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I'm looking for a solid game 1-2 hours that will work well with just my girlfriend, but can be cracked open when we have guests.
How is Smallworld for this? Would any expansions make it run better for 2?
I'm also thinking about Ticket to Ride and am open to other suggestions. Thanks!
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Ben Bateson
United Kingdom
Ross-on-Wye
Owner of original 'crappy art' GtR and pleased about it.
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Works just fine with 2. Some players think that's actually the best way to play it - it's very cut-throat though.
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Sky Zero
United States
Illinois
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Play Smallworld all the time with the wife as a 2 player game. To put it simply, it plays great with two and scales well up to 5. I've played with all ranges and have enjoyed every play equally.
On the other hand, Smallworld Underground is not so fun with 2. The wife and I tried playing that one as a 2 player a few times and it just falls flat for us. We've since created a Smallworld "Big Box" version where we play regular Smallworld with some of the underground races. We also put the "Popular Places" in play from SW:Underground and have them equal to the number of players playing. We also use Tales & Legends when playing. For us, this is a blast to play.
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Hmm...
I've only tried Small World once playing just 2 players. It was an okay experience, but in my opinion the game gets a lot better when you are more than two. Not sure if Small World Underground is better for 2 players - but i doubt.
Though I really enjoy playing it 3-5 player...
I'd say that Ticket to Ride is a better solution, maybe even get one of the small maps like India for making it a more intense game.
As far as I know these games aren't two hour games, Small World with 5 people is probably one and a half hour long.
Another game that you could buy is Carcasonne. I think it's a great two player game, and gets even better with more players.
Hope that you can use this 
/hug
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Small world is the type of game where you are trying to get the most points. In 3-5 player this means doing what is best for you and occasionally going after the leader if someone pulls ahead. Generally relentless attacking is a losing strategy cause you hurt your point potential and the point potential of another player but have no effect on all the other players (actually you are helping). Because of this attacking other players is done more out of necessity or opportunity.
In 2 player since every point you take away from your opponent indirectly is a point gain for you relentless attacking is a much more viable strategy. While this is not necessarily a bad thing I feel that something is lost (and I suppose something else is gained) with the bigger emphasis on attacking. Depending on what type of game you two like this can either be a good or bad.
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Dave C
United States
Oceanside
California
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allstar64 wrote: ... I feel that something is lost (and I suppose something else is gained) with the bigger emphasis on attacking. Depending on what type of game you two like this can either be a good or bad.
It's a world of slaughter after all...
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Slapz wrote: Hmm... I'd say that Ticket to Ride is a better solution, maybe even get one of the small maps like India for making it a more intense game. /hug
That's what I've been thinking. We play munchkin a lot as it's a good 'gateway drug' from monopoly etc. to better boardgames and most of our friends are non-gamers. We're used to playing harsh games but I want something with some depth.
A shorter game is honestly better, so long as it has a good amount of variation and tactics.
Thanks guys!
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allstar64 wrote:
In 2 player since every point you take away from your opponent indirectly is a point gain for you relentless attacking is a much more viable strategy. While this is not necessarily a bad thing I feel that something is lost (and I suppose something else is gained) with the bigger emphasis on attacking. Depending on what type of game you two like this can either be a good or bad.
Would any of the expansions address/balance this. We tend to go for one another's throats when necessary but if it's the only way to hit a win condition with two, then I'm not sure it's for me.
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Dunc wrote:
Would any of the expansions address/balance this. We tend to go for one another's throats when necessary but if it's the only way to hit a win condition with two, then I'm not sure it's for me.
Oh it's not the only way to win, not by far. In fact you still need to play well and do your best to score points. Attacking a lot is just more viable than it is in 3+ player but it's far from necessary.
While none of the expansions change this cause this is a result of the core game play mechanics if you find you are having issues with it there are unofficial "variants" you can try to mitigate it.
1. Is once you know the game well enough is to use a dummy 3rd player. It's not that hard to control a dummy player fairly once you get good enough.
2. Even easier you can name a minimum score that players need to win (if neither player hits it than it's a draw). This forces players to focus more on gaining points and less on taking them away from the other player.
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That second option sounds great. Thanks guys, I'm gonna grab this, one of the mini expansions (Necromancer sounds fun, I know nothing about it) & maybe Ticket to Ride with the India map when I've got the cash.
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Sky Zero
United States
Illinois
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Dunc wrote: That second option sounds great. Thanks guys, I'm gonna grab this, one of the mini expansions (Necromancer sounds fun, I know nothing about it) & maybe Ticket to Ride with the India map when I've got the cash.
Ticket to Ride India ROCKS. It's retired the original TTR for the wife and I.
Smallworld and TTR are our two most played games. Enjoy!
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Mr. Blue
United States
California
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skyzero wrote:
Smallworld and TTR are our two most played games. Enjoy!
Ditto for my wife and I (although Carcassonne has got a lot of play lately too). Our favorite TtR board is Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries, but we also like the new Legendary Asia map from Ticket to Ride Map Collection: Volume 1 - Team Asia & Legendary Asia. Because of the rule about train discards for the mountain routes, the games have a faster pace overall.
