Paula's Top 10 Games for 2 Players! 

In my Honorable Mentions I discuss Chai Tea for 2--I have a review copy/Pre-Kickstarter copy of the game and really enjoy it. I've just learned that the Kickstarter hasn't fulfilled yet and people don't yet have their hands on their games and it seems that some backers disapprove of the way this campaign has been handled. In the future I will be more careful about recommending games that people actually have access to. Thank you for understanding and granting me a little grace!

My favorite 2 player only board games that you didn't mentioned: 1- Hanamakoji ( very quick game. the best game if you know how someone like to play because there is a lot of guessing) 2- 7 wonders duel 3- Holmes: Sherlock & Mycroft (i think this is similar to lost cities) 4- Lawyer up (Rodney's video sold me this game) 5- Fields of Arl 6- Patchwork

Watergate is a classic, can't believe it was only an honourable mention! Jaipur is weirdly fantastic considering how simple it is, always love playing it. Glad to see Undaunted was in.

The Fox in the Forest Duet is a great cooperative trick-taker, like The Crew, but it’s made specifically for two. Can’t recommend it enough.

Fun list - I’ve got to try Caper Europe One of my favourites is Paris la Citie de la Lumiere. A little tile placement game that is surprisingly devious and competitive.

Great list! My wife and I usually play games in waves, so we have a chance to figure out the strategy, and get in each other's heads. A some additional games that we've played a fair number of times are: • Aqualin • District Noir • Sobek 2 Player • Balloon Cup • The Game: Face to Face • Mottaini (I know it's not strictly 2-player, but we've played it a ton)

I did the same thing with Lost Cities! Once I finally played it, I felt so silly for having overlooked it. Great video. Thanks!

Thanks for this! Two is my most available & frequent player count. I'm a big fan of all the games on your list which I have already played -- which really encourages me to try out the ones I haven't played (especially your type two). As a suggestion: the recently released Twilight Struggle: Red Sea - Conflict in the Horn of Africa condenses the well-known much-loved Twilight Struggle system down into a much shorter (and perhaps therefore more approachable) game. It's a blast. Also: Caesar! Seize Rome in 20 Minutes! is clever. tense and fun.

Great video! I have a fantastic 2-player co-op game for you: The Fox in the Forest: Duet. The original Fox in the Forest an excellent 2-player competitive trick-taking game, but Fox in the Forest: Duet flips the concept into a cooperative experience. Instead of trying to take a certain number of tricks to score more points than your opponent, you have to carefully trade control of the hand back and forth with your partner. It feels a lot like working with your teammate in Bridge, and it's one of my favorite 2-player games. Other 2-player favorites: War of the Ring, Star Wars: Rebellion, and Innovation (yes, it technically plays 3 or 4, but this game is so much more satisfying with 2!).

Morels is a fun mushroom collecting game for two!

Paula ure so good at what you do 🙂

When I started with boardgames as a teen. I was very much opposed to 2-player games, mostly because me and three or four friends usually met to play. So no real reason to have any. However, now as a grown up, getting even one person to play with is tricky and takes planing. But I usually get one friend over and I've been exploring a wide range of 2-player games and it has been a blast! I found that Codenames Duet is a really fun brainburner and it is a co-op. I can also recommend 7 Wonder Duel if you haven't already tried it. I also really feel I need to check out Chai Tea for 2 and some more of these titles!

Great list + honorable mentions 👍My favorite from you list is Targi - so good! My favorite of all though is Unforgiven. It is very similar to 7 Wonders Duel but the theme really comes through. Im also anxious to try Splendor Duel soon!

I’m super excited that you include miniatures games on this list!! There’s lots of awesome miniature adjacent games that are actually approachable and decently priced! And you know I love those minis. 😂

I though that it would be euro-heavy stuff, but Space Hulk and Underworlds surpriced me. Warhammer Underworlds is one of my favorite 2-player games too. KeyForge must be the favorite, followed by Summoner Wars and Star Realms.

Thanks for the video! Another one game I'd add to this list would be Patchwork. Head-to-head quilt-making with polyominos is always a fun time. :)

Jaipur is my favorite 2 player game. Thanks for a great video! That Time You Killed Me looks good.

Love this list -- half I own and/or have played, and half were new. I am always on the lookout for two-player games, and so I get to track down some new ones, and feel validated about the ones I already have. :)

Great list! I'm going to have to seek out Mythic Mischief now. Some other great 2 player only games that you might like: Mandala Botanik I won't even bother to mention fabulous game Patchwork because I'm sure that you've already played it.

