What are some good games for two players?

Went to a board game shop for this exact reason and found: Android: Netrunner (2) Belfort (2-5 but plays great with 2) Sector 41 (2-4 "") Ticket to Ride, Europe (2-5 "") Another favorite is the card game SkipBo. If you ever need to play remotely with someone, I host a free multiplayer version at http://lodes.nu/skipnet/.

Two-player games offer a unique gaming experience and there are some considerations to keep in mind. 1)     Two-player games can be intense – In competitive games there is one winner and one loser and sometimes it is obvious who is who halfway through the game.  If the same player always wins, some of the fun might start to wane for the other player.  And even if the two players are equally skilled because there is only one opponent, many two-player games are zero sum where your goal is both to improve your position and hurt your opponent’s.  2)     Two-player games can be less social – this seems a bit contradictory since you are sharing an activity with this person, but because one of you is always focused on their turn, it can be hard to crack jokes or chit chat like one might in a multiplayer game.  Because of this, I often find that I don’t like two-player games that go on too long. Of course, some people want to play a three-day war game against their best friend and some couples can trash talk and attack one another in the game without any hurt feelings. But with the above caveats, here are my suggestions: For a board game I would actually start with a classic – Backgammon.  Backgammon games are fairly quick and the rules are simple enough that one player isn’t always lost in thought.  Still there is skill to the game so you still scratch the gaming itch.  Because your moves are limited by what numbers you roll on the dice, however, there’s enough “luck” involved that the superior player will not be guaranteed to win every game.  For a more modern board game I would look at Carcassonne.  Carcassonne is a tile-placing game so there is some luck involved in what tiles you pick. Although there are opportunities for confrontational play, it’s possible for two players to basically build their roads and cities far away from one another and play in a completely friendly way. There are also more expansions to the game than I can count so if it is a hit with your partner then you can mix and match to your heart’s desire.  There is a strictly two-player version called Carcassonne: The Castle, which is very good, but I think most people find the basic game works best with two players anyway. For a dice game there are all sorts of Yahtzee variants.  A recent one that has been a quiet hit is Martian Dice. This isn’t strictly a two-player game, but with more than two or three players it can start to go too long.  Basically, you roll your dice and try to “abduct” humans, chickens, and cows while shooting any tanks with your death rays.  It’s fast and funny and anyone can win. Another game that can be played with more people but many prefer with just two is the card game Dominion. A game of Dominion can last a half hour or less.  Each player buys cards during the game from a common pool to add to their deck.  The cards have various powers and players hope to be able to eventually start buying victory point cards.  Because of the randomness of card draws there is some luck to the game.  There are cards in the game that can hurt your opponent’s deck but since you only play with a portion of the cards each game you can simply choose not to use them if that might be a problem.  Dominion is another game with numerous expansions so if the game is a hit it can be your go to game for years without every playing the same game twice.  A strictly two-player card game that I like is Jambo. Jambo is part of the well-known Kosmos two-player series of games.  Players are traders seeking to buy goods cheap and sell them dearly.  There are attack cards in the game, but since all the attack cards are represented by animals there is something playful about it. There’s lots of depth to the game but lucky card combos can go a long way toward determining a winner.  Finally, cooperative games have become popular lately and are particularly good for couples who want to play together without having one winner and one loser.  In addition, because you are sharing information and decision making, you can always pause the game to socialize if you want without interrupting one player’s turn.  Forbidden Island is a very good casual co-op game, but if I was going to recommend one game I’d go with Lord of the Rings: The Card Game.  The mechanics can get a little complex but once you’ve mastered the system there’s an endless variety of gameplay as you buy expansions or simply try to defeat old quests with new cards.  There’s no board so the game doesn’t take up too much room and each player can build a deck focused on a different skill, which makes for fun interaction and a sense of teamwork.

My wife and I are big fans of coop board games and definitely get a lot of mileage out of Pandemic, especially with the expansion. More recent additions to our repertoire have been Yggdrasil and Flash Point: Fire Rescue. For something a bit more complicated, the new Lord of the Rings LCG is also quite a bit of fun for two players, though the deckbuilding aspect is not for everyone.

Jaipur is an elegantly designed hand-building/trading game for 2 players. Cards represent different trade materials, like spices and textiles, and there's a common pool of cards in the center representing the "market." Players try to collect combinations of cards in order to trade for tokens, which score the game. Little tweaks to the core gameplay make the game extra interesting and competitive in a lightly confrontational way. For example, some materials yield higher-scoring tokens than others (rubies vs. spices, for example), but players also receive a bonus for big trades (easier to assemble a big trade of 5 silks cards versus rubies cards). The cards you choose to take from the market can be a signal to the other player of your strategy, so it actually invites intriguing mind games. But the game doesn't drag out. I seek out excessive depth in my gaming experiences, which usually calls for a long-style strategic game. But my partner isn't as fond of that, and Jaipur manages to really satisfy both of our gaming styles.