We love Small World, with the Small World: Be Not Afraid... expansion as probably our favorite. We also have Small World: Cursed! and Small World: Grand Dames of Small World mixed in too. Sometimes we play with the Small World: Tales and Legends cards; sometimes not. Small World Underground has cooler art, but I agree with the prior poster that it falls a little flat for 2 players for us -- not really sure why. I like the "Big Box" idea that a poster above mentioned. That's basically what we do. We have most of the expansion pieces all mixed together, which creates a fun and ever-changing grab bag of combinations for the game. Great 2-player game overall.
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Just wanted to chime in with my opinion of Small World as a two player game. In short, it works very well with two, just be aware however that luck tends to play a slightly larger role in two player games.
You see, some race/power combos are clearly more powerful than others. When you play with three or four its not as big of a deal because people tend to gang up on anyone who gets a "broken" combo, however in two player games that is obviously not an option. I would still recommend this highly as a two player game, just be ready for some games to be tilted.
If we are choosing between Small World and Ticket to Ride then you really can't go wrong with either. Both games play well with 2-5 players and should be done in 30-60 minutes depending on the number of players. I rate TTR slightly higher because its theme and simple rules make it a little easier to get non-gamers to try it, but both games are light enough for family play.
Hope you enjoy both games as much as I do! 
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David Laine
United States
Whittier
California
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Dunc wrote: That second option sounds great. Thanks guys, I'm gonna grab this, one of the mini expansions (Necromancer sounds fun, I know nothing about it) & maybe Ticket to Ride with the India map when I've got the cash.
Both Small World and TTR are great choices for a 2-player game. So's Carcassonne, which has been mentioned.
As far as SW goes, I'd recommend just getting the SW base game for now. The expansions are cool, but the more races/powers you have, the more overburdened you may feel by the complexity--especially early on. It's best to take them in steps, learning the basic races then adding to them. Also, my wife and I actually prefer this as a 2-player game. 3's also good, but the more people in our group, the more sidetracked and frustrated we feel. People chatter, forget to check the races/powers, flub rules... But that might just be the people we're playing with.
SW: Necromancer's Island isn't that great, especially given what some people are charging--and it's only 3-6 player, so it fails the "How is it for 2?" test. I'd recommend for a better general expansion, jury-rig your own copy of Leaders of SW. Do not pay the ridiculous prices people are asking for it. Just download the rules and use something like coins or glass gaming stones to represent leaders. They add an interesting new dynamic to the game without a steep learning curve.
For TTR, the best out-of-box experience for 2 people, IMHO, is Nordic Countries. It has a great 2-3 player map, interesting mechanics, and a fun theme. However, I don't think you can use Nordic with the map packs (Asia or India/Switzerland). Another strong option, if you have the cash, is TTR Europe (with the Europe 1912 expansion). You can then expand into Map Pack 2 - India/Switzerland. Switzerland is another 2-3 player map, and my wife's favorite TTR experience.
Carcassonne is great and all, but if you don't want to bother with the Big Box or with the endless expansions then I'd recommend getting Carcassonne: The City instead. It's more interesting than vanilla Carcassonne, and you don't have to deal with 100 different expansions.
My wife's favorite game is Pandemic. If you want a fun cooperative experience, go for that--it's great with any number of players. Its expansion, On the Brink, is practically a must--it adds an array of new powers and roles, as well as 3 unique new disease mechanics to keep things interesting (although to play the Bio-Terrorist challenge you do need a 3rd player).
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I play a lot of two-player games (as there is usually just the two of us playing, although it is nice to have a game that is expandable to more.)
I do love Small World as an any player game. I just got it recently, but it is my new obsession. Even if I do lose almost every time I play. Surprisingly, when I play with new people, they usually win. A lot of the time, I could be doing well, then just one round make a poor choice for my next race (thinking it will be a GREAT idea), and boom, I'm pretty much out of the game. But I don't care.
Like David, we play a lot of Pandemic. We actually didn't get the expansion for awhile. I do like the expansion, and the new things that it brings, but we waited just so we could get a good handle on the dynamics of a normal game. I think we still have a lot to learn, but the expansion has been bought and added.
The other two player game we play a lot is Dominion. Not as much as we used to (we could spend hours playing it), but it's still there. I'd recommend it, it doesn't cause a whole lot of tension between the two players (and when you're playing with partners, the less tension the better). The setup is fairly easy and the rules are easy, and it's a fun way to spend a few hours.
I've played both the two-player Settlers of Catan card game and Starship Catan. The two-player Settlers game is super cutthroat. My married friends won't play it any more because he often had to spend a night on the couch after the horrible things he did during the game. Starship Catan is quite fun, and a lot less interaction which means fewer relationship problems!
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Danny Mack
United States
Santa Fe Springs
California
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I would second David, Grant, and Mr. Blue's recommendations.
I would also say getting Smallworld is a no-brainer for you, based on what info you've shared. The one word I would add about the expansions is that even though I love them and the replayability they add to the game, my wife prefers to play without them because it's hard for her to keep track of what everything does if you get too many options on too many sheets of paper.
Depends on your girl, I guess.
As for other 2-player options, TTR:Nordic is good (probably our best), but the wife actually asks me to play Cargo Noir (which scales extremely well from 2-5 players), Finca, and more recently Dominion. Flash Point is pretty good as a 2-player co-op if you don't dig the theme of Pandemic or you don't want to fool with expansions. I've played several tense (in a good way) 2-player games of this, but not with my wife yet.
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