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Posted by GAMEOLOGY COLLABORATOR
One of the most common questions we get here at Gameology is can you recommend me a game for just 2 players?
Whether it be yourself and your partner, housemate, sibling or friend these games are all designed to bring the most out of the 2 player experience.
So without further ado (and in no particular order) please check out Gameologys top 8 recommendations for the best 2 play board game experiences.
Also, let us know what we might have missed out in a comment below, we are always looking for more recommendations for games to play ourselves and would love to hear from you ✌
1) War of the Ring
Check out War of the Ring here
2) Boss Monster
A play on the conventional story of dungeon crawling adventurers fighting monsters and getting loot, Boss Monster puts players in command of the actual Boss Monster and their dungeon.
In this game, players compete to see who can make the most enticing but also the most dangerous dungeons to lure and defeat aspiring “good guys.”
By managing the balance between enticing enough rooms brimmed with loot (GLORIOUS LOOT), and the strength of the monsters that dwell in these rooms, players will try to lure adventurers and hopefully defeat them before they can reach the final room and defeat their Boss Monster.
3) Dominion
Dominion is a brilliant deck and engine building game where players must gain, discard, remove, and buy cards to create the most effective deck to purchase victory points.
When there no more victory points to buy, the player with the most wins. The concept and thematics of this game are relatively simple, but the complexity of card abilities and the countless combinations that can be made, make the game incredibly competitive and satisfying.
Though made for up to 4 players, this game plays best at a fast pace with 2 players.
4) 7 Wonders Duel
In 7 Wonders Duel players will compete to build the better civilisation while simultaneously sabotage their opponents.
In this civilisation building, combo denying, card drafting game, players will progress through three ages (rounds).
To win, players will will garner new technologies to advance their society, draft military units to conquer their opponent, or even build prestigious buildings to garner enough victory points to steal victory.
Maintaining a balance of these different aspects and assuring the opponent is unable to, is key to building your society and wonders.
5) Tatsu
Tatsu is a game of dueling dragon armies.
Utilising 3 different kinds of dragons, players attempt to outmaneuver their opponents and destroy opposing forces before they can recoup their numbers.
Tatsu is a strategic chess-like game for 2 players, incorporating dice and different token abilities. Takes around 30 minutes to play.
6) Keyforge
Keyforge is a simple two-player game of collecting resources to forge keys and win the game.
Simple in concept, Keyforge is a unique take on trading card games as the decks you gather are not manually built or traded but are bought premade and unalterable.
Each deck is made completely unique, with a new collection of cards, and a new randomly generated title. The incredible variation in decks allow for ridiculously powerful decks but also ridiculously bad decks, the luck factor may seem intimidating but honestly it only adds to the fun.
The cards themselves are playful, colourful and full of special abilities that range from the mundane to the game-changing.
Check out the entire range of Keyforge here
7) Arkham Horror
A cooperative adventure game, Arkham Horror has players take the role of paranormal investigators traveling the streets of Arkham in the midst of the roaring twenties.
One of the 8 ancient ones is chosen and it’s up to players to stop them from entering their small world.
By fighting monsters, creating allies, and acquiring a multitude of skills, weapons and items, players will advance through the games’ compelling narrative, closing the portals to dark dimensions that threaten to tear their small town apart.
8) Star Wars Rebellion
Shout out to NavinGulavita for his review of Star WarsRebellion
This game is essentially the original trilogy of Star Wars contained in a box. From hero and villain led missions, strategic decisions, mass productions of troopers and vehicles, epic ground+space battles, planetary conquest there is very little that is not in this game.
The Galactic Empire is searching the galaxy one planet at a time to find and destroy the secret rebel base whilst the Rebel Alliance are trying to survive long enough and achieve objectives to bring sympathy and support to the cause.
If you are a fan of Star Wars, strong theming, clever game mechanics, war and area control gaming, then this is the game for you!
Marcus On
Easily the best (and most challenging) specifically 2-player game that we have and keep coming back to is Codenames Duet! So great.
7 Wonders Duel is great as well.
Jason On
Competitive: “Warhammer Underworlds” is by far the best competitive boardgame around.
Co-op: “The Dwarves” & “Blackstone Fortress” are two of my favorites. While not strictly 2 player games, both are amazing when you want to work together instead of against one another.
Navin Gulavita On
Star Wars Rebellion
This game is essentially the original trilogy of Star Wars contained in a box. From hero and villain led missions, strategic decisions, mass productions of troopers and vehicles, epic ground+space battles, planetary conquest there is very little that is not in this game.
The Galactic Empire is searching the galaxy one planet at a time to find and destroy the secret rebel base whilst the Rebel Alliance are trying to survive long enough and achieve objectives to bring sympathy and support to the cause.
If you are a fan of Star Wars, strong theming, clever game mechanics, war and area control gaming, then this is the game for you!