“What are the best board games for 2 players?”

My father-in-law just texted me that very question last week. Why I didn’t already have this blog post written – who knows? My immediate response was “for who?” Is the game for your parents who have only ever played Uno? Is it for your friend who loves 3-hour long strategy board games? Let’s way oversimplify this and categorize the games into two groups.

1 – Light Games. These games are typically shorter, easier to learn, with simpler decision making. These games are really for anyone.

2 – Medium Games. These games are typically for your friend who is a bit more into board games and won’t mind having to read through a rulebook, and who wants “meatier” decision making.

THE online place for board games is Board Game Geek. There you can find a scale of “weight” or complexity. The scale is ranges from 1-5. Now, it isn’t scientific, but it is helpful to know generally how complex a game is. As a reference Uno is ranked 1.1 and Risk comes in at 2.0. We’ll include the BGG (Board Game Geek) weight as a helpful reference.

Top 10 Best Board Games for 2 Players (in no particular order):

Light Games

Jaipur

2 Players // 30 minutes // 1.5 BGG

A fast-paced card game with a blend of risk and luck. In Jaipur you are collecting and selling goods, deciding how long to hold onto cards before selling them to earn points. This 30 minute game is played over 3 rounds, and there is nothing that says you can’t just play one round, for an even shorter 10 minute game. This may be my number 1 recommendation for a two player game – see our video review for more details.

The Mind

2-4 Players // 15 minutes // 1.1 BGG

This is more of a stocking stuffing, filler type of game. In the world of gaming this is far from a full meal, more of a very light snack. The Mind is a deck of numbered cards from 1-100. Players each have a hand of cards. The goal is for each player to lay their cards in ascending order…but there is no talking. So, you are just left to guess at what point you should lay your next card. It sounds silly, and it is. But this silly, fun game is sure to bring some laughs. It plays well with 2, and even plays up to 4 players.

Hanamikoji

2 Players // 15 minutes // 1.7 BGG

Hanamikoji (also published as Jixia Academy) is deceptively simple game of I cut, you choose. It’s much like when you cut some slices of steaming hot pizza and secretly pray that nobody takes the slice with the biggest, juiciest toppings. Because both players are working with incomplete information as to where each card lies, there are plenty of opportunities for crafty plays.

Welcome To

1-100 Players // 25 minutes // 1.8 BGG

It seems weird that a game can play 1-100 players, but Welcome To… is a phenomenal game in part because it works for a lot of different group sizes, including 2 players. This game is a lot of fun in that each player has the same set of cards available to them, so by the end of the game there are no complaints of “I just didn’t get good cards.” Each player has a piece of paper where they will build houses along with parks, pools, and more.

Mandala

2 Players // 20 minutes // 1.9 BGG

Mandala claimed a spot in our top 5 board games of 2019 with its crisp design and engaging fun. The game contains only 6 different types of cards represented by their color. On your turn, you may either play a single card to the middle and draw 1-3 more, or play any number of cards of the same color to your side. Things get wild as both players strive to cut off their opponent from high scoring cards.

Patchwork

2 Players // 30 minutes // 1.7 BGG

A game about quilting may seem like it wouldn’t work in the market, which is all the more impressive that hobby gamers rate this high enough to land it in the top 100 games of all time. Patchwork offers such an interestingly unknowable dichotomy of incentives between time, buttons, and shapes. This puzzly polyomino game will keep you coming back to patch a quilt together again and again.

Medium Games

7 Wonders Duel

2 Players // 40 minutes // 2.2 BGG

The 2-player version of the classic 7 Wonders. The unique method of collecting cards in this game provides opportunities for meaningful decision making. Cards are laid out in a pyramid, where players are only allowed to take uncovered cards – this lets you really strategize as you take cards and uncover cards for your opponent. Themed around constructing different wonders of the world, this game with beautiful art and meaningful decisions comes in as one of the best board games for 2 players.

