Card drafting is one of board gaming’s most popular mechanisms, but it almost always requires three or more players to work. Tides of Time challenges that assumption, compressing a full drafting experience into a two-player game with only eighteen cards. Designed by Kristian Curla and published by Portal Games, it’s a game that takes the core satisfaction of choosing-and-passing from games like 7 Wonders and asks whether that feeling can survive with just two people at the table. The answer is a qualified yes, and the qualification is part of what makes the game interesting.
Each round, players are dealt five cards from the eighteen-card deck. Cards belong to one of five suits representing ancient kingdoms, and each card has a unique scoring condition tied to collecting certain suit combinations or achieving majorities. Players simultaneously choose one card from their hand, reveal it, then pass the remaining cards to their opponent. This continues until all cards are played. After three rounds of drafting, with a twist between rounds, the player with the most points wins.
The twist is the game’s signature feature. Between rounds, each player selects one card from their played collection to carry forward as a “relic,” locking it in for the rest of the game. They also select one card to permanently remove from the game. This carry-over and cull mechanism transforms what might be three independent rounds of drafting into a connected strategic arc.
The Relic Choice and the Long Game
The between-round decisions are where Tides of Time distinguishes itself from a simple drafting exercise. Choosing which card to lock in as your relic for the rest of the game is a commitment with cascading consequences. A relic that scores based on majority in a specific suit shapes your drafting priorities for every subsequent round. A relic that scores for diversity across suits pushes you in the opposite direction. The choice isn’t just about maximizing this round’s score. It’s about setting up a scoring engine that compounds across the remaining rounds.
The removal mechanic adds a second strategic layer. Taking a card out of the game permanently changes the available card pool for future rounds, potentially eliminating a card your opponent was building around. The combination of keeping one card and removing another gives you tools to both strengthen your own position and undermine your opponent’s plans. Skilled players think about both dimensions simultaneously, choosing relics that build toward a long-term strategy while removing cards that threaten to enable their opponent’s strongest scoring conditions.
The drafting itself works surprisingly well at two players because the small card pool means you have near-complete information. With only five cards in hand at the start of each draft, and full knowledge of every card in the game, you can track exactly which cards your opponent has access to and make informed decisions about what to take and what to pass. This transforms the drafting from a semi-blind selection process into a calculated duel where both players know the stakes of every pick. The feeling of watching a card come back to you that you were afraid your opponent would take, or of seeing the card you need disappear into their collection, creates the same drafting tension that larger games produce.
The fifteen-minute playtime means the game never outstays its welcome. The three rounds build on each other naturally, with the first round establishing initial positions, the second round creating the strategic framework through relic selection, and the third round executing on or adapting the plans set in motion earlier. The arc feels complete even in such a short timeframe, and the game rarely ends without both players wanting to shuffle up and try again.
The Eighteen-Card Ceiling
The most predictable criticism of Tides of Time is also the most valid: eighteen cards is not very many. After a handful of sessions, experienced players will know every card by heart, including its suit, its scoring condition, and its relative value in different board states. This familiarity doesn’t eliminate strategic depth, since the interactions between cards still produce varied games, but it does remove the element of discovery that makes early plays exciting. The game’s charm in the first five sessions is partly the pleasure of learning what each card does and how it interacts with others. By session twenty, that pleasure is gone.
The two-player drafting format, while functional, doesn’t fully replicate the dynamics of a larger draft. With only one opponent, there’s no question about where passed cards end up. Every card you pass goes directly to the one person you’re competing against, which eliminates the uncertainty and political dynamics of multi-player drafts. This creates a cleaner, more chess-like dynamic, but some drafting enthusiasts find it too sterile compared to the richer social dynamics of drafting with three or more players.
Scoring can be counterintuitive for new players. Some cards reward having the most of a suit, while others reward diversity, and still others have conditional bonuses that interact in unexpected ways. First-time players often discover at scoring that their seemingly strong collection of cards scores less than they expected because the conditions didn’t align. The learning curve is short, since the card pool is small enough to internalize quickly, but the first game or two can feel unsatisfying if the scoring surprises are unwelcome.
The game’s variability depends entirely on the eighteen-card pool and the random deal each round. There are no expansion cards in the base game, no variable setup conditions, and no alternative modes (though a sequel, Tides of Madness, adds a sanity mechanism for players wanting more complexity). For players who value long-term variety and replayability, the base game’s content ceiling will become apparent relatively quickly.
Drafting as a Conversation
The key to enjoying Tides of Time over many sessions is understanding it not as a puzzle to solve but as a two-player conversation conducted through card selections. Every pick sends a signal about your priorities. Every pass reveals information about your strategy. The game’s depth lives not in the cards themselves but in the interaction between two players who both know the entire card pool and are trying to outmaneuver each other with the same limited tools. When approached this way, the memorized card pool becomes a shared language rather than a solved problem, and the game’s replay value extends well beyond what the component count suggests.
Should You Draft Tides of Time?
This game fits well for players who enjoy card drafting and want a two-player version they can carry in a pocket and play in fifteen minutes. It’s ideal as a warm-up game, a travel game, or a coffee-shop game. Couples who enjoy light competitive games with enough depth to reward repeat play will find several evenings of entertainment here.
Skip it if you need a game with long-term discovery, if you find small card pools repetitive, or if you prefer your drafting games with three or more players. The game does one specific thing very well, but it doesn’t pretend to do more, and players who need more will need to look elsewhere.
The Verdict on Tides of Time
Tides of Time proves that card drafting can work at two players, and the relic-and-removal mechanism between rounds gives the game a strategic arc that belies its tiny card count. The fifteen-minute playtime is perfectly calibrated, the drafting decisions carry genuine weight, and the game creates real competitive tension with minimal rules overhead. The eighteen-card ceiling is real, and experienced players will eventually feel it. But as a portable, quick-playing drafting game for two, it occupies its niche with confidence and efficiency. The concept is tight, the execution is clean, and the experience, while compact, is complete.