A 2-player trick-taking showdown
Jekyll & Hyde vs Scotland Yard was a big hit for us, which is how we learned of Jekyll vs Hyde, a game released 2 years ago by Mandoo Games . While the new one is a 2p co-op version, Jekyll vs Hyde pits 2 players against each other in a trick-taking showdown. This one was also illustrated by Vincent Dutrait, and thus it is again a huge visual treat. 🤩
The game is somewhat asymmetrical. ⚖️ The player playing as Dr. Jekyll 🎩 will want a good balance of winning and losing tricks, as the difference between these will move a marker forward on a track, symbolizing the descent into madness. If the player survives for 3 rounds, they win.
Mr. Hyde 👹 on the other hand wants to win as many or as few tricks as possible each round, to move the marker forward more. They have to reach the end of the track before the 3rd round is over to win!
The typical trick-taking formula has some fun twists.
🧐 First of all, the trump color will be decided by the order in which cards are played: The first played color will be the weakest and the last one, the strongest, so you can influence the strength of your dealt cards a bit. As the round begins you also have to trade some cards with your opponent without knowing what they’ll give you, so you can try to steer the upcoming tricks in a certain direction.
There are also potion cards. 🧪 These basically copy the color of the other card of the trick, but depending on that color it also activates an effect - either stealing a trick from the opponent, resetting the color strength tokens, or swapping 2 cards with your opponent. These can turn things around in fun ways. 🙂
💬 After playing this one and the newer one, I have to say we prefer the co-op Scotland Yard version, because it has much more of a puzzle feeling - and co-ops are always more fun if you play with your spouse. 😉
That said, Jekyll vs Hyde is definitely fun to play, and as far as 2p trick-taking games go this is a strong one, so if you are interested at all it is worth checking out!
❓Have you played any of the two games? Do you have a favorite trick-taking game for 2 players?
