Best two-player board games: perfect head-to-head and cooperative games for two players
Picking the best two-player board games is quite a different scenario to working with three or more. For starters, you’re going head to head, without anyone else to mix things up, or ally with, or even to make mistakes you can take advantage of. As such, not all of the best board games scale that well down to just two – they can lack the same cut and thrust.
However, there are some games that play well with more that do work perfectly with two players, and even better is that there are lots of board games designed just for two instead.
Our selection of the best two-player board games will take you from the deserts of India to the Scottish highlands, yet each one is easy to learn, quick to play and offers lots of variety and challenge to enjoy and master. So whether you’re playing with a spouse, a sibling or a friend, there should be something here to tickle the two of you together.
As an added bonus, many of these games are quite inexpensive, but you can check out our list of the best cheap board games if you want other great low-cost games. Be sure to also check out our picks of the top new board games for the latest releases worth keeping an eye on, and see our picks of the best board games for kids.
The best two-player board games
(Image credit: Amazon)
1. Jaipur
The best two-player game, and it's tiny and cheap, too
Reasons to buy
+A trading game for two that feels like a real marketplace+Great blend of luck and strategy+Lots of included variants for extra replay value
You might think a trading game between two people would be a limited concept. But Jaipur has its hooks in the ingenious way it re-creates actual market forces, and tempts you into making a mistake by offering big potential rewards. During play you collect and sell sets of matching goods. But each sale of a particular type of goods brings decreasing returns, as items flood the market, so you always want to be the earliest to sell any given good. However, you also get bonus points for selling large amounts of a single good in one go. How far dare you stock up before your opponent swoops in and satisfies the pent-up demand before you?
As well as this core tension, Jaipur cranks up the stakes in many other ways. A hand limit also makes collecting too many cards a risky proposition. And there's always the temptation to take camels instead which you can't sell, but which do let you pick up multiple cards at once. With the pressure ratcheting up each turn, it's down to you to ride the right balance of luck and skill to make a market killing.
(Image credit: Restoration Games)
2. Unmatched: Battle of Legends
The best two-player game for head-to-head battling with huge variety
Reasons to buy
+Wild variety of characters from across time and space+Very simple rules but lots of interesting strategies+Several mini-expansions to collect if you get the bug
The big draw of Unmatched is slick, fast, one-to-one combat between any fictional characters you can imagine. This box sees King Arthur, Alice from Wonderland, Sinbad and Medusa face off, with players choosing one of the four to play each game. There are alternative boxes and expansions to build out your options – Unmatched: Robin Hood vs Bigfoot is available now, while Unmatched: Cobble and Fog will soon add Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, The Invisible Man and Jekyll & Hyde; future plans include a Bruce Lee pack (who is, admittedly, not fictional) and a Jurassic Park pack.
The engine of this miracle is a simple card system where you play from your hand to move and attack on the board. Each character has their own deck, and that's where the magic lies. From Sinbad's voyage card stacking to Sherlock's knowledge of his opponent's cards, it offers incredible variety from very few rules. Yet between all the moving parts, it's a thrilling game of tactical cat and mouse.
(Image credit: Iello)
3. Schotten Totten
The best two-player game for Poker fans
Reasons to buy
+All the fun of Poker for two, without the gambling+Incredibly tense, right up to the winning card+Three versions of the same game with different art to choose from
This game's name translates as 'Scots kill', and is themed around Scottish clans fighting for territory control (though you can find effectively the same game as Battle Line: Medieval if you prefer knights to kilts). It's not a game that feels like battling, however: it's more a kind of multi-hand Poker where you won't lose any money. Players select cards from their hand to play into one of nine table positions. You're trying to build up a better Poker-style meld of three cards on your side than your opponent can manage. Once you've done so, you win that position, and if you win five of the nine, you win the game.
What's great about the game is that when you play a card you can rarely be sure you'll ever finish the meld you're aiming for. Instead, it's all about playing the odds, trying to bluff while knowing your opponent might actually have the cards you need in their hand. It's enough to make your palms sweat, and for extra tension, there's also a deck of one-shot power cards to mix things up.
(Image credit: Czech Games Edition)
4. Codenames: Duet
The best two-player cooperative game for those who like a brain-teaser
Reasons to buy
+Plays like a party game, but for two+But can actually play up to four if you want+Clever co-operative spin on word association
The original Codenames was a breakout hit. In it, you laid out a grid of 25 word cards. Then, one player on each team took a secret pattern card showing which words 'belonged' to each team. They had to give one-word clues, trying to tie as many of their cards together in that one clue as possible, while their team-mates tried to guess which they were. It was a hilarious yet taut dance of trying to guide players to the right cards with minimal information, but where a misstep could reward your opponent or even lose you the game instantly, like walking through a minefield.
That box also included a co-operative variant, which has been brilliantly refined and improved on to make Codenames: Duet for two. Now, both players take turns giving clues to each other and the game's aim is to avoid three deadly assassins hidden in each grid, which mean instant failure if guesses. By giving both roles to both players, Codenames: Duet doubles the fun and manages the rare feat of being even better than the original.
(Image credit: Repos Productions)
5. 7 Wonders: Duel
The best two-player board game for tight points strategy
Reasons to buy
+Cool theme of civilisation-building in a fast, simple game+Novel pyramid of cards replaces multi-player draft+Tight play that rewards skill
Another two-player game that’s evolved from a huge hit game for more people, 7 Wonders: Duel is quite different from its predecessor. In both games, the aim is to collect a tableau of cards that represent a growing civilisation. By matching and building on sets of cards you gain points for your technology advances, military strength and so forth. In the original, much of the fun was had in selecting cards from a draft, where each player picked one from a hand and passed it around the table.
That’s no good with two, so instead there’s a clever pyramid where players pick cards from the bottom row, slowly revealing the cards in the tier above depending on what you choose. This neat idea ensures the game retains the tension of the draft while becoming even faster and more exciting. You'll need to make wise decisions with just two of you: pick the wrong card and your opponent will snaffle up the one you really wanted.
(Image credit: Klask)
6. Klask
The best two-player game for actually physically playing
Reasons to buy
+Ludicrous laughs with this magnetic dexterity game+Super quick game you’ll want to play again and again+Suitable for all ages
Klask looks like a miniature game of table football or air hockey. Which it kind of is: the aim is to use your on-board piece to push a little ball into your opponent’s goal. However, instead of controlling the piece directly, you guide it with a magnet underneath the board. Already this adds a fun extra challenge to the air hockey concept, as well as hiding your moves from your opposite player.
But the real kicker in Klask is the magnetic obstacles on the table. Get too close and one will attach itself to your playing piece, making accuracy much more difficult. Attract another and you’ll lose the point. Together with the ever-present risk of an own-goal, they make every match a fast-paced tightrope walk, dangling between speed and sureness.
(Image credit: Asmodee)
7. Hanamikoji
A fun, sharp two-player game of getting one over on your opponent
Reasons to buy
+Fine balance between bluffing and strategy+Lovely artwork+Cheap and quick-playing
The unusual theme of giving gifts to Geishas to win their favour is an excuse for some luminous art and a compelling game of risk and number-crunching. Each turn, players can take one of four actions one time each. Two of them hide cards: one as a secret gift to a Geisha, the other to carry two cards over to the next turn. The other two involve picking gift cards to show the other player, letting them give some while you give the rest.
Gifts automatically go to their matching Geisha, and the player who gives the most gifts to each Geisha wins their favour. The secret and public aspects of gift-giving set up a fascinating tension each round where you try to plan ahead with limited information. But for those keeping track of the numbers, forcing your opposition to give a useless gift is a special satisfaction.
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