Top 10 2-Player Board Games RIGHT NOW! 

Honestly, the best list you've put out this year. The amount of worth-owning games here cannot be overstated.

I absolutely love watching videos like this. They're perfect for getting ideas for gift-giving occasions like Christmas (which is coming up way too quickly) or finding a new game you want to treat yourself to, because we all deserve that every once in a while. Also, being someone who used to have a review blog specifically focused on these games, two player games have a special place in my heart.

Your content has definitely been growing on me and this one earned the subscribe :). Your balance in discussion and keeping the door open for each of you to contribute to the game you're talking about is truly unparalleled across all the content I look at. Fantastic, guys, and thank you for this list.

I haven’t happened to watch a mvm video for a while but this was a great list. Great video. Really relaxed and interesting reflections and authentic. Thanks! I love 2p games and had lots of joy hearing you reflect on your faves!

I really love the energy of both of you, I think I could watch you talking about games for hours. One of the best compilation of 2 players games that I seen.

I'm a new watcher of the channel. I live in a 2-gamer household, so thank you! This list was really helpful and insightful.

Great, great list, with every game getting a very well-worded motivation . Tx alot!

Thank you for this video Gentlemen! A bunch of very good games. I hadn’t expected, anyone mentioned Crokinole and Quarto. These two have been my classics for ages! 👍🏻. All in all great and interesting choices. Regards.

Woooow top 10s from MvM? Man, it gotta be Christmas, and my wish got granted early! :-D thanks a lot folks!

I almost play exclusively 2-player with my Dad and this is a great list! So many favorites (and a couple of new-to-me ones to check out)!

I just got into Magic last year. A nice surprise to see it on your list but I support! The 2021 sets were just so full of flavor. Great video, thanks!

Awesome list guys! We are a two player household so very useful and some unique picks too… Thank you.

Glad you included Dice Throne, Unmatched, Santorini, and Rebellion. I'd also include Hanamikoji, Imhotep the Duel, Onitama, and War Chest.

FANTASTIC conversation around those games

Fantastic video, guys! Totally agree with you both on 7 Wonders Duel and Targi… both such brilliant games! I didn’t know much about Quarto before this, but now you’ve piqued my interest! (p.s. Love the graphic design/animations throughout! Kudos to whoever did the editing!)

Great lists! Jekyll & Hyde looks like a good one! Fugitive is great - glad it made the list. I backed Marvel Dice Throne to get into that game too.

Targi is incredible. I love it. My wife gets me every time though. 😂

A cracking pair of lists, gentlemen, and I am so pleased to see that Quarto got in there, and at number 1, too - this is also my all-time favourite, so thank you! Great call to include Santorini and MTG though... Like Ryan, I am 100% impressed with MTG Arena, and it's an amazingly helpful introduction to the core MTG game... And thanx again... I always knew Quarto deserved a widet audience! , 👍👌

I love Top 2 Player Game Lists, since Rob and I usually play games with just the two of us. We were super excited to see Star Realms in your list, and there are some in this list we haven't tried yet, so appreciate the recommendations.

Great list! I need to check out some of these.

What good choices guys! So good. Love that Fugitive got showed off. My game would be Warchest. I absolutely love that game. Playing with The Chubby Meeple for my first game play interview on Limeliting was so fun. Just played it last weekend with Tyler with the newest expansion, Seige. What a nice little extra to add to the board and the new characters are great. Even Nobility is pretty good if not for the extras characters to shuffle in. Katie would totally agree with you guys on Watergate. She loves that game so much.

Some interesting picks! Hanamikoji, Onitama, and Mandala are some stand-outs for me that didn’t make your lists (and, of course, Chess). I was really hoping to see Fields of Arle on this list, only because I’m very interested in trying it, and I’m curious to hear you thoughts on it. Quartro just shot to the top of my list of “games I need to try”! Great video!