Dominion

2-4 Players // 30 minutes // 2.4 BGG

Dominion is the tried and true classic deck building game. There is a “market” of cards available for each player to purchase. Players place these purchased cards into their own deck, which grows throughout the game and will be re-shuffled over and over. This game is beloved by many for a very good reason. There are certainly meatier games in this same category, but Dominion is an easy go-to recommendation from me, especially for someone just getting into the board game hobby.

Azul

2-4 Players // 45 minutes // 1.8 BGG

Azul is undoubtedly one of the best board games for 2 players. Players take turns drafting colored tiles to their player board. Later in the round, players score points based on how they’ve placed their tiles to decorate the palace walls. Extra points are scored for specific patterns and completing sets. There are a lot of great decisions to be made in this game, and it is absolutely wonderful at 2, 3, or 4 players. See our video review for a more in-depth discussion.

Five Tribes

2-4 Players // 40-80 minutes // 2.9 BGG

I have fond memories of playing the age-old Mancala in elementary school… mostly of getting crushed by another girl in my class. Yet, I have even fonder memories of playing Five Tribes. This colorful game takes the simple action of Mancala, picking up a bundle of bits from one section and distributing them into other sections, and morphs it into a full blown board game.

When distributing a single bundle of meeples in Five Tribes, the rule is that you have to drop the final meeple onto a tile that already contains its color; then you earn all the meeples of that color from that tile (including the one you just dropped there). You must choose your color bonus wisely, as each meeple color rewards you in a unique way.

That wraps up our recommendations for the best board games for 2 players! Of course, we know this rabbit hole goes much deeper than 10 games. Add your suggestions in the comments below!

The post 10 Best Board Games for 2 Players appeared first on Bitewing Games.

Introduction

I dove into the deep end of the board game community over a year ago. With helpful guides including Shut Up & Sit Down’s recommended games, The Dice Tower’s Top 100, Board Game Geek (BGG) rankings, Geekbuddy comments, and more, my hunt has led me through the “Cult of the New”, Cult of the Classic, and many games in between.

I’ve played and purchased more board games in the past year than I have in my entire life, and it has been a blast! The true catalyst that launched me into the hobby was when I discovered a passion for designing board games during the summer of 2018. My experience learning and playing new-to-me tabletop games has been one of both research and adventure, discovery and inspiration. As I’ve sought to feed my creative drive, I’ve also uncovered an explorative hunger and developed a personal palate. Playing board games and creating board games are cyclical interests for me that have consumed much of my free time since they began.

So while I feel my understanding of the board game industry is well researched and experienced on one hand, I realize my complete amateur status on the other. Perhaps my perspective will offer you something new to consider, and I certainly hope you won’t hesitate to offer me suggestions as well.  

If you feel we may have similar tastes, and you have a BGG account, please feel free to add me as a Geekbuddy! I’m always eager to hear what you fine folks think of any games I am curious about, and I’ve found the Geekbuddy tool to be invaluable in narrowing down my wishlist. It’s also possible that your suggestion for me is already on my wishlist, so check out my most anticipated new-to-me games list!

So without further adO, I present to you my current Top 50 Games!

#50 Roll for the Galaxy

Recommended for: Gamers

I seem to like this game more every time I play it. Always engaging and interesting with loads of variety. The rules and symbols can seem intimidating at first, but the player shields contain basically all the information you need to play the game (and remember the rules). Very well done production.

I realize how popular Terraforming Mars is, but Roll for the Galaxy is my preferred space engine builder thanks to its zippy play time, better production, and higher fun factor.

#49 Skull

Recommended for: Everyone

Skull is a game of bluffing filtered down into its purest form. I love those moments when I can get on a roll and make my opponents feel like I am reading them like a book.

If you enjoy bluffing games like Poker, but you want a game that throws out everything but the good old bluffing, then Skull is for you!

#48 Takenoko

Recommended for: Everyone

Fantastic family game. We absolutely love the theme and components; the presentation is a home-run. The feeling of watering bamboo tiles to build bamboo towers and moving the Panda to eat bamboo comes together so nicely.

The event die is interesting in how it encourages players to adapt their strategy on each turn.

