23 Fun Board Games for Two Players

Okay, let’s imagine a scenario that maybe looks, um, exactly like your last Saturday night. At this point in the pandemic, you’ve watched everything good on Netflix. It’s too cold to go outside. You can’t handle another puzzle or another Zoom happy hour. This weekend is shaping up to look exactly like the other approximately 572 weekends in the past year.

Sound familiar? Here’s an idea to break up the monotony: try a board game.

My husband Adam and I have always enjoyed board games, but we’ve played a lot of them over the past year, especially. I mean, what else have we had to do?

But really, board games are perfect for this season of the pandemic. They don’t require leaving your house. They’re a mini little escape, engaging your brain with different rules and problems than the ones you face in everyday life. They won’t make you freeze like going outside might. A bit of competition shakes up the same-old, same-old.

Plus, even if it’s just you and a partner or roommate, you don’t have to stare forlornly at Apples to Apples, wishing you could have a house party again – there are lots of fantastic board games for two players! (Plus, some great two-player editions of your party favorites, too!) They’re perfect for an at-home date night or roomie bonding night.

Below, you’ll find some of our favorite games that work for two players, including recent discoveries and old-time favorites. I’ve split these games into a few categories so you can find the board game for two players that will fit your tastes best:

Cooperative games. If you want a brand-new gaming experience, these are some of our favorite new discoveries that are getting us through pandemic weekends.
Competitive two-player board games. These are the games you might have already played with friends, just adapted for two players.
Classic strategy games. If you’re the cerebral type, these are for you.
On our list. These are games we’d love to try!

Let’s dive in!

Heads up: affiliate links ahead. If you purchase anything through one of the links below, I may make a small commission on your purchase.

The Best Board Games for Two Players

Cooperative Games

If you, too, can get too competitive for your own good (anyone else cried over board games? Just me?), cooperative games might be where it’s at. Instead of trying to beat each other, you try to beat the game. I enjoy them a lot – plus, they’re WAY better for our marriage.

Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion

Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion was my very first campaign-style game, where there’s a start-to-finish story that players work their way through. At first, I was a little skeptical. We just use decks of cards to battle monsters and save the city? This did not really seem to be my style. But the more we played, the more I enjoyed this game. I grew to really enjoy being a Voidwarden and having sweet mind-control powers. With each level that we achieved, my character gained new, cooler abilities, and Adam and I learned how to work together to maximize each other’s strengths. The game is also incredibly well-designed. I was actually invested in finding whoever was sending the creepy monsters to attack Gloomhaven. Plus, the scenarios were surprisingly vivid and easy to visualize, and the new monsters and twists in each round made us strategize differently every time we played.

If this sounds up your alley, we recommend starting with Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion first. It’s a smaller, more manageable version of the game that will ease you into the rules and gameplay at first, while still giving you a very full experience. If you like that, then you can invest in the original, gigantic version of Gloomhaven that you’ll be playing for possibly years. (We’ve purchased this one but haven’t started it yet!)

Pandemic

So maybe playing this game, at this moment in history, is a little too on the nose? But despite its current real-life connections, Pandemic is still a really good game. We have and enjoy the regular version, in which each team member takes on a role with special abilities to research, gather resources, treat infections, and prevent outbreaks. At some point, we’d love to explore Pandemic Legacy. It was one of the very first legacy games, where each round builds on the previous, adding new rules and challenges and altering cards based on your decisions. We’ve found that the legacy component makes the playing experience even more rich and interesting.

Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective

If you’ve ever longed to switch places with Watson to see if you could crack Sherlock’s case load, this is the game for you. The Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective box contains 10 case books, a corresponding newspaper for each, and a map of London. You’ll read the introduction to each case, then set off across the city to visit locations, read interviews with suspects, and hunt for clues. At the end, you’ll see if you figured out the mystery and compare how many sites you visited with how many Sherlock needed to crack the case. You probably won’t beat him – currently our goal is score above zero – but interviewing suspects and rereading newspapers is a delightfully engaging way to spend an evening. You can also play this one alone, if your partner decides to tap out.

P.S. The Amazon price is steeper than usual as I am posting this. Different editions of the game are going in and out of stock at different retailers, so you may need to shop around to find the best deal.

Before we continue, a word on legacy games…

You might be looking at the above games and wondering why on earth you’d spend money for a game that you’ll eventually finish and won’t be able to replay. Yep. I get it. Games are expensive, and you want to get your money’s worth.

Here’s how I’d encourage you to reframe that. Let’s use Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion as an example. You’ll spend about $50 bucks for it. That’s the equivalent of a meal for two at a nice restaurant, right? Or one sole concert ticket in the nosebleeds? So for the price of one good date night (or less), you get around 15-20 rounds of a really engaging game. That’s 20 evenings you’ll spend working together with your partner, cheering each other on, and overall having a really good time. It’s less than renting a movie on Amazon Prime for each of those nights (and arguably more fun).

