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Review. The Quacks of Quedlinburg: The Duel
Not All It’s Quacked Up to Be
Quacks are notorious for pretending to cure people’s ailments, when in fact they have no medical knowledge. Some from Quedlinburg have pitted their remedies against those of two or three other players. Now you have the two-person treatment option, where you compete against only one other player in The Quacks of Quedlinburg: The Duel.
By EDWIN RUSCHITZKA
this game with the power to be all things to all people. It could be a roll-and-write game or a children’s game. Hopefully, it’s perfect for two players; but I have my doubts because the original game al- ready works very well for two players. So, are these two similar games competing against each other?
Naturally, there are similarities: quacks on the box means quacks in the box. And, as in the original game, the new one is also a bag-building game with a pouch containing alchemist’s lead, drag- on’s blood, witch’s herb, spider silk, or stinkhorns. But, your potions and victory points are no longer collected in a large cauldron; now, they’re in a flask.
This mechanic makes the game special, and the suspense of drawing from the
bag, not knowing if
you’re going to draw
lucrative ingredients
or a cherry bomb, real-
ly makes it come alive. If
you pull out too many bombs, your bea- ker will explode, and you’ll lose a signifi- cant portion of your victory points in the process. Six years ago, players enjoyed this mechanic so much that two expan- sions were subsequently published, as well as a mega box. However, some hob- by gamers in the boardgame community turned their nose up at the game because of its significant luck factor.
So, what novelty does The Quacks of Quedlinburg: The Duel offer? Well, there’s a board that both players share, and upon which are patients. The players
J
original box is that here, there are only two quacks, a male and a female. There are also only two bewildered patients— again, one male and one female. My my, all the things illustrators have to consider these days.
The latest addition to The Quacks of Quedlinburg family (2018 recipient of Kennerspiel des Jahres, which was not an uncontroversial choice), experiences the same effect that you can see in other follow-ups to an award-winning game. Call it the halo effect: being plucked out of the jungle of games somehow infuses
ust one look at the box, and you’ll recognize Dennis Lohausen’s quirky
artwork. The main change from the
Photos: Becker, Ruschitzka, Schmidt Spiele
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