I love Kompromat. The pulp-y cold war aesthetic is my jam to begin with. The push your luck. The fact that I can't seem to win a game for some unknown reason. It's great.

Great list! I really like Caper: Europe, That Time You Killed Me, and Mythic Mischief. Those are the only ones I own and have played on your list, Mythic Mischief being the one I played the most, because it also has a great solo mode. That one is also my favorite out of these. Anyway, have a great week! I just subscribed!

Love Space Hulk, great to see it on the list. Only have the second edition but keep hoping at some point they'll finally announce a new/fifth edition.

Great list Paula! I like That Time You Killed Me but am horrible at it… also like your head band, ya look great w it! ☺️

I do enjoy having my mind all cozy while CRUSHING my opponents!

Our favorite two-player games (that haven't been mentioned in comments yet): Beyond Baker Street (a co-op with imperfect info!) Bonnie & Clyde: Love & Death Codenames: Duet Fantasy Defense w/ Stone King expansion Fluttering Souls Ham's Sandwich Shop Kodama Duo Matcha Morels Okiya P'achakuna Paperback Adventures Seasons of Rice Shadows in Kyoto Spire's End: Hildegard Tussie Mussie

Jaipur and Targi are two of my favorites as well, wonderful video (as always), thanks!

That Time You Killed Me is so much fun! The sense of humor in the writing is enjoyable. Time travel is really interesting!

"Only one friend or loved one willing to put up with them at a time" hahahahaha! Love the video!! Great game suggestions. Lost Cities is one of our favs! Shards of Infinity would be my favorite though if deck-builders is anyone's cup of tea. ❤

I really like Lofoten. I took a punt on it earlier this year and am really glad that I did!

Fabulous list. A couple there I would like to try. Thank you 😊

Paula is not alone in this. 61% of my friends are not friends and I like to play with my imaginary friend on the roof.

9:46 Pretty much every single time. (Lost Cities). I feel for you Paula. 😉 I'm pleased that Space Hulk got in on the list. I played it the first time in about '93-'94 in high school and I loved it. It's so cool and so simple. Three games that my wife and I play very often is: - Yardmaster Express (one game can last under 5 minutes, so we play 3 games) - Bossa Classic (from Japan) - Sunset Over Water or Herbacous (Pencil First Games together with Steve Finn)

Great video as always, thanks for all the suggestions :D

My List 1. Netrunner 2. Twilight Struggle 3. God Tear 4. Space empires 4X 5. Arkham horror, the card game

Fuck yeah girl, Underworlds! That's our favorite game, me and my girlfriend play this almost every week, for more than a year now. It never gets old, we have several warbands, boxsets and new decks for it, it's amazing and it's worth every penny, there is no game like it, where your objectives change each round, positioning matter, it's very competitive, very assymetric, and very tactical. It's by far the best Warhammer game there is, the most fun and streamlined.

hi there, Thanks for this nice little list of yours! Here some of our favorites here from belgium (in no specific order) (with heavier, lighter, with bigger and smaller boxes) -Astro Knights // Aeon's End -The Game -Jaipur -Spirit Island -Power Plants -MindBug -Splendor Duel -Alice's Garden // Cascadia -Crypt of Sedlec // Circle the Wagoon (microgames) -Star wars the deckbuilding game // Shards of infinity

Caper Europe came out of nothing for me too, but Zee’s enthusiasm sold me on it. I’m glad to own a copy, it’s probably our favourite 2 player game ever..

I've almost finished painting 2 warbands for Warhammer Underworlds Nightvault and I'm SO excited to finally play it! My top 3 games for 2 players: 1) War of the Ring 2) Mr. Jack in New York 3) Battles of Westeros or 7 Wonders Duel or Akrotiri or...

Been meaning to get into Targi. Also, not an exclusively 2 player game but SHH is a fun co-op word game. My top 10s would be a lot of abstract strategy games like Kulami, Tak, and a few titles from The GIPF Project

Can recommend taking a look at Air, Land & Sea. Small card game for two players. But so very clever in the amount of game and decisions that they pack into it. It’s cheap as well which is nice.

Our picks: Riftforce, Paris the cities of light, Sobek, Fungi. We also are fan of Lost Cities here!

