Cake Duel is a fast paced two-player card game. Players play the role of opposing Sheepie generals in the grand tournament of cakes.

Players start a round with several cake tokens each and take turns playing Sheepie cards to steal cakes from the other player. The first player to take all the cakes wins the round. The first player to win three rounds wins the duel. The catch is that all cards are played face down, so any card can be bluffed as any other card, and all plays can be challenged, instantly ending the round. Each round comes with new opportunities to make tricky plays and mind game the other player. Experienced players can also keep track of which cards have been played and bluff strategically to strengthen their attacks.

The basic deck contains 20 cards: 12 attackers, 7 blockers, and a Wolf which can only be played by bluffing. There are also 10 special cards, two of which are randomly added to the basic deck at the beginning of each duel. These special cards all change up the basic game in their own way, either by adding special mechanics, or altering the balance of power. Players discover which special cards are in the deck over the course of the duel, and can use this information to make more believable plays and deduce which of their opponent's plays are likely to be bluffs.