Two-Player Games

Two-player games are foundational, in my opinion. After all, who has more than one friend at any given time? Don’t know them. But in all seriousness, there is a high demand for it, whether you’re on a date or have a standing blood feud with a work buddy or you have a friend teaching you Ark Nova online but you’ve committed to never reading the rulebook for it. Two-player games can build community (or completely wipe out your goodwill, depending on how you do it).

But the two-player game spread isn’t just games that are designed for two players; they’re also games that work excellently at two players, to the point that it’s hard to imagine playing them at other player counts. Both are welcome additions to the two-player pantheon. Some of these games are cooperative titans that force you and a partner to work together, and some rely on the fact that a two-player game is fundamentally zero-sum: helping yourself and hurting your opponent are basically the same thing. These also span the full gamut of complexity, as some two-player games are so simple you can explain them in a sentence, and others are a multi-hour journey to turn your burgeoning relationship into a Eurogame. Look, some designers are weird. We love them.

Let’s check out some of my favorite picks for probably my favorite player count.

Play some of these games on dates at your own risk. Especially a first date. What’s Eric Playing? does not assume any liability if you make an ass of yourself.

For more games that play at two, check out my duel games or two-player games tags.