For me super fantasy brawl, Radlands, jaipur, lost cities, and Air Land and sea critters at war . That time you killed me sounds very interesting I'll need to look into that one

Might i suggest a video on your painted minis and/or the painting process. Much like your evolution of a gamer video? Could be hilarious

Canopy is a gorgeous 2-player game about building a rainforest, with an intriguing push your luck draft mechanism & fun set collection

Great job, Paula. I love the theme and your list. 🙂

Botanik and Jekyll vs Hyde are two of my favorite 2 player only games. The makers of Jekyll vs Hyde are coming out with a new standalone cooperative version soon. Suuuper looking forward to that!

Solid list! Two player "only" co-ops that come to mind are Ares Expedition and most, if not all of the Oniverse games. Neither my wife nor I enjoy the normal, competitive version of Ares Expedition at two players(we'd much rather play the original Terraforming Mars at two), but the co-op mode is very fun and quite challenging, at least in our experience. As for the Oniverse games, I've only played co-op for Onirim and Nautilion(the latter being my preference), but I'm guessing the others in the series have similar things. While these aren't particularly challenging, the co-op mode adds a nice twist to the normal solo games and is a nice way to share the otherwise solitary experience. Any plans to make a Top 10 of multiplayer games that are great, or possibly even best, at two?

Really enjoyed this list - most of which I've played and agree are great, but some new ideas for me to try too, thank you! A few others you might want to try if you get the chance: Siam (abstract); Twilight Struggle/Campaign Manager 2008/Sola Fide (latter two might be tough to get hold of); Hive (abstract); Odin's Ravens; 7 Wonders Duel; Tides of Time/Tides of Madness; Battle Line / Schotten Totten; Hanamikoji; Fox in the Forest Duet (co-op).

Thanks. Some new ideas for me. Yes on Lost Cities and Jaipur! Also, LOTR Confrontation and my two all-time iverall favs Dominion and Innovation.

Been looking for more games my wife and I can play, definitely will be looking closer at some of these!

I love Tash-Kalar as a heavy confrontational abstract and The Duke: Lord's Legacy as a more modern equivalent of chess. And as for pure abstracts, YINSCH is a lovely, much more compelling variation on Reversi.

great list! i also find most of my games being 2 player due to difficulty of finding more than 1 to play with. I see targi is consistently on other creator's top 2 player lists. that time you killed me also I really want to try someday. some of my favorite 2 player games are twilight struggle, watergate, yinsh, santorini, azul, star wars rebellion, 7 wonders duel, air land and sea, and summoner wars 2nd edition. would love to see you release a top 10 3 player video!

Two of my favorite 2-player-only co-op games are The Ravens of Thri Sahashri (also rethemed as "Embers of Memory: A Throne of Glass Game" if you don't like the manga style) and The Fox in the Forest Duet.

Check out Tides of Madness. Has a similar turn angst to Lost Cities, but every decision is painful due to the small number of cards. So good. Also, Jekyll & Hyde is good for trick-taking. Have to wrap your brain around Jekyll since he doesn't want to win tricks. He wants to maintain balance, but it's a great tug of war.

I've been wanting to try Mythic Mischief! Can't wait for their next campaign in a half year :)

Air Land and Sea sounds like it would be right up your alley! Super solid and challanging decisions in a tiny package and a quick teach. Head to Head abstract in nearly the same way as Lost Cities, but think WWII Supreme Commander level control. Targi, Lost Cities, and The Time You Killed Me are great! I would go Spirit Island for a 2 player co-op; but obviously not strictly 2 player game. I feel it is almost the best at that count.

Other 2 player games we enjoy are Onitama, 7 wonders duel, Splendor Duel and Star Wars deck building game.

Paula’s “pew, pew, pew,” just became my new rings tone:) Great games all!!

Oh boy if you loved Undaunted Normandy and Memoir, just wait till you play Stalingrad!!! :) Great list, Paula! Thanks for sharing :)

I need to check some of these out. That Time You Killed Me looks especially up my alley. - Exceed and its predecessor Battlecon are both 2 player games that capture the feeling of a fighting game. I personally prefer Exceed because its less of a brain burner. - Boop is looks like a really cute game about cats jumping on a bed, but is actually a pretty challenging abstract. - Decorum is a cooperative, hidden information game with communication limits about passive aggressive roommates trying to decorate their home. This one also plays 4 players but the puzzles for the 2 player and 4 player modes are completely separate so I think its still worth mentioning, especially since its co-op.

