Aloha from Hawaii!
I've been lurking on BGG for a while. I've made a couple of comments here and there; however, I've never made review (you could say "Long Time/First Time" - for you radiophiles out there).

Nevertheless, I was compelled to enter a quick review of Duel in the Dark. This will not be a "technical - play by play" account; I want to just share my thoughts on it.

Picked it up a few days ago, leafed through the rules, set it up and played both sides solo. (I didn't follow the 'random' solo mission rules - I just tried to play both sides fairly.)

Naturally, I picked Berlin as a target city as I figured that would provide the length and scoring potential to make it interesting. As the Germans, I loaded up the coasts, defended every city with SOMETHING and (although probably cheating myself) loaded up Berlin.

The flight plan out was brutal for the Germans, the bomber stream went up along the North Sea, avoiding most land defenses. I tried to bring the German Fighter Squads up to harrass (and later found out I made a scoring error ... but, not too bad) but, fuel for the fighters was an issue. The Mossie ran a screen and finally beat a path to Berlin to bomb and lay flares. Hitting Berlin, the British scored a total of 28 points.

It took 8 cards to get to Berlin via north route. For the next 6 cards, the British were committed to flying through the heart of Europe. The real fun began as it was a slow plod through the continent. Each hex depleted the gains in Berlin.

At the end, the British won the game with 6 points. So, it looked like a British run-away after the Berlin raid and then things got tense.

My scoring error was in not understanding how German Fighter squadrons were scored: I thought it was when they moved. After the game, I re-read the rules carefully and now I understand how "fighting" takes place when the bomber moves. I think it might have changed the way I used the German Fighter squads. But, like I said, it was fun.

MY REVIEW: Overall, I like this game for a few reasons: 1) the strategy is not straight-forward. There are many choices to make (from sweeping broad strategy to immediate, local decisions.) 2) The components are high quality and fit nicely with the theme of the game. 3) The rules are generally easy to learn. If there was anything I'd change about the game it would be a little more depth. I can see where this could get a little tired after a ton of plays. I think that the muli-night raids, campaign ideas (that are being mulled) and the inclusion of the "Walls have Ears" mini-expansion might help lend some depth to this game.

The retailer I bought this from hosts game nights and asked if I could demo this for others. I'm looking forward to that (and if he throws in the mini-expansions for free ... hmmm). This will be fun with another player. Next, I'm going to try the actual SOLO rules to see if the random aspect works for me.


Aloha,
Hawaiiirish