Board Games for 2 players?

NailbunnyPD

This thread got me thinking that maybe I can find some fun board games to play with my GF when we are home by ourselves.

So what are some good 2 player board games?

They don't have to technically be played via board. For example, looking into those games mentioned in the previous thread (pylos, quarto, pentago) I came across this site called BoardGameGeek, and searched for Mensa Select which listed Dominion at the top of the list. Obviously, not played on a board, but looks interesting none the less.

As for preference, well, we've never really played anything together beyond the common games many of us have played as children (Monopoly, Clue, etc.). I have a feeling I would like something more complex than she would. We will probably have to find a compromise, but don't let that hinder any suggestions. I've enjoyed Catan, Carcassone and Ticket to Ride on XBLA.

Niceguy Myeye wrote: »

Did you want games specifically designed for 2 people, or games for multiple people that also play ok with 2?

More is welcome, but it shouldn't detract from the experience to only have 2. And thanks for the suggestions so far.


Dominion (2-4p)
Pandemic (2-4p, co-op)
Castle Ravenloft (1-5p, co-op)
Quiddler (1-8p)
Mr. Jack (2p)
Race for the Galaxy (2-4p)
Thunderstone (1-5p)
Puerto Rico (2-5p)
Agricola (1-5p)
Lost Cities (2p)
Dragonheart (2p)
Warhammer: Invasion (2p)
Battles of Westeros (2p)
Carcassonne (2-5p)
Take 5 (2p)
Ticket to Ride: Europe (2-5p) and Ticket to Ride: Switzerland (2-3p)

I don't mean to offend by leaving off Jenga and Yahtzee, but Jenga is out because we have a dog, and Yahtzee seems based entirely on chance (and my sister got all the luck.)

CowShark

Pandemic can be fun, since you team up and play against the stack of cards, so nobody gets hurt feelings.

Quid

The Castle Ravenloft board game is a fun co op game too.

After that my wife and I found Quiddler to be an enjoyable way to pass time. It's like mixing rummy with Scrabble.

Niceguy Myeye

For games that are 2 player only Mr. Jack can be fun.

In terms of card based games like Dominion which would work for 2 people and also multiples, you can try Race For the Galaxy

Did you want games specifically designed for 2 people, or games for multiple people that also play ok with 2?

physi_marc

Two very simple, but quite fun and addictive, suggestions: Jenga and Yahtzee! They're also great games to whip out when friends are over.

NailbunnyPD

Niceguy Myeye wrote: »

Did you want games specifically designed for 2 people, or games for multiple people that also play ok with 2?

More is welcome, but it shouldn't detract from the experience to only have 2.

And thanks for the suggestions so far.

truck-a-sauras

hey, just played some Thunderstone at lunch, which has been described as a Dominion rip off. Fun and worth checking out. Never played Dominion, but after reading a bit on it the deck building seemed great but endless card exchanging. Thunderstone write ups billed it as deck building with a purpose. It is a dungeon/monster/hero theme. So you build your deck with heroes/items to go battle the dungeon monsters.

Niceguy Myeye

Dominion is a good game also.

As for games that are for more people that probably play pretty well with 2, you can look into some of the better build up victory point games.

Puerto Rico
Agricola

Agricola is my favorite game. The things I like best about it is that you generally have a different strategy every game because of the occupation and improvement cards and that for a lot of game there isn't one glaringly obvious good move and you have to make decisions on several things that can be considered good moves.

I haven't played either with 2 people, but they are playable with 2.

Namrok

For 2 players, I enjoy Lost Cities, Dragonheart, Warhammer: Invasion and Battles of Westeros. Those games are STRICTLY 2 player though. If you are looking for games that play well with larger groups, but happen to play well with 2 players as well, other people have it pretty covered.

Artereis

Carcasonne is pretty great even with two people. I definitely prefer a physical version as opposed to something like what's on XBLA.

The_Glad_Hatter

i play _alot_ of 2P boardgames with my GF (who is not a hardcore gamer or anything).
Lost Cities is pretty much the best one we have. Sounds simple, but it's very entertaining and quite addictive.
Take 5 is a uno style game we also quite enjoy.
Ticket to ride is a lot of fun, even for 2P. I prefer the europe version, not because i'm european, but because the mechanics are changed a bit. The swiss version is even better for 2 players.

starmanbrand

come and join us, wont you

My girlfriends two favorite games are Jamaica and Aquaretto. Jamaica is listed as 3-6, but it has a 2p variant that works decent enough. Oh, also Kingsburg.

RocketSauce

Mancala and Othello are both simple, yet complex and require a lot of strategy. Also, Backgammon might be fun to try.

The_Glad_Hatter

oh yeah, Small World also a great map-conquering game, but it lacks the endlessly long turns and possibility of dying Risk has and therefore very GF-friendly. The game seems a bit intimidating at first (so many tokens and races), but actually, while playing you only use a small number of them and the rules are pretty easy.
Added bonus is that it includes 4 different boards so it scales quite nicely from 2-6 players. (and it's entertaining enough that you can even team up with somebody and still have fun. We regularly play it with 8-9 people)

Entriech

I can't speak highly enough about Forbidden Island. It's cheap, but the pieces are all very high quality, and really vibrantly coloured. It is a very pretty game, by itself.

2 - 4 players cooperatively work to gather up the four treasures of the forbidden island and escape before the island sinks. There's enough randomization of roles and island tiles that repeat play is entertaining, and the game scales perfectly per person. There's an adjustable difficulty as well, so once you get the hang of it you can make things more challenging.

Lachrymite

San Juan is a fun and somewhat simplified card based version of Puetro Rico that's nice for two players. I think it's more light gameplay wise but retains the overall theme pretty well.

Usagi

Zombie Dice
Jenga
Uno & Skip-Bo are good too if you're interested in card games

Spacemilk

Quid wrote: »

The Castle Ravenloft board game is a fun co op game too.

After that my wife and I found Quiddler to be an enjoyable way to pass time. It's like mixing rummy with Scrabble.

The way you describe quiddler makes it sound similar to Rummikub, which is one of my favorite games. Highly recommend it, and it works very well as a 2-person game.