Great 2-player (since you like Undaunted), is Undaunted: Battle of Britain. Might be my favorite of the series. I also like Battleline. Older game. But hey, I'm older!

some of my favs are: Imhotep Duel, Sakkara, Babel, Troia, 300 Earth and Water, Caesar & Cleopatra, Caesar! Seize Rome in 20 minutes (can also be played solo). Easy and fun to play. Such a pity that the older ones fell into oblivion....🤷

Twilight Struggle is a great game for 2. I would also put Star Wars Rebellion. Though it can play 4, it is primarily a 2 player game. Blitzkrieg and Caesar are both amazing. 7 Wonders Duel is absolutely terrific. I love Hive/Hive Pocket, Tak, Onitama and Santorini as abstract strategy games. For dexterity, Klask is just so much fun. Fugitive is a fun hidden movement game for 2. Codenames Duet is great as well. Radlands is a really fun time, and so is Schotten Totten/Battle Line. I forgot about Patchwork, which, even after all these years, is an absolute blast to play.

So many games seem to appear consistently on everyone's "best-of" 2-player. For example, these ********** are Doomtown Reloaded Wir Sind Das Volk Klask (Dexterity Game - my favorite!) Star Wars Rebellion Sekigahara Neuroshima Hex 3rd ed Tash-Kalar 1960 Making Of The President 7 Wonders Duel ********** Raptor ********** Tides of Time Onitama Santorini ********** Azul ********** Tatsu The Fox in the Forest Kingdomino Raptor ********** Codenames Duet ********** Holmes: Sherlock & Mycroft 7 Wonders Duel ********** Paperback Adventure Land Onitama Santorini ********** The Duke Nations: The Dice Game Raptor ********** Tiny Epic Quest Pyramid Poker Onitama Dragon Castle Hanamikoji Sola Fide Raptor ********** InBetween Tao Long: The Way of the Dragon Shadows in Kyoto Risk: Star Wars Edition Santorini ********** That Time You Killed Me Targi *************** Memoir 44 Jaipur Warhammer Underworlds Lost Cities ********** Space Hulk Mythic Mischief Undaunted Normandy ********** Caper Europe ********** Spirit Island ********** 535 Ankh Sleeping Gods World Breakers / Magic The Gathering Lacuna Targi Air Land & Sea Dice Thrown / Battle Yahtzee ********** Everdell ********** Wingspan ********** Plunder A Pirate's Life Miller Zoo CDSK 7 Wonders Duel ********** Res Arcana ********** Twilight Struggle Lord of the Rings Agricola Innovation Unmatched Undaunted Normandy ********** Shores of Tripoli Radlands Stardew Valley (Digital) The Initiative ********** Unmatched ********** Dice Thrown ********** Fort Radlands Ashes Reborn Innovation (maybe works good as 3 player) Castles of Burgurndy (digital good too) ********** Lord Of the Rings Critters at War / Air Land And Sea Undaunted Normandy Android Netrunner ********** Neuroshima Hex 3 Silver Bullet Fort Seasons Roll Player Fox In the Forest Santorini ********** Hive Azul ********** Chai Tea for 2 BoonLake Grand Austria Hotel Arc Nova Quest for El Dorado Empires of The North Dice Miner Five Tribes Terracotta Army Great Western Trail - Argentina ********** Unmatched Lost Cities ********** Onitama Patchwork ********** Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective ********** Watergate ********** Arboretum *********** Caesar - Schotten Totten - Fungi - Sobek: 2 Players - Horrified Brass Birmingham ********** Spirit Island ********** 7 Wonders - Duel ********** Twilight Struggle ********** Beer and Bread Castles of Burgundy ********** Santorini ********** Azul ********** Res Arcana ********** Patchwork ********** Boop Sobek Qawale

Brilliant list Paula, the only two player cooperative game I can think of is Fox in the Forest duet.

Thanks, Paula, for the excellent and entertaining video! Here's my favorite games at 2 players: Marvel Champions Battle Line: Medieval Duelosaur Island Finca Firenze Dice Throne Hats

That reminds me I still need to try out That time you killed me. Great video! Top 3 (in no order) for me is probably: Duelosaur Island, Wingspan Asia and Fast Shot

PAULA SAID THE WORDS "SPACE HULK!" SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! (That and Lost Cities have been two fav 2 player games seemingly forever now, depending on who I'm playing them with)

You're a Memoir 44 player?! I just fell in love with you. I have everything they've made for this game. Love it! I also have the space themed game Red Alert by the same designer Richard Borg.

Paula, a new 2-player co-op game you might want to try is Sky Team. I loved your video. I'd be interested in hearing about your favorite multi-player games that play best (or play really well) at 2 players. One of mine is Masters of Renaissance-Il Magnifico the Card Game.

Glad to see Jaipur made your list. Biggest omission IMHO is Star Wars Rebellion. So good.

