Pokémon Duel, released worldwide in early 2017 on iOS and Android after a Japanese version, Pokémon Comaster, in 2016, is a free strategy board game. You move Pokémon figurines around a board, and battles are settled with a wheel. An original idea, inspired by the Trading Figure Game, but its service shut down on October 31, 2019. This review is therefore an archive.
A Pokémon board game
Each player lines up six figurines. The goal: reach the opponent’s goal square, or surround the opponent’s pieces to eliminate them. You move one piece per turn, by one to three squares depending on the Pokémon. When two adjacent Pokémon face off, each spins its attack wheel: white attacks (damage), purple (effects), blue (defense), gold (priority) or a miss. See the rules and battles.
Simple, yet tactical
The luck of the wheel is offset by positioning, plates (effect cards, as in the TCG) and figurine progression, letting you enlarge or shrink their attacks. Updates added evolution, Mega Evolution and Z-Moves. A player can even let the computer play for them.
Free-to-play
Figurines are obtained at random, in boosters, with very different rarities. As is often the case, money speeds up progression, before the switch to a Player Pass system in 2019. The solo mode, on Carmonte Island, and the ranked online matches kept players busy.
The end
The service shut down on October 31, 2019: it is no longer possible to play, and only a library still let you view the figurines.
Our verdict
An original and enjoyable board game that revisited the Trading Figure Game, but did not survive beyond 2019.
What we like
- An original Pokémon board game idea
- Short, tactical games
- A readable attack wheel
- Rich updates (Mega, Z-Moves)
What we like less
- A lot of luck
- A booster-based free-to-play model
- Service closed in 2019
