Games that Are Worth Purchasing Solely for Playing Two-Player, but Are Capable of Supporting More Players
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I'm in the common situation of liking board games, not having the time and energy to join a game group, and playing mostly with my wife. There are a large number of great games made for two players, but usually they are smaller in scope than games that can accommodate more players.
This list is of games that are playable by 2 or more, but are worth purchasing solely to play as a two player game. If it does not "officially" support 2, but has a two player variant that makes it a worthwhile purchase, that is just fine. I don't want any games that only support two on the list, as those are obviously worth purchasing just for two players.
To be clear, for purposes of this list, it does not matter how the game plays with more than two players. It does not matter how many players it is "best" with. What matters is whether the game is worth purchasing only to be played with two players.
Other geeklists that are similar are here, but none are as comprehensive as this aims to be:
http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/2816
http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/984
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/14971
A particularly good list is here, with much more in depth commentary:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/14040
A geeklist with 2-player variants is here, which includes some of the variants discussed below:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/15749
Feel free to comment or add more games. I've added games that I think are worth purchasing just for two, and games that I haven't played, but appear from forum comments and other geeklists to be worthwhile.
May 2009: Edits made. I rearranged to put some of my favorite two player games on top. (dragging is annoying for large geeklists!)
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I suck at Bingo .... but I don't mind
Belgium
Mol
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I like it most with two or three players
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I suck at Bingo .... but I don't mind
Belgium
Mol
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tim Tim TIm TIM TIMMY!!
Costa Rica
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Well the best 2 player game - IMO, is Heroscape. Perfect for 2 people. If you wnat a 1/2 hour game, no problem. You have an hour to kill no problem, just double the pts. in the game. It is alsoa great game for more people if you have a good board.
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This plays very well with 2 players or more too! My girlfriend loves playing it with me so I would highly recommend it.
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Sebastian Blanco
United States
Lansing
Michigan
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Didn't see this on the list yet, but it's an obvious add. It plays quite different when you get to choose two roles a turn, but it's fun no matter how many players you have around.
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Kevin Rolph
United Kingdom
Cambridge
UK
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Drunter & Druber is a radically different game when played with two. Multi-player it's quite light and chaotic, but with two - without intervening players - it becomes much more chess like.
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Jon Bryon
China
Zhengzhou
Henan
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My wife and I have enjoyed playing this 2-player.
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Quick and good game for 2 - 4 players. I've played with 2, 3 and 4 and they were good times
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This good ol'one is fine for 2 players or team-fighting
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I said in an Age of Steam comment that I wouldn't play this 2P due to the huge board. I lied. It's one of my favorite games. It is ridiculous to play the huge map with 2P, but it is still fun. Europe map is better for 2p though.
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A recent purchase that plays great for two.
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Another recent purchase, still lots of fun with 2. This is one game though, where you play it with 2, and it just feels like more players are needed. Not that it isn't fun with 2, but you can see how much better more fun more players would bring.
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More fun than Through the Desert. If Knizia made this, it would be top 20.
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Pretty good light game with 2P. Nothing extraordinary, but it offers some unique mechanics.
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I love this game. I think it's my favorite Kramer to play with 2P. A real brain burner though.
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Rauli Kettunen
Finland
Oulu
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Didn't see this listed yet. 2-player, especially once you have the rules down, can be played in an hour. Game comes with 4 teams of superheroes. Most of my games have been 2-player, with some solo 3-team tryouts.
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Faye Min
United States
Los Angeles
CA
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My fiance's and my favorite quick game for 2. Play 2-player more than any other way and it certainly isn't lacking in any way at all.
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Faye Min
United States
Los Angeles
CA
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A good, lighter game in the follower placement category. One of the ones the fiance and I play a lot together.
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Blake Morris
United States
Henrico
Virginia
This size viola da gamba is like a cello with frets. I started playing at age 48.
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This is very enjoyable for two but is fine for up to five. It has an interesting "extortion" mechanic and a good bit of tension.
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Faye Min
United States
Los Angeles
CA
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Our ultimate favorite. If you're looking for a meaty economic game that works great for two, this is it. Long game, short game, it's still satisfying.
The mechanics are very simple and it's not very confrontational (except for blocking your opponents out of a building) so I would imagine this to be very wife friendly.
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The root of all evil... but you can call me cookie.
United States
Gainesville
Florida
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I like GtR so much more than RftG.
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Faye Min
United States
Los Angeles
CA
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We actually prefer this with 2 than with 4 - you get more time/more digs which balances out the luck element a little more, IMO.
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Faye Min
United States
Los Angeles
CA
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Great, great, game. Lots of tension, and you always want to go back and try things differently.
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Two players configuration is my favorite one.
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Brighton
East Sussex
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/14971
Doesn't attempt to be comprehensive, but does have some good commentary.
Helsinki
This ( http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/24727) list is called "Vote it yourself: are these multiplayer games any good with only 2 players?". The name says it all. We already have a good number of votes, but the more, the better! I have added many games thanks to your great list!
La Palma
California
Columbia
Missouri
I am going to get Bohnanza today
St Louis
Missouri
How do you think these multiplayer games play with 2? Also game length & complexity
Metalist for 2 Player Games Geeklists (59 lists!)