:strip_icc()/pic4362332.jpg)
/pic3973056.png)
This game didn't need a theme or story behind it, and you can ignore the story if you wish as the game remains the same, but the addition of this story makes the game more than what it already was. People hook into games through different points of entry, and this flavoring gives you a way to imagine the gameplay beyond simply placing transparent plastic tiles on a board.
I mean, yes, that's what you're doing in the game. On a turn, you place 1-3 of your tiles on the 3x3 grid to create one or more "styles", with a style being a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal pattern in the same color or symbol. If you create three styles on the same turn, you win. If you create zero styles, you lose. If you create one or two styles, then you draw one or two cards from your deck to refill your hand.
Victory!
The next player must eliminate each of the styles you created by covering at least one of the three spaces in it. If they can't do so, then they've given up and acknowledged your wallpapering suggestion as superior to theirs.
When you use the special tiles in the game, each player has tiles that feature a gray square that doesn't contribute either a color or a symbol to the creation of styles. Instead, it emblazons the wall with your personal symbol, whether orthogonal or diagonal, and if the opponent doesn't cover it, then they lose.
I've played Papering Duel seven times on a review copy from Mandoo Games, and the game has a similar feeling to Quadrio, an abstract strategy game I covered in January 2018. The games aren't similar in playing style, but rather in how you can lose in a couple of moves through thoughtless, haphazard play or carry out a tense, tiny battle if you're aware of what the other player is doing and trying to look ahead past the current turn. It's a tight little game that Mandoo should try to license through Pier 1 Imports or some other home-furnishing store because the gameplay is simple enough that you can jump into in a minute, and I can imagine it serving as a nice add-on item for those buying new pillows and a decorative lamp for their home.
(Disclosure: Mandoo Games hired me to edit two rule sets for other games it's releasing in 2018.)
/pic774410.jpg)
:strip_icc()/pic4359994.jpg)
:strip_icc()/pic4259360.jpg)
:strip_icc()/pic4357054.jpg)
:strip_icc()/pic4338800.png)