HOLY CRAP, someone who acknowledges Quarto exists! I have Quarto on my coffee table at home. As a trick-taking game addict, wrapping my mind around the strategy of Jekyll vs. Hyde was painful (in a good way). I've been wanting Santorini for a long time but can't seem to find it in stock. Jaipur got me into market games. Other 2-player games I enjoy: Onitama (arguably my favorite game), The Fox in the Forest (also arguably my favorite game), Schotten Totten, Matcha (not a good game, but a game I'm still fond of), Hanamikoji, Royal Visit, Hive, Mandala *Play well at 2: Piepmatz, Village Green, Azul*

Great video! I was actively shopping while I listened. I play a lot of games with two players. One new one that I'd add to this list is Botanik. It's a real head-to-head game where you build your own gardens with just enough potential sabotage to keep it interesting. Another one that we play A LOT isn't strictly a two-player game but works well that way is Istanbul: The Dice Game (not Istanbul the original game, although that's a fun but much longer game). Istanbul: The Dice Game is easy to teach and allows for time to talk while playing. We also play a lot of roll-and-writes, which aren't strictly two-player, the best of which include Corinth, Cartographers, Welcome to (my perfect home), and Railroad Ink.

Great 2 player game list, I had several cross overs with your list. Some of my favorites not mentioned are Morels, Tides of Time and Longhorn!

For 7 Wonders Duels... we sold our Pantheon expansion, felt too much for us. And the base game is simply amazing!

Just got Mantis Falls. Really a fascinating 2 player Hidden Traitor game. Yep. Plays really well with great components. Can’t wait to play more.

Great job, excellent list!...♥️

Ryan recommended Fantasy Realms years ago, and ever since then I've tried to exclusively follow him. His recommendations are solid and spot-on. Fantasy realms was such a hidden gem, it's shocking. Please post more of your top lists Ryan!

Nice list, guys. It quite says something about the numbers of gret two-pklayer games, that there was zero crossover with my top seven 2P games: 1. Android Netrunner 2. Lord of the Rings Confrontation 3. Baseball Highlights 2045 4. Dice Masters 5. Radlands 6. Blitzkrieg! 7. BattleCON Devastation of Indines

Great lists! I'm so ready for the next Mayday Crokinole kickstarter which starts tomorrow, I think? There are quite a few crossovers with my list but one that isn't is Tak. I got to play Tak for the first time late last year. It has really deep strategy with many twists and turns. You can be sure you've got it won and suddenly you're on the back foot. It's incredibly fun.

great list, I'll add two that are really fun and lesser known, leverage, a milton bradley game from the 80s and hounded a game from a small publisher, worth checking out!!!

Targi is one of the most underrated games out there. One of the best 2 player games easily

Great list, own many, and will try those suggested. Here’s Some of Our Favorite Two Player Games in Random Order: 1. Capital Lux / Capital Lux: Generations (plays up to four, we prefer head to head) 2. Hanamikoji 3. Morels 4. Tides of Time / Tides of Madness 5. Rapa Nui (Kosmos german only edition) / Bali (English new edition) (plays up to four, we prefer head to head) 6. Lyngk (latest in GIPF series of abstracts) 7. Terraforming Mars (Corporate Era, Draft Variant) (plays up to four, we prefer head to head) 8. Ginkgopolis (plays up to four, we prefer head to head) Many more but those are our favorites.

I want to add sovereign skies. Yes, it plays 2-4, but its' the first game i've played in a while where i feel the tension is just as good at 2 as it is at 3 or 4.

Love Man vs Meeple and most of my games as a married man are played 2 player. Some of my faves are Abyss, 7 wonders Duel, and Dutch blitz

I’m giving Land vs Sea as a Christmas present. Star Wars Rebellion is on my Top Ten to purchase. Jaipur - I’ve heard the name. Lanterns uses the a similar mechanic for gaining the decreasing points. I’m looking forward to the delivery of “Quin” next year. Any “War Of The Ring” fans here for that two player game?

