The Duke is a two-player

abstract strategy Abstract strategy games admit a number of definitions which distinguish these from strategy games in general, mostly involving no or minimal narrative theme, outcomes determined only by player choice (with no randomness), and perfect information ...

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a co ...

played on a square-tiled gameboard, with 36 squares arranged in a 6×6

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. The game has been compared to

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

and

chess variants A chess variant is a game related to, derived from, or inspired by chess. Such variants can differ from chess in many different ways. "International" or "Western" chess itself is one of a family of games which have related origins and could be co ...

, while retaining notable differences in unit movement and overall gameplay.

Gameplay

Each player begins game with three pieces: two ''footmen'' and one eponymous ''duke'' tile. Each piece, a flat, wooden tile (known as ''troop tiles'') has its movement options graphically portrayed on its two sides, giving it alternating movement options based upon which side of the piece is currently facing upwards. Pieces are moved to either an unoccupied square or one occupied by an opponent's piece, which is then captured and removed from play. Each turn, players must move a piece, place another piece on the board, and use any special powers if applicable. The objective in a standard game is to capture the opponent's duke, by first placing the duke into ''guard'', a condition paralleling

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in chess. The Duke is designed with game expansions and allots for special powers beyond those provided in the main game. It comes with extra pieces (known as ''terrain pieces'') which are used to modify gameplay and blank tiles which can be used to create unique, customized pieces.

Awards

The Duke was a 2014 Mensa Select winner and was nominated for the Dice Tower Gaming Awards 2013 ‘Best Two Player Game’.

References

External links

Wild Wood – The Duke reviewGame Review: The Duke
Board games introduced in 2013 American board games Abstract strategy games Mensa Select winners {{Board-game-stub