After your first win, you and your partner begin to track your progress across a simple map of Europe. Do you dare double guess the space that has already been revealed? It couldn't possibly affect the outcome, but it sure feels like it did.īut perhaps the genius of 'Codenames: Duet' is its little dash of legacy spice. Just as before, players will need to remember the different clues and stitch together confusing combinations of words, but now they will also be guessing around both sets of agent cards and civilians. This adds an extra layer of complexity to the game. No matter how big the game scales, if you are going to take the time to learn and play a game as a two-player affair, you better be getting the most bang for your buck.įor the two-player spinoff of his popular party game, designer Vlaada Chvátil introduces a wrinkle: both players are working from the same word grid. But each title on this list of the 15 best two-player games has one thing in common: a recommended player count of exactly two on BoardGameGeek. All of them are widely considered two-player favorites. Some of these games are in my personal collection, others are games I've never quite managed to get on the table. To ease that burden, we've presented the games on this list in increasing order of difficulty, starting with one of the lightest two-player games on the market ('Codenames: Duet') and ending with a movie-themed wargame that will require hours of study to fully understand.

The more people you have to teach the game, the more uncertain the rules become most board games have a knowledge multiplier effect that can diminish returns if players do not come prepared. But while many games are designed with large groups in mind, there's something special about titles that work best with two players (or even one, but that's probably another list altogether).Ĭomplexity is a key factor here. Many players find them a refreshing alternative to video games, and the opportunities to combine cardboard, beer, and community give tabletop games a bit of an edge. Board games are often a social experience.

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