Fantastic list, tons of great games

Star Realms - I am eagerly anticipating the Deluxe Nova Collection from their KS campaign.

Dice Throne - The presentation in season two is of course redesigned, but still, it's the same game system as season 1. You can choose your characters the same way etc..

Have you all played Morels? It is a tight, fast, tense 2 player only game.

My wife and I play a lot of 7WDuel and Dice Throne. She's also a big fan of Duelosaur Island. I backed the It's a Wonderful Kingdom campaign because it def looks like our kind of duel game

Good list. 7 wonders Duel is our favorite. We also like Unmatched.

Didn't see those number 1's coming!

If you can find a copy of the old Victory Point Games title "For the Crown", I suspect you may have a new addition to your top 10 lists. It's an amazing combination of deck building and chess. It really deserves a component upgrade and reprint.

Great episode. Love Santorini, 7WDuel, not played my copy of Land vs Sea yet, but I will love it as I am an absolute Carcassonne (with all expansions) fan. Star Wars I am not the greatest fan of the theme (even though I love good Sci-Fi) but Star Wars Armada is in my top 10 games of all time. Crokinole - I need to get a board on my own, but I am afraid that a good board is financially out of my reach! Quarto - you convinced me to finally get a copy. Seen it in the shop so many times. How about Onitama or Pentago. But my absolute favorite game of all time is Go by far.

You guys have very different tastes in games and it make for very good and balanced content.

Great vid, guys. I'm shocked though! Where is Twilight Struggle??????? That game is perhaps the best 2-player board game ever created!!

A good alternative for crokinole is Klask, especially if you have some problems with your hands :p I like the tactics that come with crokinole but my hand just doesn't really wanna do what I need it to do, after an illness it always remained a bit wonky. but Klask while not as strategic and tactical is also more than just ... try to get it in a whole and a great dexterity game if flicking just isn't working out for you :D

Great list, I hope you'll make other top 10 lists as well. Some of my favourite 2-player games are: Targi, 7 Wonders Duel, Morels, Jaipur, Botanik, Mandala, Watergate, Patchwork, Schotten Totten, Stellar

Oh boy,. Undaunted, Naga Raja, Shobu, Agricola: All creatures...., War Chest....A little surprised some of these weren't on the list anywhere! So many great 2-player games out there!

No Radlands by Roxley? :( Great video though. Very interested in Targi.

Great lists. Love targi. Star realms and quarto

I stopped 40 secs in and threw my hands up with excitement! THANK YOU for mentioning that this is for "2 Player designed games" and not you enjoy at the 2 Player count! Thank you for being upfront about that. Now I cannot wait to watch the rest.

akrotiri, 7w duel, jaipur, patchwork, dice throne, air land sea, a few acers of snow, hanamikoji, battleline...

Great list - I like that you didn’t do a “cult of the new” list. I would like to add Hive and Raptor. Hive can be played anywhere, no board needed, and it does not take long. Raptor is an asymmetric, tactical knife fight. Plays very quick, and if you like interaction, this has it in spades.

War of the Ring! Huge agreement with Star Wars: Rebellion, btw... an easy favorite. I also love Raptor.

Actually got to try Crokinole for the first time on PAXU … would have gotten a boyardo but they were sold out 😞

This was a blind click because it's y'all. I never thought about Star Wars Rebellion as a throwback to playing with my Star Wars toys. Makes sense.

Regarding Crokinole ... any thoughts on another good dexterity game Klask? And aside from Jaipur.. what games on the list are good to play digitally on PC? Quarto Crokinole Jaipur (good as app) Santorini Paris City of Lights Watergate Fugitive Land Vs Sea Jekyll Vs Hyde Magic The Gathering 7 Wonders Duel Star Wars Rebellion Watergate Targi Dice Thrown Unmatched Lawyer Up Land Vs Sea Star Realms

Cool idea: keep the name of the game you are talking about for as long as you are talking about that game. that way if we get distracted we don't have to rewind the video to the few seconds the name of the game is displayed. Great video otherwise.