In my 2 player game collection are the following: 7 Wonders Duel Patchwork Caverna: Cave vs. Cave Onitama Let me know if any of those are games you'd like to hear about from me, Paula!

So many of these lists are just have that play well at 2, it's nice to see a list which is at least mostly 2 player only. Solo only games are hard to find lists on for the same reason

Have you played Mandala? It’s our go to two player game that plays in 15 min. So good.

Great list!!! Can you next video be "Paula's Top 2 Games for 10 Players!"

Targi would fit the criteria for 2 player only and so does Yinsh, Quarto, Shobu, Barragoon and our current favorite: Hive. :)

If you like GW mini games like Space Hulk, have you tried Blitz Bowl? It's similar to Blood Bowl, except plays in like 30 min and doesn't have the overhead of a league and a ton of play skills to need to track. It's still the fantasy football premise, but most of your points are from doing objectives (move 3 players, pass the ball, block 2, etc) as opposed to requiring touchdowns to win, so the game doesn't stall out.

Beer and Bread is my new favorite 2 player. Card drafting with engine building. Plays quick and you only score for the thing you have the least points of, beer or bread.

Other great 2-player only games 1. It's a Wonderful Kingdom 2. Conspiracy: Abyss Universe 3. Blood Bowl 4. Mandala 5. Heave Ho! 6. Raptor 7. Claim

Cool list! I’m surprised 7 wonder’s DUEL and UnMatched didn’t make your list

My 8 yr old daughter's favourite game is Lost Cities. My 10 yr old son loves Star Realms. I love Radlands. We play all these and more :)

So glad this list exists. I don't like "two-player games" lists that are actually "Games best played with two players." Some of my faves not mentioned are Rift Force and Haven. There's also a fun, light Home Alone game my wife and I play every Christmas :)

I don't have many 2 player only boardgames. The only one I have is Jambo. I think it is a better game than Jaipur. Both have similar theme of being merchants buying and selling stuff and both play mainly using cards. Jambo is superior in my mind because it has a bit of a take that mechanic and using artifact cards to cycle through the common deck allows the game to go much quicker.

Hive, Undaunted and Fugitive are amazing

Beer and Bread...great video!

Unmatched is pretty cool. Kinda expensive if you start buying all the extras.

No Battlecon? I _lurve_ Battlecon. Also, Mage Wars. I have Mage Wars Academy, but I love the map in Arena (even though it makes the game like 4 times longer) I have Space Hulk , but haven't played it yet. Like, I've literally owned it for at least 7 or 8 years, but it's never made it to the table. I think I need to try it now. Edit: Oh, and Android Netrunner (the Fantasy Flight LCG version) and Warhammer: Invasion are both great two-player games, too (and are both OOP as far as I know) Thanks for making this list. Makes me really want to pull out some of my 2-player games and play them again. Especially Mage Wars and Battlecon (neither of which I've played in a while)

I am honestly surprised that neither Fox in the Forest nor 7 Wonders Duel made it even into the honorable mentions. Based on what I know about Paula's taste so far, I would think they are her cup of tea (no pun intended).

Great video glad to see you haven't mysteriously disappeared yet 😉 your #1 looks interesting Ill have to take a look. The just for two player game I like is Raptor.

Try 7 Wonders Duel, Codenames Duet, Star Wars Rebellion, Balloon Cup, Unmatched. They're all great!

So glad Targi made the list. Its my favorite 2 player game. Tense all the way through. Great stuff.

Hehe ... "Movement, again, is hex-based - so, it's really simple". I'll quote Paula for that every time I try to push a hex-n-counter wargame :)

Hey! loved the video! I am close to launching a Kickstarter for a 2-player game, I'd love to send an early prototype to you to review if you are interested. I love your energy and videos!

Paula, play 1750: Briton vs. France!!! It's a beautiful, historical 2-player-game

Love seeing Targi so high :) I hope you one friend was available 🤣

Paris: La Cité de la Lumière is a good overlooked 2player game.

You need to play Mythic Battles. Fabulous hand management system. It’s simply the best game!

Nice list. For me (no particular order) Fields of Arle Twilight Struggle Patchwork Star Wars Armada Blocks in the East Star Realms Targi Imperial Assault Glen More 2 Hive

Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle Defence Against the Dark Arts is a brilliant 2-player-only deck-building game. Best value $$ vs time played game in my collection, and EVERYONE I introduce it too immediately goes and buys a copy. Highly recommend…! 😊

Thanks so much for the kind words, Paula!