There is definitely a significant amount of luck involved in drawing the right or wrong objective cards (especially late in the game). This can make some plays quite frustrating for competitive players.

The Takenoko: Chibis expansion helps with mitigating some bad luck and adds some really interesting mechanics to the game, so I would suggest getting the expansion if you enjoy the base game.

#47 The Quest for El Dorado

Recommended for: Everyone

There’s something about this game that is so slick, streamlined, and satisfying. Perhaps the obvious answer is: Reiner Knizia. I love how this deck-builder makes you plan ahead and consider the long-term consequences of buying all those machete cards when a dense area of water and villages lie ahead in the distance.

There’s also something to be said of a game that contains all the essential rules on the thin rectangular player boards, making for an easy-breezy teach leading to an epic, tense race.

The Quest for El Dorado has served as a major case-study and inspiration for the snowboarding deck-builder that I’ve been designing myself.

#46  The Fox in the Forest

Recommended for: Everyone

I grew up playing Rook from time to time with relatives. Having an auction based on your hand of cards always felt like such a clever way to mitigate luck in a trick-taking game. It never occurred to me that losing a trick could be just as much fun as winning a trick.

Enter The Fox in the Forest. I love how players can spend early tricks baiting their opponent, testing the waters, while late tricks find them desperately struggling to balance their wins and losses. Man, I need to play this again.

As I’ve been designing a trick-taking game inspired by hot air balloon competitions, The Fox in the Forest has been instrumental in helping me refine the mechanisms of my design.

#45 Startups

Recommended for: Everyone

I picked up Startups very recently (thanks to the fine folks at SU&SD), and found it to be delightfully similar to Arboretum. Both games reward clever hand management among calculated discards and well-timed plays. Startups is certainly the milder of the two, but still a solid card game I’m hungry to play again.

Startups is also my introductory game to Oink Games; their minimalist design and production is actually quite charming, in my opinion. I stumbled across Startups in a random board game store while out of town, and now Insider is next on my list to try. I’m also quite familiar with the famous A Fake Artist Goes to New York, although I haven’t played it, as it shares some similarities with a party game that my wife and I have in the works.

#44 Dominion (Second Edition)

Recommended for: Everyone

Dominion reminds me of a good bowl of vanilla ice cream. It’s nothing flashy, but it’s a fine-tuned base of deck-building that seemingly goes well with almost anything. Sometimes it’s just nice to go back to some smooth, quick simplicity and bask in Old Faithful.

To me, this game has plenty of tension within the decision space of cards to purchase and cards combinations you hope to draw; but for those looking for more player interaction, it seems that the later deck-builders it inspired fill this need better. I’m particularly enamored with Arctic Scavengers adding in the option to save a card for combat (even as a bluff) rather than play or discard it; this particular mechanism fits perfectly into my snowboarding deck builder design of storing cards as a snowball stash.

#43 Watergate

Recommended for: Everyone

Watergate captures and streamlines the element of tension that I’ve so come to love in my favorite games. This is the only game that I don’t own and haven’t played multiple times (yet), but it left a massive first impression with its novel historical theme and focused gameplay. I love that the cards have multiple uses and provide a deeper decision space beyond just deciding which card to play but how to play them.

#42 Deception: Murder in Hong Kong

Recommended for: Everyone

Deception takes the ever popular Werewolf/Mafia style of social deduction gameplay, combines it with the basic premise of Clue, and gives it just enough mechanical framework to satisfy everyone involved. The cognitive deducers can feel clever as they narrow down the probable weapon and key evidence, and the social influencers can steer the discussion and cast suspicion.

#41 Decrypto

Recommended for: Everyone

Decrypto blows the ever popular Codenames out of the water for me. I love how the clues you offer contain long-term consequences. The game forces you to think outside the box by avoiding new clues that are to closely related to old clues. One of my favorite moments is during a tie-breaker when teams must guess the exact words of their opponents.

If you enjoy Codenames, you have gotta try Decrypto!

Next Page: Games 40-31

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