Hi all, not sure if there’s a better place in the fediverse to ask, but I’m looking for suggestions for a 2 player game. Something that is pretty quick in terms of set up, learning, and play. My go to for this scenario right now is the Tacocat game by the makers of Exploding Kittens, but I’d like to branch out and try some others if they fit the bill. Doesn’t necessarily have to be for 2 players specifically but preferable if that’s what it’s designed for. Heck doesn’t necessarily have to be a board game really, just something to play face to face (I mean, I don’t really know what the alternative would be other than a straight up card game but that’s why I’m asking for recommendations).
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Targi - Cards are displayed in a 5x5 grid. The “outer” square of the grid are action spots while the “inner” 3x3 grid are resources/objectives. During your turn you will place one of your 3 workers in one of the available action spots. Then your opponent places their worker but they cannot place their worker in the same column or row than your wokers. After both players have placed their 3 workers, you place tribe markers (the cilinders) on the cards where your workers intersect. At the end of the round you get all the resources/objectives where you have cilinders and perform all the actions where you have workers!
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Hanamikoji - This is a “I split, you choose” 2 player game with some area majority in the mix. I honestly think this game is fantastic but I have had very low success in introducing it to other people. The game is very quirky, very different than everything I’ve tried. You force players to make hard and unintuitive decisions and I think that turns off some people. “Why would I split these cards, I want them all. How can I have them all?”. Split wisely! I guess the art work and box doesn’t help people get excited about it either.
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MicroMacro: Crime City - There is some debate about wether this is even game or just an activity but I don’t really care about that. This game is absolutely brilliant. It’s basically a “Where’s Waldo” but with all timelines printed into a single map. Each mission points you to a crime and you have to trace back the map to understand what actually took place there. Where did the victim come from, what were they doing, who looked at them funny? I would put this game as the best 2 player game but it have felt weird for the best 2 player game to be a game where you can play with an infinite number of players. Wouldn’t recommend more than 2 players tho! Get it!
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Seven Wonders has a two person game called Seven Wonders Duel that’s really easy. It comes with expansions and it’s my husband’s and my favorite game to play ^^
I love Seven Wonders Duel but I wouldn’t call it super accessible compared to something like Hive. There’s quite a lot to keep track of for the first few playthroughs. But for two people who are experienced with other games it has a good amount of replayability!
As the certified Dumb Dumb of the relationship, I’d quibble, but to each their own!
Hive / 2 players / Requires basically zero setup. Game is easy to pickup and a bit strategic
Star Realms / 2 players / Requires shuffling, separating some cards out and dealing out a few cards. Rules look daunting at first, but it’s pretty straight forward after a few games. There’s a mobile app if you want to try the digital version.
Fox in the Forest / 2 players / minimal setup
Play these with my wife and they’re all good for a relatively quick game. We’re not a big fan of largely random games and prefer something a bit more strategic.
These are all really good options 👍🏼
Hope you enjoy your future game sessions!
Thank you, you too. What are you playing ATM?
I’ve been playing Evolution with the family which has been fun. Aside from that I’ve been playing mostly the base game of Star Realms with the wife.
Did you end up deciding on trying any games?
Catan Duell/ the cardgame. Great Strategy game.
These have been excellent at two players for us:
Targi
Innovation
Morels (AKA: Fungi)
Jaipur
Port Royal
Kanagawa
Star Realms
Have you ever played any Grandpa Beck’s Games? My wife and I love Skull King
Check out Quarto. There’s smaller and larger boards, mine is I think 5x5. It’s like a more complex Connect Four where you pick your opponent’s next piece at the end of your turn.
The “Connect Four” part is getting four in a row, the complexity is that the four can be in any combination (piece height, color, dimpled or not, etc.). Quick to learn, hard to master.
Thanks everyone for all the responses so far, I look forward to digging into these this weekend
Mindbug - an amazing card battler for two without building a deck. The twist is that you can take the opponents card twice a game. Makes for a super interesting gameplay.
Splendor duel - seen it mentioned before, a really great implementation of the splendor game for two
My favorites for two are Carcasonne, Seven Wonders Duel, and classic Cribbage. Those first two aren’t exactly simple to learn though.
Another suggestion is to play a cooperative game with two. This can be really fun to talk about thr strategy together since you are on a team. For simpler, I like Forbidden Island and Forbidden Desert.
One my favouit 2 player boardgames is Hallali (Not sure if it has a diferent wnglish titel). It is a fantastic game with a big strategy part, but also some luck.
War of the Ring: The Card Game
All the flavor of the gigantic classic, but in a nice quick-setup card game form.A few from my closet: Castle Panic (with expansion set), Labyrinth (Ravensburger), Classic card games: Crazy 8s, Go Fish, Hearts and Old Maid. Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots, Mille Bornes, Pirate’s Cove, Stratego, Battleship, Chess, Checkers, Chinese Checkers, and Laser Khet 2.0.
And story dice are fun with any number of people.
I’ve had a lot of fun playing Radlands and 7 Wonders Duel with my girlfriend
Claim, a trick taking card game. Easy to learn, but difficult to master the tactics. Has many extensions.
Jekyll vs Hide, another trick taking card game. Twist is the players have different goals. Jekyll wants balance meaning both sides win equally, while Hide wants to win either none or all of them.
Otherwise I second Azul, Hanamikoji and 7 Wonders Duel that were mentioned already
