Board Games

Rush Hour Duel: The Drive to Win

What happens when you make a single-player puzzle game competitive?

Rush Hour Duel

I was unfamiliar with the game Rush Hour before attending Gen Con 2026. The sliding block puzzle game about trying to get a car out of traffic has been around for decades, but never caught my attention. After receiving a copy, I became enamored with trying to steer my red car through the 6x6 grid of traffic to freedom. I even found a free-to-play version of the game online that I could enjoy through my web browser.

So when I received a copy of Rush Hour Duel to review for the site, I was excited to give it a try.

Playing the game

Rush Hour Duel setup with challenge cards

Rush Hour Duel makes puzzles competitive. Two players face off, trying to get their red car into the winners circle by moving vehicles within the confines of the board. Once one player achieves this condition, a gate snaps shut on the opponent's side, preventing them from moving into the victory area.

At the start of the game, each player has a mix of three blocker trucks, eight blocker cars and one red car. The pieces for this game are large, with the trucks measuring 2.5 inches. Players will choose one challenge card and place the corresponding vehicles accordingly.

Rush Hour Duel comes with 40 challenge cards, varying in difficulty from easiest (green) to more difficult (red). On the backs of the cards are instructions on how to complete the challenge should players get stuck. Once the board is set up, participants count down from three and start the game.

My thoughts

Rush Hour Duel makes you think quickly about your choices. One wrong “turn” and your competitor could gain the advantage. I won most of the games I played, but both me and my competition often quickly became bored after a few rounds and moved on to something else. Personally, I would choose the single-player variant over Duel. However, there are two very different versions of me that would really enjoy this game.

The first version is if I was a father. I do not have children, but this feels like it would be a great game to teach analytical skills to kids. The game is made for ages eight and up, but younger children would be fine with it as well. The large components make it easier for little hands to grasp. I know as a young child, it would have been a game I would have loved to play with my dad.

The second version is if I was still a 20-something college student. Adding a drinking component to Rush Hour Duel would make it an absolute blast. Come in second, take a sip of your drink. The winner stays at the table, and a new opponent moves in to face them. After a loss or two, your deductive reasoning skills diminish. Can you still come back and claim the crown?

Overall, Rush Hour Duel is a neat idea that will appeal to some players. If you and a partner are into competitive puzzles, it is definitely worth checking out. If you do prefer the single player mode, it is easy enough to set up half the board and work through each puzzle solo. That is how I will mostly play this game.