It sure didn’t take long before we played the two-player game of Queen’s Necklace. I was a bit worried when Johanna got this look of slight terror when I explained the rules to her, but eventually it all turned out well (especially when she smoked me 340-160). I agree — the rules aren’t the most elegant ones I’ve read. All the special cards make it a bit complicated to explain, but I think I just need some practise explaining them.
So, how was the two-player game like? Fun, as games with Johanna usually are. Still, I wouldn’t recommend Queen’s Necklace to someone looking for a game for two, unless they are really enthralled with the theme. There are better two-player games out there. But if you already have Queen’s Necklace, you can definitely play it with two players. I thought about removing some cards, because we felt we had lots of cards and managing them was getting tricky, but I’m not yet sure about it. However, I’m sure we will play the game again.