick, both tense. One is a sharp brain duel, the other a breezy trading rivalry, and the right pick depends on you.
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7 Wonders Duel vs The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth
Same designers, same card pyramid, same tense two-player standoff. One is the classic, one is the Middle-earth remix, and picking between them comes down to taste.
Targi vs Patchwork
Two of the best two-player games ever made, both teachable in five minutes. One is a quiet hour-long brain-burner, the other is a fast, sneaky-mean puzzle.
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Sky Team vs The Crew: Mission Deep Sea
Two small-box co-ops where talking is basically forbidden and the tension is the whole point. The right pick comes down to one question: who's actually at your table?
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Watergate vs Twilight Struggle
Two brilliant two-player duels, one political scandal and one Cold War. One takes an hour, one takes your whole evening. Here's how to pick the right fight.
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Twilight Struggle vs Paths of Glory
Two legendary card-driven wargames, one shelf spot, one very patient opponent. Here's how the Cold War classic and the WWI epic actually compare, and which one deserves your table.
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Radlands vs Star Realms
Two small boxes, two vicious head-to-head card fights, one spot on your shelf. Here's how the neon wasteland brawl and the pocket spaceship duel really compare.
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Star Realms vs Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game
Two scrappy head-to-head deck-builders where you punch your opponent instead of politely building an engine. One fits in your coat pocket, the other comes with Vader.
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Undaunted: Normandy vs Memoir '44
Two friendly WWII games, one shelf spot. Memoir '44 gets you rolling dice in five minutes, while Undaunted: Normandy makes every casualty sting. Here's how I'd pick.
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Memoir '44 vs Commands & Colors: Ancients
Same designer, same clever command card system, two very different tables. One is the friendliest war game on-ramp ever made, the other is the deeper history machine.
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KLASK vs Crokinole
Two of the best dexterity games you can own, and they solve totally different problems. One is a frantic two-player brawl, the other is a whole-family heirloom.
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Hanamikoji vs Jaipur
Two tiny boxes, two brilliant head-to-head card duels, one spot in your bag. The real question isn't which is better. It's how much stress you want with your fun.
Splendor Duel vs Jaipur
Two of the best head-to-head games you can buy, both 30 minutes, both built for exactly two. One's a sharp brain-burner, one's a breezy card fight. Here's how to pick.
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Pandemic vs Horrified
Two of the friendliest co-ops on the shelf, and most people only need one. Pandemic is the tense team puzzle, Horrified is the easygoing monster hunt.
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Marvel Champions: The Card Game vs Arkham Horror: The Card Game
Two of the best co-op card games ever made, from the same living card game family. One's a pick-up-and-punch superhero fix, the other's a long haunted campaign.
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Marvel Champions: The Card Game vs Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game
Two co-op Marvel card games, two very different nights. One wants your brain and your wallet, the other wants your whole friend group at the table in five minutes.
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The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game vs Arkham Horror: The Card Game
Two brilliant co-op Living Card Games, one from Middle-earth and one from Lovecraft country. Both will empty your wallet happily, so let's figure out which one deserves it.
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Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island vs This War of Mine: The Board Game
Two brutal co-op survival games that love watching you lose. One's a shipwreck saga you'll replay for years, the other's a war story you'll never forget (or maybe never repeat).
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Eldritch Horror vs Mansions of Madness: Second Edition
Two big Lovecraftian co-ops, one shelf spot. One sends you racing around the globe, the other locks you in a haunted house with an app. Here's how I'd pick.
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Cthulhu: Death May Die vs Mansions of Madness: Second Edition
Two Lovecraft co-ops, two completely different nights. One's a fast, dice-flinging monster brawl, the other's a slow, app-narrated haunted house. Here's how to pick your flavor of doom.
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Sleeping Gods vs Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon
Two huge story campaigns, both happiest at one or two players. One lets you wander a painted sea at your own pace, the other keeps a clock ticking behind every choice.
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ISS Vanguard vs Sleeping Gods
Two huge story-first co-op campaigns, one shelf spot. One's a lavish Star Trek style epic, the other's a painted open world you sail at your own pace.
Too Many Bones vs Gloomhaven
Two big co-op boxes, two very different asks. One wants a fight night whenever you're free, the other wants your table for months. Here's how I'd pick.
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Oathsworn: Into the Deepwood vs Gloomhaven
Two enormous co-op campaign boxes, one committed game group, and only so much shelf space. Here's how to pick between the boss battler and the tactical monster.
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Kingdom Death: Monster vs Gloomhaven
Two enormous campaign boxes, two very different hearts. One is a punishing survival horror saga, the other a tactical puzzle marathon. Here's how to pick the right monster.
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Mage Knight Board Game vs Gloomhaven
Two heavy fantasy boxes, one spot on your shelf. One is a solo puzzle you'll keep forever, the other is a campaign your whole group has to commit to.
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Final Girl vs Under Falling Skies
Two of the best solo games you can put on a shelf, and they scratch totally different itches. One makes you feel hunted. The other makes you think until it hurts.
