Verdict

While it looks like an abstract strategy game, there is absolutely no strategy here, and only a very slight scope for tactics in the optional advanced play modes - this is a puzzle game. It's also a sensory feast, and so simple that absolutely anyone can join in. Serious strategy gamers should stay away, but I can recommend it for people who want a stress free way to spend time with a friend or family member doing something that feels board-gamey.

Pros

Peerless production values
Extremely accessible
Lighthearted fun
Small package, lots of play modes

Cons

Shallow gameplay
Looks like a strategy game - isn’t
Dangerously edible-looking components
Deluxe edition is hard to find, regular edition not on sale yet

Since a friend brought his copy of Flamecraft Duals Deluxe with him to board game night, it's been a regular favorite in my gaming group - a charming filler game for two players that looks brilliant, is quick and easy to play, and is just as cheerful as its cosy art suggests. It's also shallow as a puddle, a himbo of a board game that is not going to challenge you intellectually. Nor will it challenge you emotionally, so if you're after an easy-going, low-stakes game that you can play with kids, non-gamers, or when terminally stressed, it may be just right for you.

Flamecraft Duals isn't in contention for a slot on Wargamer's guide to the best board games then, but I'm giving it serious thought for our guide to the best couples board games, and there's even an argument for it in our guide to the best family board games. My partner, daughter, and gaming friends have all been equally happy to play.

I've already spent an entire article waxing lyrical about the quality of the components in the Deluxe (and so far only) edition - they're genuinely top class. Normally I have to take photos specifically for reviews with a proper lighting rig, but Flamecraft Duals is so photogenic that I was able to use my snaps from regular games - it's basically impossible to make this game look bad. But what about the gameplay?

Flamecraft Duals is very, very simple. Players take turns drawing a colored dragon tile from a velvety bag, placing it onto the hex grid board - potentially on top of another dragon - and using its special ability to make another little adjustment to the board. Your goal is to create patterns of dragons that match either of the two objective cards in your hand. You'll refresh your hand with new objectives at the end of the turn, and you'll play until the bag or deck is empty - highest score at the end wins.

Placing a dragon lets you "fire" its unique special ability:

Yellow 'bread' dragons allow you to draw, place, and fire another dragon tile;
Pale blue 'diamond' dragons let you draw three tiles and place one without firing it;
Purple 'potion' dragons let you swap the position of any two dragons;
Red 'meat' dragons let you move one adjacent dragon anywhere on the board;
Dark blue 'steel' dragons let you move up to two adjacent dragons one space each;
Green 'leaf' dragons allow you to fire an adjacent dragon.

It's a very satisfying sequence full of lovely tactile sensations - pulling that dragon tile from the bag, humming and hawing about where to place it, adding it to the board like a gem in a socket, firing its ability, and finally revealing the cards you've been able to score.

There are some little wrinkles. You can't build a tower of dragons higher than three tiles, which limits your options in the late game. You also have three (beautiful) metal coins, which you can spend to draw two extra objective cards and discard two that you don't like, or hold onto for end game victory points.

It took me a few games to realise that, despite the presentation, there was absolutely no strategy in the game. With no information about the state your opponent will leave the board in, the tile you'll draw next, or the objective cards ahead of you, every turn is a self-contained puzzle of maximizing your points. The coins barely represent a choice: they're just a gamble that the next two objective cards in the deck are better than the ones in your hand.

It's not even a competitive game. With no information about your opponent's intentions or capabilities, you have no way to predict and pre-empt their plans. They might as well be a random number generator.

That's pretty damning if you judge this as a strategy game. But there's a much more favorable comparison to be made with Bejewelled, and any other turn-based puzzle videogame, where the puzzle each turn is to maximise your score with whatever tools RNG has given you. These games don't need deep decisions to be fun, as long as the choice isn't facile.

And that's the level that Flamecraft is sitting at: spotting a really good move that scores both of your objective cards at once is as satisfying as placing a tricky piece into a jigsaw puzzle. Most of the time, anyway - sometimes you'll draw two new objectives that are already ready to score. RNG is like that.

There are three additional game modes which add just a fraction more depth. The Fancy Dragons deck is a small collection of optional rules, which you can use two at a time to mix up the main game. For example the fancy dragon Buddy adds a wild card tile to the bag which has no abilities but counts as all dragon types for scoring; Precious lets you spend a coin to replace the dragon tile you've drawn with one of your choice. These make deciding how to use your turn just a little more chewy.

But only one card - Oracle - adds any more information about what your opponent might be planning. This dragon makes two potential objective cards public information, for some very limited counterplay - choosing to pick one of these cards gives your opponent some information about your intentions they might be able to play around, depending on what they draw.

Advanced mode brings in a lovely plastic dragon fountain statue, and six fountain cards. These are objectives that are always open to both players, and can be scored by creating a row of four of the same dragon. Claim one of the fountain cards and you get to place the dragon fountain down on the board on top of a pile of dragons, taking one tile to use on your next turn and returning the others to the bag. The fountain then remains as an obstacle until the next fountain card is scored.

Once again, the public objectives add just a little bit more open information about what the other player might be up to, for a whisker more genuine interaction.

Even with both these modules in use at once, there's only slightly more direct player interaction than you'll find in a roll and write game like Railroad Ink or Super-Skill Pinball. And there's slightly less strategy than those games, since your early decisions in a roll-and-write game shape your later opportunities, while in Flamecraft Duals randomness and your opponent's moves shake up the board like an etcher-sketch.

Ironically, there is some strategy in the score-chasing solo play mode, since - without an opponent to mess things up - you can make plans that span more than one turn. This mode also uses the fountain cards, which are drawn from a deck instead of all available at once. Each turn you must either score an objective or spend a coin to take your next turn, with the goal being to complete all six fountain cards before you run out of objective cards, tiles, or turns. It's as fun as the base game, if a little lonelier, and if you enjoy Bejewelled and its ilk then you'll get on well with it.

Despite everything I've said about the two-player game of Flamecraft Duals being - mechanically speaking - a parallel-play solo game most of the time, it doesn't feel like that. Both players are focused on the same board, not staring at a personal tableau. The effect your opponent has on the game state might as well be random for all that you can predict it, but it's still coming from another person.

If you're looking for a strategy game, you'll find the mismatch between vibes and mechanics a total turn off. But if you want something chill and easy going that you can play with non-gamers, youngsters, or after work when your brain is fried, then it's a (very gentle) hit.

What's your favorite chill out board game? We'd love to hear about it in the official Wargamer Discord community. To make sure you catch future reviews from Wargamer, as well as a regular roundup of all our best stories, sign up to our weekly newsletter.