Dice Throne 🎲 is my #1 highly recommended game. The art and components are awesome with amazing balanced asymmetric characters. Easy setup and easy teach.

Great video!! You made some great recommendations and put some new games on my wishlist. Some suggestions for other great two-player games: Fields of Arle (a big box Uwe farming fans designed just for two) Battle Line (so tense!) Jambo (or standalone expansion Asante) Odin’s Ravens

You guys have tried DVONN, TZAAR and Tintas? I recommend to try these three. Excellent 2-player abstracts. You like The Rose King? Entertaining. Best 2-player dice game to me is Claim It! (2006). Area control with push your luck. My favourite 2-player is still Carcassonne. Carcassonne The Castle is also in my top 10, but without the bonuses as a house rule.

"a lot of it is rewriting Star Wars History" "just like the new movies." Well played sir, well played.

Did you mention Asante/Jambo ? Android Netrunner

Thank u so much!!!

Im always looking for the opposite… Great 2 player games that also play with more. Since I play mostly with my wife, I’m always looking for some crunchy euros that play amazing @2. Thanx for the vid 🙌🏽

Excellent list! Missing 1960 making of a president though.

Grand Austria Hotel is the best 2 player board ever. That it a fact!

Love that you mentioned Lawyer Up and Fugitive, but you missed Getaway Driver.

Great list! My choice for THE best 2p game in 2021 will be Mantis Falls from Distant Rabbit Games! 🙂

Good list. The two player space in board games is truly impressive. I never recommend MTG despite picking it up every 4 years or so - it's a cash sink without good cause. It has a hook of getting you to a place where you want your deck to do more, but the costs increases exponentially to make those fun game play leaps. The costs to buy enough booster boxes across two years to be in the active standard MTG space thus getting that real variability and fun of the game is to the level of a year worth of kickstarters for big name board games. Arena is a bit less, but then you can't sell off your cards so there's no recovering any of the gaming investment.

Request: please leave the game name (and box cover thumbnail? ) on screen while you're talking about it.

I had a very similar unmatched game. Bruce Lee vs velociraptors

I feel like you missed Lost Cities also :)...but I respect that. I'm interested to see what you guys think of Pachakuna when it is finally out in ciruclation.

Summoner wars second edition is a blast to play.

Ryan has my taste of games

Very interesting tip 10 list, which definitely included some of my favorites... Jaipur, Santorini and 7 Wonders Duel. I've seen Quarto in shops, but never knew how to play. I will be interested in giving it a try! The only games not mentioned on either list, would have to include are Hanamikoji, Air, Land and Sea, Codename Duet and Claim. 😎

Great list, but I think you accidentally put Dice Throne at position 6 instead of 1. Oh well, everybody makes mistakes. :P Also, speaking of Crokinole, another great dexterity game for 2 players is Klask. It is brilliant and hilarious and gets better and better the more you play it.

Where is 13 Days? That’s my favorite 2 player game. Also, how about Dual Powers, Lost Cities, and Mr Jack? There are so many good games out there…

Love Quarto!

Why no timestamps...

Abalone should fits you too...

Also MtG isn't really a board game is it?

The time stamps are all messed up

What? No War of the Ring or Netrunner? :P

Targi is in my top 10 overall

Fields of Arles and Grand Austria Hotel

"Blow up the X-Wing?" Ryan, are you a sith?

Great choices here. Here’s a few more I really enjoy: --Memoir ‘44 -War of the Ring, second edition -Hands in the Sea

Where can I buy fugitive?!

Favorite abstract game: Twixt

not putting timestamps doesn't make me watch more, just to get bounce earlier

once again, a list good enough to clap cheeks to.

Uuuuh.... No Summoner Wars second edition on this list?! It's the king of two player tactical card games!

What about Oceans?

@40:40 😂😂😂😂 yo that was absolutely savage!!! But completely true too, the new movies are trash.

Time stamps please.

Ankh is AMAZING 2 player