Best board games for two players: types that work well for couples and friends

What makes a game good with two

• Direct interaction: with one opponent, every move you make affects them, and the game becomes a duel of wits.
• No downtime: turns pass back and forth quickly, so nobody waits around.
• Little luck to resent, or plenty to laugh at: either works, depending on your pair.
• A short playing time, so you can play twice in an evening, swapping who goes first.

Games designed for two

• Patchwork: designed by Uwe Rosenberg. Each player buys oddly shaped fabric pieces to fit into their own quilt board, spending buttons and time. It is calm, puzzly and quick.
• Jaipur: a card game in which two merchants trade goods in a market, deciding when to take cards and when to sell for the best value. Quick and tense.
• Lost Cities: a two-player card game by Reiner Knizia about funding expeditions. You decide which expeditions to commit to, and abandoning one at the wrong moment costs points. A round is short.
• 7 Wonders Duel: by Antoine Bauza and Bruno Cathala, released in 2015. A two-player take on building a civilisation, with several different ways to win.

Multiplayer types that also work with two

• Tile laying: Carcassonne, for example, is a popular two-player game, and the head-to-head version can be more tactical than a larger game.
• Deck-building: with two, you can watch exactly what your opponent is buying and respond to it.
• Co-operative games: with two, co-ops are about teamwork rather than competition, and many work well with a pair. Look for ones that say they scale to two.
• Abstract strategy: games with no hidden information or luck, where the only thing that matters is the moves. If you already love these, the Chess room on the site covers chess separately.

Types that tend to be weaker with two

• Negotiation and trading games: there is only one person to trade with, and they always know what you want.
• Social deduction and voting games: these need a crowd.
• Party games: most need teams or several guessers, though some have two-player modes.

Tips for playing as a couple

1. Alternate the first player between games, since going first can matter.
2. Pick by mood: a co-op on an evening when you want to be on the same side, a tight duel when you want to compete.
3. Agree on house rules before you start, especially "take-backs" when a move was a misclick of the mind.
4. Keep score over a series, which takes the sting out of one bad game.
5. Read the box carefully: phrases like "best with three or more" are a hint.