Greg and I are lucky to run an awesome, active, local gaming group , so we get in 2+ player games regularly. We also like to have game time for just the two of us and have several bins full of 2-player games. Many of the games in these bins were designed specifically for two players, but some of them are 2+ player games that we happen to really enjoy with just two players. You’ll find three lists below:
Games designed specifically for two players Games Designed for 2+ players that work well for two Board Game Apps for Two Players (because some games have a ton of cards that we’d rather not set up when we play with 2)I’m using the MLU BGG Plugin from Meeple Like Us to display my lists below. It’s pretty handy for displaying various game data and makes list making incredibly easy. If MLU have done an accessibility teardown on a game, you’ll see it linked in the game’s data block.
Are your favorites missing from my lists? Add them in the comments below!
Designed Specifically for Two Players Game Details Name 7 Wonders Duel (2015)Complexity Medium Light [2.22] BGG Rank 18 [8.10]Player Count 2 Mechanism(s) Layering, Open Drafting, Set Collection, Sudden Death Ending, Tug of War and Variable Player Powers
Game Details Name Consentacle (2014)Complexity Light [1.33] BGG Rank 6705 [6.75]Player Count 2 Mechanism(s) Cooperative Game, Hand Management and Simultaneous Action Selection
Game Details Name The Duke (2013)Complexity Medium Light [2.48] BGG Rank 701 [7.35]Player Count 2 Mechanism(s) Grid Movement, Pattern Movement and Tile Placement
Game Details Name Rival Realms (2018)Complexity Medium Light [2.25] BGG Rank 7323 [6.97]Player Count 1-2 Mechanism(s) Area Movement, Hand Management, Pattern Building and Set Collection
Game Details Name Hive (2000)Complexity Medium Light [2.32] BGG Rank 270 [7.32]Player Count 2 Mechanism(s) Enclosure, Grid Movement, Hexagon Grid, Pieces as Map, Score-and-Reset Game, Slide/Push, Three Dimensional Movement and Tile Placement
Game Details Name Jaipur (2009)Complexity Light [1.47] BGG Rank 156 [7.50]Player Count 2 Mechanism(s) Hand Management, Hidden Victory Points, Market, Open Drafting, Score-and-Reset Game and Set Collection
Game Details Name Morels (2012)Complexity Medium Light [1.74] BGG Rank 808 [6.99]Player Count 2 Mechanism(s) Hand Management, Open Drafting and Set Collection
Game Details Name Onitama (2014)Complexity Medium Light [1.68] BGG Rank 277 [7.37]Player Count 2 Mechanism(s) Grid Movement, Hand Management, Pattern Movement, Square Grid and Static Capture
Game Details Name Patchwork (2014)Complexity Medium Light [1.61] BGG Rank 105 [7.62]Player Count 2 Mechanism(s) Grid Coverage, Income, Open Drafting, Square Grid, Tile Placement, Time Track, Turn Order: Stat-Based and Victory Points as a Resource
Game Details Name Wonderland (2018)Complexity Medium Light [1.71] BGG Rank 8642 [6.16]Player Count 2 Mechanism(s) Area Majority / Influence and Hand Management
Game Details Name Assembly (2016)Complexity Light [1.18] BGG Rank 4909 [7.16]Player Count (Recommended) 1-4 (1-2) Mechanism(s) Communication Limits, Cooperative Game, Hand Management, Modular Board and Push Your Luck
Designed for 2+ Players and Work Great with Two Players Game Details Name T.I.M.E Stories (2015)Complexity Medium [2.60] BGG Rank 217 [7.45]Player Count 2-4 Mechanism(s) Cooperative Game, Dice Rolling, Move Through Deck, Narrative Choice / Paragraph, Storytelling and Variable Player Powers
Game Details Name Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game (2014)Complexity Medium [3.01] BGG Rank 166 [7.51]Player Count (Recommended) 2-5 (3-5) Mechanism(s) Action Points, Area Movement, Dice Rolling, Hand Management, Narrative Choice / Paragraph, Push Your Luck, Semi-Cooperative Game, Storytelling, Trading, Traitor Game, Variable Player Powers and Voting
Game Details Name Sword & Sorcery (2017)Complexity Medium Heavy [4.07] BGG Rank 376 [7.96]Player Count (Recommended) 1-5 (1-4) Mechanism(s) Action Points, Area Movement, Cooperative Game, Dice Rolling, Modular Board, Role Playing, Solo / Solitaire Game and Variable Player Powers
Game Details Name Folklore: The Affliction (2017)Complexity Medium Heavy [3.68] BGG Rank 1174 [7.75]Player Count 1-5 Mechanism(s) Action Points, Cooperative Game, Dice Rolling, Grid Movement, Modular Board, Role Playing, Solo / Solitaire Game and Variable Player Powers
Game Details Name Charterstone (2017)Complexity Medium [2.84] BGG Rank 416 [7.27]Player Count (Recommended) 1-6 (2-6) Mechanism(s) Catch the Leader, Hand Management, Legacy Game, Open Drafting, Scenario / Mission / Campaign Game, Solo / Solitaire Game and Worker Placement Notes from Rebecca We've been enjoying 2-player Charterstone without the Automa, but you can add it if you'd like.
Game Details Name The 7th Continent (2017)Complexity Medium [2.90] BGG Rank 69 [7.96]Player Count (Recommended) 1-4 (1-3) Mechanism(s) Cooperative Game, Grid Movement, Hand Management, Map Addition, Modular Board, Scenario / Mission / Campaign Game, Solo / Solitaire Game, Storytelling and Variable Player Powers
Game Details Name Lisboa (2017)Complexity Heavy [4.58] BGG Rank 61 [8.19]Player Count 1-4 Mechanism(s) Area Majority / Influence, Hand Management, Open Drafting, Solo / Solitaire Game and Tile Placement
Board Game Apps for Two Players The following are games that we prefer to play digital versions of for simplicity and ease of setup due to the number of cards, etc.
Game Details Name Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: Skull & Shackles – Base Set (2014)Complexity Medium [2.92] BGG Rank 1108 [7.30]Player Count 1-4 Mechanism(s) Cooperative Game, Deck, Bag, and Pool Building, Dice Rolling, Move Through Deck, Role Playing, Scenario / Mission / Campaign Game and Variable Player Powers Notes from Rebecca Pathfinder apps are available via Google Play or iOS
Game Details Name Ascension: Deckbuilding Game (2010)Complexity Medium Light [2.14] BGG Rank 650 [7.03]Player Count (Recommended) 1-4 (2-4) Mechanism(s) Deck, Bag, and Pool Building, Hand Management and Open Drafting Notes from Rebecca Ascension apps are available via Google Play or iOS
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Can someone explain how you play dead of winter as a 2 player?
Does it work? Is it good enough to recommend over a real 2 player?
Thanks
We play it without the Betrayer, so it’s a pure co-op survival. It works very well — it’s one of our favorite 2p games if we’re looking for something a bit longer than Jaipur or Morels. The Dead of Winter rulebook has instructions for 2p setup in the Variants section on p15 here: https://www.plaidhatgames.com/images/games/dead-of-winter/rules.pdf
Have you tried the prisoners dilemma version?
I saw online that this could be interesting.
No, we haven’t tried that yet.
Three of my favourite two-player games have made it onto your list 🙂
Greg and I play a lot of things just the two of us, so we’re always happy to add good 2p games to our list! What are your absolute favorite 2p games?