Ten great two-player games
Whether you're playing with a spouse, a friend, or a kid, these games can help you explore the world of two-player gaming.
Every year , once February rolls around, I start thinking about two-player board games and what recommendations I could make, and it’s in that spirit that I’ve written this list for you. Whether you’re gaming with a new friend or a companion, two-player games offer an opportunity to engage with each other and to learn about each other — and, most importantly, to play games.
Without further ado: Ten great two-player games. It’s far from an exhaustive list, but I really like these.
Three great abstract games
There are so, so many great two-player abstract games out there. Chess! Go! Mancala! Checkers, I guess? It’s a design space that’s consistently been explored for centuries upon centuries — Millenia, even. These three games are not old, but they live within the rich tapestry of history.
boop. is an abstract game in which you’re pushing your opponent’s pieces around (and off) the board and attempting to get three of your pieces in a line. And it’s themed around cats. When you get three of your kittens in a row, they’ll each graduate into cats, and when you get three of your cats in a row, you’ll win. It’s a delight, and despite the interaction, it’s not particularly cutthroat. Maybe that’s because you’re placing kittens and cats that playfully push other kittens and cats. The world may never know. Designed by _
Hive is a two-player abstract game in which players have a variety of pieces — grasshoppers, ants, spiders, beetles, and, of course, a queen bee — each type of which has different movement restrictions. The goal of the game is to completely surround the opposition queen bee with tiles. It’s a simple premise, but the strategy is deep. And also, I’m very bad at the game, but you know what? I don’t mind one bit.
Santorini takes the distinctive look of the Greek island — tiers of buildings, vibrant blue domes — and it transforms the whole thing into a compelling abstract board game. You’ll move workers around the board, attempting to reach the third tier before your opponent. (Technically, this is apparently something you can play with four players — two players in two teams — but this is truly a two-player game at heart.
Four great cooperative games
Head-to-head games aren’t for everyone, but there are some truly exciting games for your consideration that foster a spirit of cooperation. While you could certainly pick up a game like Pandemic or Spirit Island, these games are crafted especially for two players.
Sky Team is one of the hot games of 2023, and while it took me a bit to finally play it, I’ve been enamored with it since — and I’ve yet to even play a physical copy of the game (although I do have one now, thankfully). In Sky Team, you play as a pilot and copilot pair, and you’ll attempt to land a plane at the airport. As your games progress, you’ll be faced with obstacles that will make your game more difficult, which I will not be telling you about, because I think it’s far more fun to discover them yourself. (They’re all themed around landing a commercial plane, though.)
Sail is a two-player cooperative trick-taking game in which you’re navigating treacherous waters, and the cards you and your teammate play move the ship forward, up or down along the map. It’s a tough little game, and I’ve really enjoyed it.
Fox in the Forest Duet is a bit simpler of a two-player trick-taking game in which you’re moving along a bidirectional track, collecting gems when you land on certain spaces, and if you collectively win all the gems, you’ll win the game. Its simplicity and small size make it an excellent game to pack on your travels.
Codenames Duet is a cooperative twist on Codenames in which players alternately give each other clues, aiming to uncover all of the agents and not one of the three assassins. It’s a good time, and I suspect you could play with more than two players if they were on teams, but it’s really a great two-player game.
Three great asymmetric games
Asymmetric games, in which each of the two players is doing something different than the other, are a fun duo-play undertaking. Perhaps you want to focus in one role, getting particularly good at it. Maybe you’ll be happier switching roles, exploring the systems at play. These games provide a different sense of competition.
Fugitive is a game of cat and mouse in which one player is a fugitive, and the other plays as an agent chasing them down. Play is simple: The fugitive plays hidden, numbered hideout cards, and they’re restricted to placing cards with a value no more than three greater than their most recent card (unless they choose to sprint, spending precious cards.) Meanwhile, if the agent can discern the fugitive’s movements, they have a chance to catch them. It’s very portable, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.
RUN takes the feeling of fugitive and it imbues it with greater dimensionality. Specifically, two-dimensionality, as you’re moving around a grid rather than an ever-progressing line. The theme remains largely the same, with Runner and Dispatcher roles. The Dispatcher will move a helicopter around the board, trying to catch the runner’s movements and stun them into submission, while the Runner is attempt to pick up gear from three of four spaces before returning to one of two hideouts.
Jekyll vs. Hyde is a trick-taking game in which one player is Dr. Jekyll (of the famed novella, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) and the other is Mr. Hyde. Surprising, right? In this one, Dr. Jekyll is trying to maintain balance with Mr. Hyde’s erratic ways, but Mr. Hyde is trying to disrupt the balance. You’ll move a marker forward on a track equal to the difference between Mr. Hyde’s tricks won and Dr. Jekyll’s — but it’s the absolute value, so it never moves backward.
There are so, so many games I could have featured in this list but simply didn’t. I didn’t tell you about 7 Wonders Duel or Patchwork, but if you’re looking for great two-player games, you may already know about those two. (If you don’t — check them out!) There are even more games out there that are simply two-player versions of larger games, and some of those are great, too. There’s a ton to explore, and I hope you enjoy doing so.
Thank you, as always, for reading Don’t Eat the Meeples. If you’d like a shiny Meeple sticker, drop me a note in the comments and I’ll be in contact to send you one.
Next week: Cozy games for Valentine’s Day. (This is your one-week Valentine’s Day reminder.)
Thanks for the recommendations. As empty nesters we are always looking for good 2 player games!
Thanks for the recs! I added Sky Team to my wishlist - if I hadn't already bought a valentine's day gift, this would have been it!