Competitive Two-Player Board and Card Games

These are the classic, competitive games that you might already own or have played, but all of them work for two! For some games, rules can be adapted for two-player play. For others, there may be special two-player editions.

Settlers of Catan

This one is such a fun classic! In Settlers, you gather resources to build settlements (it’s more exciting than it sounds, promise). If you’ve already got the full board game, check out these rules to make this a suitable board game for two players. Otherwise, check out one of the Rivals for Catan editions, a two-player card-based version of the full game.

Bonus: a free basic game and pay-to-play upgrades are available to play online

Ticket to Ride

This railroad-building strategy game is one of my favorites – there’s slightly less direct aggression than Catan – and it can be played with just two! Europe is my favorite edition when playing with a group, but the Nordic Countries version is reportedly ideal for two players.

Scrabble or Bananagrams

I grew up being absolutely annihilated by my dad in Scrabble, then taking the tiles off the board to play “Fast Scrabble” with the whole family before Bananagrams was even a thing. Scrabble is ideal with two players, and Bananagrams works as well, though the pace will be a little slower.

Jenga

Ah, Jenga. This one is great if you need a quick competitive break before you get back to your real life.

Codenames Duet

Codenames is a word association game, where one team member gives one-word clues to get the rest of their team to choose the correct cards on the board. I’ve only played Codenames with a group once, but I liked it so much! The Duet version sounds like the perfect date night activity.

Bonus: a free online version is available for 4 or more!

Dominion

In Dominion, you build a deck of cards that will maximize your money and allow you to buy provinces and estates. We’ve only played the online version, but the physical card version can be played with two players.

Bonus: a free (addictive) online version can be played with friends or against the computer

Dutch Blitz

Dutch Blitz is like high-stakes solitaire, but you’re racing other people for a chance to lay your cards. My family calls it the Mennonite Swearing Game, because things get just a tiny bit heated. If playing with a big group stresses you out, playing with just two people would slow the pace a bit. You can also play this with regular cards – it’s called Nerts!

Zobmondo

Zobmondo is basically Would You Rather in a card game. If you already own the cards, pull them out when you’re eating dinner and have run out of conversation topics. (Just be warned, some of the questions might be mildly nauseating).

Dominoes

Anyone else grow up playing dominoes with grandparents? You can play this game of luck with just two players as well.

Card games

There are so many card games you can play with two people – this is a pretty good list.

Classic Strategy Games

So admittedly, I can only handle these games in small doses. I can only lose to Adam so many times!

Go

I learned about this game from Knives Out, though it’s been around for centuries. While the strategy can take years to master, the directions aren’t insanely complicated, so it’s accessible for beginners. Go also feels faster paced than chess, and it’s easy to handicap more skilled players to even the playing field (if you’re willing to swallow your pride and admit that your husband is more skilled than you are, anyway. I am not).

Chess

The ultimate in board games for two players. I admit, the complexity and pressure on every single move in chess stresses me out. But it’s perhaps the most classic of two-player games.

Checkers

The chill version of chess.

Chinese checkers

Checkers with a much prettier board and different strategy. I like it better, too.

Mancala

This strategy game was a childhood classic for us. (Except I’m pretty sure all of my siblings would beat me terribly now.) Games are quick, so the stakes feel low.

On Our List

We haven’t tried these board games for two players yet, but we’d love to give them a go soon!

Crokinole

Crokinole is like a tabletop combo of air hockey and curling. (Watch this video if that’s tricky to visualize.) It looks like so much fun! The only thing holding me back is the size and expense of the board. Maybe a Christmas request for next year?

Castles of Burgundy

Each player in this game acts as a French aristocrat, trading and planning to build their estate and gain victory points. Thematically, this is right up my husband’s alley, and it’s very well reviewed.

Bonus: there’s a free online version we’re hoping to play with friends soon!

7 Wonders Duel

This game is the two-player adaptation of the original 7 Wonders board game, where players build architectural and scientific prowess to defeat the other empire. I haven’t played either version yet, but it’s highly rated and looks like something both Adam and I would enjoy.

War of the Ring

At some point, I’m sure that Adam purchasing this game is inevitable. I can’t exactly blame him – what Lord of the Rings fan wouldn’t want to take the side of the Free People or the Shadow Armies to recreate the epic battles in board game form? It’s gigantic and gameplay takes a long time, so I’m bracing myself.

Box One

I’m so intrigued by this game, which I’ve heard glowingly reviewed as a great escape room in a box. Technically, this game of “trivia, codes, puzzles, and discovery” from Neil Patrick Harris is meant for one player. But you could probably team up to play it, or one player could complete it, then pass it off to the next.

Wondering if one of these board games for two players is a good fit for you? I’d recommend checking out its rating on BoardGameGeek.com or watching a review from Shut Up and Sit Down.

23 Fun Board Games for Two Players