Gaming is always fun with two, discover some of the best 2 player bored games you can try with your partner till quarantine is over.
If there’s one thing I missed pre-pandemic it’s probably playing board games with friends. While I do love my PC and console games, playing board games Infront of people was usually a highlight of the week and a chance to catch up with friends after a week long of work. While some areas are slowly going back to normal with the vaccine being rolled out, it’ll still be some time before it’s counted safe to see people. But just because we can’t play with people outside our house doesn’t mean there aren’t any board games you can enjoy at home. The best part? There’s a lot of these games that only need a few players at hand.
While most board games are played in larger groups, here are 10 awesome 2 player board games you can enjoy with anyone in the house. This way, even if you just live with a single roommate or your partner, you’ll have ideas on what board games you can try out.
10. Santorini
Get the chance to be an architecture god and build the cliffside villages on Santorini Island. The game is designed to have 2 players but the player count can be up to 4. Each player gets 2 steps per turn, to move and build. Each player is given two-character pieces to control, where you put your character will allow you to place a building piece adjacent to it. Build up to three levels of a building and try to reach the top before a player decides to build a dome on top of your tower, disallowing you from placing your character piece at the top. The goal of the game is to make it to the third level of a tower or make sure your opponent runs out of moves.
What’s fun about Santorini:
- Simple and easy to understand, you can get a younger sibling or your own kid to play with you (just make sure they don’t eat the pieces).
- Well-designed, you get to appreciate the dome-structures the real Santorini is known for.
- Fast-game, one game is about 20 minutes long so you can make it a best 2 out of 3 match if you want to kill time.
9. Codenames: Duet- The Two Player Word Deduction Game
Work together as a team to find all of your agents through codenames. Codenames: Duet pretty much keeps the same basic elements and rules as the original Codenames game. One player on the opposite side gives one word clue and a number while the opposite player tries to identify the right word(s) it associates with on the table. Instead of fighting against a different team who is also looking for their agents, you are only trying to find all 15 agents without revealing an assassin within a time frame.
What’s fun about Codenames: Duet:
- Teamwork, instead of fighting each other you just try to beat the game.
- Test of friendship, if you’re playing with a longtime friend, you can pull some inside jokes and references in the game; hopefully your partner will get you.
- For word lovers, time to bring out those thesauruses.
8. Patchwork
A beginner two-player puzzle game by a well-known German game-designer, Uwe Rosenberg. Much like its name, Patchwork is about putting together different kinds of fabric patches (Tiles/ pieces) onto your own personal board creating a quilt. Players get their own personal board where they can put their patches which they buy (using the game currency: buttons) to fit the board. They also share one time board in the middle where you each control a time token. Each player works their way to the middle of the board collecting buttons along the way. When each player has made it to the middle of the board it’s time to count your buttons, the one with the most buttons wins.
What’s fun about Patchwork:
- A lot of things to do, unlike other board games where you take turns back and forth, the player whose time token is further behind can keep doing multiple actions until the token passes the opponent's time token.
- Bonuses, you get a lot of bonuses in button form if you complete the quilt without any missing pieces or if you finish first. That’s pretty awesome and it gets you creative in how to pull it off.
- Teaches you to think, it’s a strategy game despite it being pretty simple. If you’re after certain goals aside from winning, then this is a good game to practice planning.
7. Pandemic
Let’s take a look at how diseases can evolve and cause an outbreak with the board game Pandemic. While this is usually played with more people, it’s very possible to beat the game with just another person on your team. Goal of the game is to stop 4 types of diseases that have broken out into the world. You and another player pick out 1 of the 7 available roles each to play, work together to slow down the diseases from infecting other parts of the world, and figure out all four cures before any of the losing conditions are met.
What’s fun about Pandemic:
- Long but not boring, this one takes a bit of time to win but you guys will have a head wracking time trying to figure out how to quell the diseases.
- Fun in difficulty, this game is probably made for more competitive players. If you and your partner want the thrill of beating a hard game then this game is it.
- There’s a sequel, or an expansion—whatever you feel about calling it. In an alternate ending where you lose you now have to survive the wasteland the viruses have left the world in.
