Do you need lots of people to enjoy board games? The ideal number still feels like 4 happy little individuals however we do have a very large number of board games designed to work very well with 2 players. This is not an inclusive list; we have many others not listed here however we’ve selected what we believe to be the best 2 player games we currently have in library in no particular order. Next time you come in to the store we will happily show you one!
Patchwork
Patchwork is a beautifully designed exclusive 2 player strategy game. You cannot play this with more players (almost a shame actually). It is one of my favorite 2 player only games in our library. Essentially, players take turns purchasing quilt pieces and placing them on their quilt boards one by one. Once you place them you cannot move them; the catch is that all of the pieces are oddly shaped like Tetris pieces making it difficult to score high. It is very normal to end the game with negative points the first couple plays.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/163412/patchwork
Hive
This is an abstract type strategy game where players control bug shaped pieces. The objective of the game is to completely surround the opponents queen bee. It definitely has that strong chess type feel too it.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2655/hive
Kingdomino
This is a very interesting tile placement game where players are trying to create uniform plots of land in a 5×5 grid. You will often have to give up your turn initiative in order to get the pieces you want. This plays 2 with one single minor change of removing, at random, 24 tiles from the game box.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/204583/kingdomino
Splendor
This is another very interesting 2-4 player game. Simply adjust the amount of currency available to play with 2 players. Players take 1 single action in a turn to try and collect matching sets of gems. The player with the first to 15 prestige points wins the game.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/148228/splendor
Pandemic
An absolute classic co-op strategy game where players race to cure 4 disease before time runs out. Has a great variable difficulty setting to play as easy or as hard as you want. Relatively simple mechanics make the game easy to pick up however you cannot make decisions together, this one might ruin your relationship.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/30549/pandemic
Carcassonne
The grand-father of all tile placement games. Works amazingly well as a 2 player strategy game. It’s up to the players to decide how aggressively they want to play. It can be a fun lightweight family game all the way to a cut-throat tile counting nightmare. It still comes out regularly on our tables as its simple mechanics make it very easy for beginners to learn and understand.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/822/carcassonne
Lanterns: The Harvest Festival
Slightly more setup but still works incredibly well as a 2 player game. Players take turn placing tiles matching colors to collect sets. Sets are used to buy victory points. The catch is that your tiles could end up giving valuable colors to other players.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/160851/lanterns-harvest-festival
Onitama
Another abstract strategy game that is emulating martial arts. You set up the game by drawing 4 random movement cards. 2 for each player. Players take turns playing movement cards moving a single pawn. The catch is that you will switch movement cards each turn you take.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/160477/onitama
Santorini
Santorini is a non-abstract re-imagining of the 2004 edition. Since its original inception over 30 years ago, Santorini has been endlessly developed, enhanced and refined by mathematician and educator, Dr. Gordon Hamilton. While this game claims to be 2-4 players it is at it’s heart an exclusively 2 player game. You have one simple goal: Get 1 worker to the 3 level of a building. How you will do that is very complicated.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/194655/santorini
Alhambra
The money in Alhambra comes in four different currencies. Players take turns collecting money and paying to construct buildings in their Alhambra. If you play the exact cost you get to take an additional turn which can lead to chain reaction if played correctly.