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 |
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Name | 7 Wonders Duel (2015) |
Accessibility Report | Meeple Like Us |
Complexity | Medium Light [2.23] |
BGG Rank | 19 [8.10] |
Player Count | 2 |
Mechanism(s) | End Game Bonuses, Income, Layering, Market, Modular Board, Multi-Use Cards, Once-Per-Game Abilities, Open Drafting, Set Collection, Sudden Death Ending, Tags, Tech Trees / Tech Tracks, Tug of War, Variable Player Powers, Variable Set-up and Victory Points as a Resource |
Game Details |
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Name | Consentacle (2014) |
Complexity | Light [1.33] |
BGG Rank | 7654 [6.72] |
Player Count | 2 |
Mechanism(s) | Cooperative Game, Hand Management and Simultaneous Action Selection |
Game Details |
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Name | The Duke (2013) |
Complexity | Medium Light [2.49] |
BGG Rank | 869 [7.32] |
Player Count | 2 |
Mechanism(s) | Grid Movement, Pattern Movement, Square Grid and Tile Placement |
Game Details |
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Name | Rival Realms (2018) |
Complexity | Medium Light [2.22] |
BGG Rank | 8453 [6.86] |
Player Count | 1-2 |
Mechanism(s) | Contracts, Grid Movement, Hand Management, Map Addition, Once-Per-Game Abilities, Pattern Building, Set Collection and Square Grid |
Game Details |
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Name | Hive (2001) |
Accessibility Report | Meeple Like Us |
Complexity | Medium Light [2.32] |
BGG Rank | 299 [7.32] |
Player Count | 2 |
Mechanism(s) | Enclosure, Grid Movement, Hexagon Grid, Pattern Movement, Pieces as Map, Three Dimensional Movement and Tile Placement |
Game Details |
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Name | Jaipur (2009) |
Accessibility Report | Meeple Like Us |
Complexity | Light [1.46] |
BGG Rank | 180 [7.49] |
Player Count | 2 |
Mechanism(s) | Hand Management, Hidden Victory Points, Market, Open Drafting, Resource Queue, Score-and-Reset Game and Set Collection |
Game Details |
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Name | Morels (2012) |
Accessibility Report | Meeple Like Us |
Complexity | Medium Light [1.74] |
BGG Rank | 898 [6.99] |
Player Count | 2 |
Mechanism(s) | Hand Management, Open Drafting and Set Collection |
Game Details |
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Name | Onitama (2014) |
Accessibility Report | Meeple Like Us |
Complexity | Medium Light [1.65] |
BGG Rank | 317 [7.35] |
Player Count | 2 |
Mechanism(s) | Grid Movement, Hand Management, Pattern Movement, Square Grid and Static Capture |
Game Details |
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Name | Patchwork (2014) |
Accessibility Report | Meeple Like Us |
Complexity | Medium Light [1.60] |
BGG Rank | 118 [7.60] |
Player Count | 2 |
Mechanism(s) | Grid Coverage, Income, Open Drafting, Rondel, Square Grid, Tile Placement, Turn Order: Stat-Based, Turn Order: Time Track and Victory Points as a Resource |
Game Details |
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Name | Wonderland (2018) |
Complexity | Medium Light [1.63] |
BGG Rank | 10091 [6.11] |
Player Count | 2 |
Mechanism(s) | Area Majority / Influence and Hand Management |
Game Details |
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Name | Assembly (2016) |
Accessibility Report | Meeple Like Us |
Complexity | Light [1.18] |
BGG Rank | 5469 [7.14] |
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 |
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Name | T.I.M.E Stories (2015) |
Complexity | Medium [2.59] |
BGG Rank | 286 [7.39] |
Player Count | 2-4 |
Mechanism(s) | Cooperative Game, Dice Rolling, Move Through Deck, Narrative Choice / Paragraph, Storytelling and Variable Player Powers |
Game Details |
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Name | Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game (2014) |
Complexity | Medium [3.01] |
BGG Rank | 215 [7.47] |
Player Count (Recommended) | 2-5 (3-5) |
Mechanism(s) | Action Points, Area Movement, Dice Rolling, Hand Management, Narrative Choice / Paragraph, Push Your Luck, Scenario / Mission / Campaign Game, Semi-Cooperative Game, Storytelling, Trading, Traitor Game, Turn Order: Progressive, Variable Player Powers and Voting |
Game Details |
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Name | Sword & Sorcery (2017) |
Complexity | Medium Heavy [4.11] |
BGG Rank | 451 [7.90] |
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 |
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Name | Folklore: The Affliction (2017) |
Complexity | Medium Heavy [3.67] |
BGG Rank | 1330 [7.68] |
Player Count | 1-5 |
Mechanism(s) | Action Points, Cooperative Game, Dice Rolling, Events, Grid Movement, Modular Board, Narrative Choice / Paragraph, Role Playing, Scenario / Mission / Campaign Game, Solo / Solitaire Game, Storytelling and Variable Player Powers |
Game Details |
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Name | Charterstone (2017) |
Complexity | Medium [2.85] |
BGG Rank | 532 [7.22] |
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 |
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Name | The 7th Continent (2017) |
Complexity | Medium [2.90] |
BGG Rank | 108 [7.82] |
Player Count (Recommended) | 1-4 (1-3) |
Mechanism(s) | Area Movement, Cooperative Game, Hand Management, Map Addition, Modular Board, Narrative Choice / Paragraph, Scenario / Mission / Campaign Game, Solo / Solitaire Game, Storytelling and Variable Player Powers |
Game Details |
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Name | Lisboa (2017) |
Complexity | Heavy [4.58] |
BGG Rank | 56 [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 |
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Name | Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: Skull & Shackles – Base Set (2014) |
Complexity | Medium [2.93] |
BGG Rank | 1283 [7.28] |
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 |
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Name | Ascension: Deckbuilding Game (2010) |
Complexity | Medium Light [2.14] |
BGG Rank | 740 [7.04] |
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?