The world of tabletop gaming continues to expand, with more games to play than ever and an abundance even available online. For those looking to pass the time away from screens and gather around the table for something different, there’s a plethora to choose from; whether you’re a fan of mysteries and working together or want to deceive your fellow players and take home the solo win.
Whatever your favorite genre, sometimes it can be hard to gather friends and family around the table to play. So, for those with a lower player count, there’s luckily an abundance of games on offer that are fun no matter how many people you can assemble. Whether it’s a game for date night or a pair of roommates looking for a different evening in, here are some two-player board games guaranteed to get you around the table and coming back again and again.
10 Disney’s Villainous
Disney’s Villainous games have gone from strength to strength, with a plethora of expansions introducing even more of our favorite (and not-so-favorite) villains into the fray. These are a great option whether you’re playing with family or friends, and especially good if you can only wrangle together one other person.
Players take control of a classic Disney villain such as Robin Hood’s Little John or Peter Pan’s Captain Hook and then must attempt to fulfill their unique objectives before the other players. However, be warned, as other players can hinder your progress by summoning Disney protagonists to fight against you, halting your dastardly schemes and tricks.
9 Fog Of Love
Perfect for a date night or just two friends looking to have a laugh, Fog of Love is in no way a competitive game. Instead, it places you into the shoes of the game’s two potential love interests as they explore their lives, whether it be going on a trip to Ikea for meatballs, or having a full-blown argument about their partner’s lack of ambition (yikes).
Just like real life, there isn’t a clear victory in Fog of Love. Instead, you must follow the life of your couple and get them to what they eventually want out of the relationship, be it a loving and supportive marriage or a messy breakup in the rain.
8 Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle
The perfect game for fans of Harry Potter; Hogwarts Battle is a cooperative campaign-based deck-building game for up to four players but is absolutely perfect with just two.
In this game, you select a famous character in their first year of Hogwarts, whether it be Harry Potter himself or Neville Longbottom. You must then guide them through each of their years at Hogwarts as they build a deck of items and fight against famous enemies from the books. Players must be careful to keep their health high and defeat the bad guys in time to save the school.
7 Codenames: Duet
A great game for new and old players alike, Codenames: Duet adapted the best-selling original into a two-player format. Link words to a chosen clue word to clear the board and win.
Codenames: Duet differs from the original slightly. Instead of having two separate teams guessing against each other, you now work co-operatively in order to find all the secret agents and clear the board. It’s a fantastic party game and one with a plethora of editions whether you’re a fan of Disney, Marvel, or even Harry Potter.
6 Scythe
One of the best worker placement games around, Scythe has you playing as a country’s army within a steampunk-esque war-torn Europe as you work to defeat all the other players on the board and bring your country to victory.
Playable by 1 to 5 players, you must upgrade your infrastructure, deploy mechanical military units and bolster your army’s resources in order to get to the top. It’s one for two players who want to fight to be the best, even featuring an Automa for an additional player, and is sure to cause arguments resulting in another game and another…
5 Keyforge
Keyforge is a highly successful and critically acclaimed card game that sees each player with a unique sealed deck of cards. Using these cards, players battle one another in a fight to be the first to use their monsters and abilities to unlock the vaults and claim victory.
Being a one-on-one battle between players’ decks, it’s a fantastic quick two-player game that refuses to become stale, with new exciting expansions putting a twist on gameplay continuing to be regularly released.
4 Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective
One of the best co-op games to sit around and play with family and friends, Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective is a campaign-based game that sees players work together to solve the cases Sherlock puts in front of them. To do this, they must consult the case notes, review the daily Times newspaper, and check locations on their London map for clues and witnesses in order to get to the bottom of the mystery.
With 10 unique cases to solve (each usually taking about two hours to complete), this is a game you can easily fill an evening with. You’ll have to go toe-to-toe with Sherlock as you battle to solve the case in as few moves around London as possible and reach the solution despite the red herrings.
3 Wingspan
Wingspan is the laid-back competitive game centering around a bird preserve, seeing you collect birds, lay eggs, and produce food as you battle to have the best set of birds and earn the most points over your competitor.
It’s a game that’s boomed in popularity over the last few years, with some incredible expansions to add region-specific birds to the board, and also sporting a fantastic digital version that includes every bird’s unique call, allowing you to play with family and friends whenever you fancy!
2 Gloomhaven
One of the longest tabletop campaigns around, Gloomhaven is the RPG board game for 1-4 players that allows you to create and play as a party of mercenaries as you try and earn some money in dungeon-crawling adventures.
It’s a game that’s seen a massive amount of hype since its release, with the new sequel, Frosthaven seeming just as likely to raise heads and empty wallets. If you’re looking for a long two-player campaign game to keep you going over the next few months, look no further than this.
1 Pandemic
Whether you’re looking for a long campaign game for two players or a small game that’ll wrap up in an hour; Pandemic has you covered.
With an abundance of editions and gameplay styles sure to keep you entertained as you battle to save the world from global catastrophe, Pandemic has something for everyone. It’s the classic cooperative board game that’s perfect for two players, and will have you rushing back to the table again and again; especially if you both find yourselves trying to tackle the enormous campaign legacy games.
NEXT: Top Small Box Board Games To Play Anywhere With Anyone