Spirit Island vs Aeon's End
Two brutal co-ops that expect you to lose before you win. One's a deep territory puzzle, one's a no-shuffle deck-builder, and your table probably only needs one.
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Paleo vs Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island
Two co-op survival games that absolutely do not care about your feelings. One is a tense hour of blind draws, the other a two-hour saga of beautiful suffering.
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The 7th Continent vs Sleeping Gods
Two huge exploration campaigns, one spot on your shelf. One is a survival puzzle that eats whole evenings, the other is a painted storybook you sip in sessions.
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Vantage vs The 7th Continent
Two huge card-driven worlds to wander, two very different moods. One lets you explore without ever failing, the other makes survival itself the whole point.
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Descent: Journeys in the Dark (Second Edition) vs Star Wars: Imperial Assault
Two big campaign crawls, one designer family tree, and one seat at the table for whoever plays the villain. The theme you love most probably decides this one.
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Zombicide: Black Plague vs Cthulhu: Death May Die
Two big boxes of gorgeous minis, buckets of dice, and zero rules headaches. One throws zombies at you, the other throws a god. Here's how to pick.
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Root vs Inis
Two gorgeous games about fighting over land with people you love. One asks for a committed group, the other is ready by dessert. Here's how to pick.
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Root vs Blood Rage
Two gorgeous war games, two totally different personalities. Root rewards a committed group that keeps coming back, while Blood Rage delivers big Viking fights that wrap up in one loud evening.
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Blood Rage vs Rising Sun
Two gorgeous Eric M. Lang war games, two very different fights. One rewards dying loudly, the other rewards lying sweetly. Here's how to pick your poison.
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Rising Sun vs Ankh: Gods of Egypt
Two gorgeous Eric M. Lang war games, two very different fights. One is all table talk and bluffing, the other is a silent positional knife-fight. Here's how to pick.
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Kemet vs Blood Rage
Two gorgeous, mean dudes-on-a-map brawls where attacking is the whole point. One is pure luck-free calculation, the other lets you win by dying gloriously.
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Inis vs Cyclades
Two gorgeous, mean mythology games where your friends will absolutely come for you. One runs on card drafting, one runs on auctions, and your group's temperament decides it.
Cyclades vs Kemet
Two mean, mythological area control brawls, and most game nights only need one. Here's how the Greek auction war and the Egyptian card-battle war actually differ.
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Chaos in the Old World vs Blood Rage
Two mean, gorgeous Eric Lang conflict games, one shelf spot. One rewards a seasoned table of four, the other gets everyone brawling in ninety minutes flat.
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Cosmic Encounter vs Dune
Two negotiation classics from the same design team, both built on deals and knives in backs. One is an hour of joyful chaos, the other a three-hour war of promises.
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A Game of Thrones: The Board Game (Second Edition) vs Dune
Two legendary betrayal machines, one shelf spot. Both want six players, a long evening, and friends who can forgive you. Here's how to pick the right knife.
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Arcs vs Root
Two Cole Wehrle games, two very different kinds of chaos. One hands you a wild card-driven space fight, the other a woodland war your group has to grow into.
Arcs vs Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition
Two space operas, two completely different evenings. One is a tense 90-minute knife fight in a small box, the other is an all-day epic you'll retell for years.
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Codenames vs Decrypto
Two brilliant team word games, one shelf spot. Codenames is the easy crowd-pleaser, Decrypto is the sneaky brain-burner. Here's how I'd pick between them.
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Codenames vs Just One
Two little word-game boxes, one spot on your party shelf. The right pick comes down to your group size and how your people like to play.
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Secret Hitler vs The Resistance: Avalon
Two of the loudest, liar-friendliest games you can put on a table, and they want the exact same group of friends. Here's how I'd actually pick between them.
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Blood on the Clocktower vs The Resistance: Avalon
Two social deduction heavyweights, one shelf spot. One wants to be your whole evening, the other wants twenty loud minutes. Here's how I'd pick between them.
Blood on the Clocktower vs Secret Hitler
Two games about lying to your friends, and they want very different evenings from you. One is a quick, shouty argument. The other is the whole night.
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So Clover! vs Just One
Two gentle co-op word games, one shelf spot. So Clover! is the quiet puzzle for small groups, Just One is the crowd-pleaser. Here's how I'd pick.
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Cartographers vs Welcome To...
Two beloved flip-and-writes, same weight, same huge player range, totally different brains. One's a spatial map puzzle with a little bite, one's a lightning-fast number race.
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That's Pretty Clever! vs Cartographers
Two of the best roll-and-writes you can buy, and they scratch totally different itches. One is a numbers puzzle built for two, the other is a map-drawing brain teaser that scales forever.
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The Crew: Mission Deep Sea vs Skull King
Two small boxes, one shared love of tricks, completely different moods. One's a hushed co-op puzzle, the other is loud pirate chaos, and your table probably already knows which it wants.
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Skull King vs Tichu
Skull King is the loud, easy pirate party you can teach in two minutes. Tichu is the deep partnership obsession that takes a night to learn and years to wear out.