6. The Game of Life
Cause there needs to be a classic family game in here. Welcome to The Game of Life, a life simulator game where in your moves determine what events are triggered in your “life” from getting a degree in college to retirement. While this game can have a lot of players involved, it’s fun with just two. Objective? You win in Life if you make the most money compared to the other player.
What’s fun about The Game of Life:
- Kids can enjoy it, it’s not as complicated as other 2 player board games so you can easily get your kids or younger siblings into it.
- There’s a video game version, if you or your partner want something with a bit more movement and animation, it’s a good move to try to play the video game versions of this board game. They have pretty fun animations on what is going on in your “life”.
- Exaggerations, the situations your characters are in are hilarious whether it’s good or bad.
5. Tacocat Spelled Backwards
If you loved Exploding Kittens then you’ll love this! The goal is to get Tacocat over to your side of the board by playing number cards. You win by playing down a card lower than your opponent, when this happens Tacocat gets to move one space closer to you. Each round a player gets to “Attack” with the highest card in their hand while the opponent has to defend with same value cards or higher. If the opponent fails to defend then he or she must sacrifice the lowest card they have in their hands. The round continues till the last card in your hand has to be played, the one with the lowest value card gets to move Tacocat closer to them.
What’s fun about Tacocat Spelled Backwards:
- Quick and suspenseful, same with its predecessor— it’s a party game for 2 that’s easy to play.
- Fun art, With Tacocat being the star of this game, you still get to see other whacky looking characters with their equally weird captions that Exploding Kittens is known for.
- The box is the board, really easy setup and cleanup.
4. King of Tokyo
Not too big of a fan for strategy but still want to get in on the board game hype? King of Tokyo may be the perfect game for you. Okay, there still might be a little strategy involved to keep things interesting. King of Tokyo is a dice game where players take turns rolling 3 dice. You get to choose the results you want to keep. All you have to worry about is getting the most number of points by rampaging the streets of Tokyo.
What’s fun about King of Tokyo:
- You get to play the villain, most board games have us playing the hero, so it’s nice to be on the other end this time.
- Wacky characters in costume, Just take a look at those character designs!
- Dice games made easy, one of the easier dice games out there, maybe you’d like to try some DnD next.
3. Quoridor
Have fun blocking your opponent’s chances of winning. The aim of the game is to get your pawn all the way to the other side of the board while you block your opponent’s chances of getting to your side as well. You can either move or block per turn. Pretty simple? Wait till you get trapped in the labyrinth.
What’s fun about Quoridor:
- Simple Visual Appeal, None of those funky colors for this board game, you get a simple chic wood aesthetic which is just perfect for it.
- One more round? It’s that type of game where you can just keep playing. We use it as a good warm up game while waiting for others for game night.
- More fun as a two player, you're allowed up to 4 players but there’s more stuff for you to do if you’re just two.
2. The Fox in the Forest
If you want to head out with a friend and still squeeze in some game time, The Fox in the Forest will do the trick for you. The game is a small box-card game for two and just like a sly fox, you have to play tricks in order to bait your opponent and win. But it’s also important to keep some of these tricks up your sleeve for later. It feels a bit like Love Letter where you have to keep track of the cards already used. With only 33 cards in a deck you can pretty much guess your opponent’s hand.
What’s fun about The Fox in the Forest:
- Multiple rounds, you can keep playing till one of you scores 21 points—that’ll take about 3-4 rounds.
- Strategy, this game is more for those who love a bit of strategy in gaming. Make sure you have plan B in case it fails though.
- Inexpensive and not bulky, the game itself doesn’t cost too much and it’s pretty easy to carry around.
1. Runebound (3rd Edition)
Looking for something like DnD without the need of a DM and for two players? Runebound is a great fantasy board game you can have with your fellow adventurer. You get to choose one of six heroes each and wander the realm of Terrinoth, take quests and fight off evil that threatens the world. Your choices can lead up to two different scenarios… will you face Margath the Dragonlord or the Corpse King? Adventure cards and story cards keep the playthrough unique despite having only 2 main stories.
What’s fun about Runebound:
- Feels a bit like Dungeons and Dragons, I look at it as a condensed and simplified DnD.
- Fantasy Adventure for Beginners, probably a good start if you or your friend want to begin trying out other fantasy themed board games.
- Co-op or do your own thing? Well, you don’t really need to work together to beat the impending doom. It could be a race on who kills it first.
