Duel of Meloch

Here's a novelty from Jamey Stegmaier and Stonemaier Games. Duel of Meloch is a self-contained standalone two-player game with an automata for solo play, but by way of a double bonus it also serves as an expansion for two of Stonemaier's big box titles: Scythe and Expeditions, and with more of the distinctive worldbuilding art of Jakub Rozalski. Tho' Scythe and Expeditions are both quite separate games, they share the same alternative timeline steampunk universe. Oh, and to cap it all, if you have Scythe or Expeditions you can substitute any of the factions from those games into Duel of Meloch! This certainly makes Duel of Meloch a very versatile package.

The standalone game is subtitled Scythe vs Expeditions, and tho' you don't need to own either of those games you do need to have a working knowledge of how those two different games play because the essence of Duel of Meloch is that it's an asymmetric tussle between a player using Scythe rules and one following the rules from Expeditions. You could in theory play Duel of Meloch without having played either of the other games but you'd first have to learn those games: Duel of Meloch comes with everything else needed for a standalone game but Stonemaier Games have made the not unreasonable assumption that players already know the original games and don't need to be supplied with a full set of rules for each of them, tho' those are available for free download.

The game comes with a new Expeditions and Scythe faction and all their supporting components, including mechs. You're pitting one against the other on the also included confined 12-hex neoprene map board but there are symbols on the hexes that are only applicable to the Scythe player and others that apply only to the Expeditions player. The game is highly asymmetric so, for example, the Expeditions player doesn't suffer the same standard movement restrictions that apply to the Scythe player. On the other hand, the Scythe player has a potential numerical advantage in combat. The game comes with its own set of combat cards. These mirror those used in Scythe except that the cards all have an additional icon on them that allows them to be traded in for other benefits.

The Duel game is a race to be the first to set out four achievement stars on the scoring track but the criteria are different for the two players, balanced to reflect the different rules and play and, as in Expeditions, the Expeditions player ordinarily has to take a 'boast' action in order to place out a star. When you place out a star you block off the corresponding achievement for your opponent, so there are tactics involved in optimising the focus of your activities with an eye to what you think your opponent is trying to do... Meloch cards introduce a small catch-up mechanic, giving a compensatory bonus when your opponent places out a star.

We recently featured Stonemaier Games' Wingspan Pocket on Board's Eye View and we described it as a game that could be used to introduce players into the Wingspan boardgame ecosystem. Duel of Meloch is definitely not the same sort of game. If you've never played Scythe or Expeditions then this isn't the game for you because it's not going to ease you in to playing either of those games; rather, Duel of Meloch is a game that's designed to appeal to enthusiasts for at least one of those earlier games. With that caveat, the game works surprisingly well. Jamey Stegmaier has managed to create a balance between players despite the fact that each is playing to a completely different set of rules. Assuming both players are au fait with the respective rules, you should be able to race through Duel of Meloch in around 45 minutes.

It's also worth reemphasising the versatility and therefore the replayability of this package: the new Scythe and Expeditions factions in Duel can be incorporated into the original games, so become expansions for those games. The Duel of Meloch neoprene map and the scoring achievement board are both double-sided, offering scope for varying play, and because you can bring in any of the factions from the 'main' games, you can alternatively play Duel of Meloch as Scythe vs Scythe or Expeditions vs Expeditions. Expeditions already works well as a two-player game but we've always preferred Scythe as a three-player game, and at higher player counts when using an expanded board. Using the compact Duel of Meloch board can be a great way of scaling Scythe for a tight two-player contest.

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