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Games that Are Worth Purchasing Solely for Playing Two-Player, but Are Capable of Supporting More Players
B. Udral


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I'm in the common situation of liking board games, not having the time and energy to join a game group, and playing mostly with my wife. There are a large number of great games made for two players, but usually they are smaller in scope than games that can accommodate more players.

This list is of games that are playable by 2 or more, but are worth purchasing solely to play as a two player game. If it does not "officially" support 2, but has a two player variant that makes it a worthwhile purchase, that is just fine. I don't want any games that only support two on the list, as those are obviously worth purchasing just for two players.

To be clear, for purposes of this list, it does not matter how the game plays with more than two players. It does not matter how many players it is "best" with. What matters is whether the game is worth purchasing only to be played with two players.

Other geeklists that are similar are here, but none are as comprehensive as this aims to be:

http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/2816
http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/984
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/14971

A particularly good list is here, with much more in depth commentary:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/14040

A geeklist with 2-player variants is here, which includes some of the variants discussed below:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/15749

Feel free to comment or add more games. I've added games that I think are worth purchasing just for two, and games that I haven't played, but appear from forum comments and other geeklists to be worthwhile.

May 2009: Edits made. I rearranged to put some of my favorite two player games on top. (dragging is annoying for large geeklists!)



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Posted Wed Feb 14, 2007 2:13 am
Edited Tue May 5, 2009 9:40 am
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1. Board Game: Carcassonne [Average Rating:7.49 Overall Rank:66]
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B. Udral


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 The Best Two Player game. We play with all expansions except River II and Catapult. We've heavily customized rules (especially for dragon and princess, and cults).

I get ambition, will sometime post my Ultimate Carcassonne Rules.
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Edited Tue May 5, 2009 8:49 am
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This is my favorite two player game. Its worth purchasing this and all the expansions especially for two.
Jon
United States
Vancouver
WA
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For just two players, I wouldn't buy this. Carc: The Castle is much better for 2 players.
William Hostman
United States
Eagle River
Alaska
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For me, only base set, Discovery, or Castle are worthy.

I prefer 3-4 players, but have played with as many as 8.
Joel Roberts
Australia
Melbourne
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Three is the sweet spot for me. Two and four are okay though.
Daniël Muilwijk
Netherlands

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This is an excellent game for two persons, but when you do that it isn't a friendly game anymore, as stated. With more than two players it becomes a very social game indeed with a lot of cooperation, but also with betrayal lurking in the dark. Still, playing this with two persons gets my preference and it becomes a pretty strategic experience then. So I guess that if you like to play games with little luck involved, the two player game will have your vote.
2. Board Game: Goa [Average Rating:7.82 Overall Rank:22]
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A good big meaty game for two. If we want that, our first two choices are usually this or T&E. This one gets better each time we play.
Dave Eisen
United States
Palo Alto (bay area)
California
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Not me. Plays entirely differently with 2 vs. more than 2. It is one of the great 2-player games ever designed, with more, the money is weird and I don't find it nearly as interesting.
Simon Robinson
England
Bewdley
Confusion
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Our top 2player.
We vary it by giving an extra action Card to the first player to advance any one of the 5 tracks rather than having to get all 5 to the next line. It brings 5x as many actions into play. We drop to the normal rule with 3/4 players.
Renato Tavares
Brazil
Goiânia
Goiás
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Quote:
This game seams to play the almost the same with 2, 3 or 4 players


I like GOA with two. However, the auction phase seems to be less interesting when you play it with only two players… :shake:
Pierce Ostrander
United States
Manassas
Virginia
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A Goa variant to spice up the 2-Player auction:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/118666
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Edited Sun Nov 1, 2009 2:40 pm
3. Board Game: Tigris & Euphrates [Average Rating:8.00 Overall Rank:9]
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 Great with 2. Requires Heavy Thinking though, so we don't pull it out as much as we should.
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Edited Tue May 5, 2009 8:58 am
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I've read complaints that there isn't enough confrontation in this when played with two, but I don't see it. It has always been a great play for us. Perhaps if you have two very nonconfrontational people going out of their way to avoid any conflicts, you could do it, but I don't buy the criticism of two player T&E.
Gunnar Braaten
Norway
Oslo
Oslo
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With the exact same rules, I think the German version of the game says 2-4.

And I love this game with two players by the way! A lot of tension, and tough decisions with any number of players.
ronaldinho @boardspace.net
Taiwan

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budral8 wrote:
But its definitely worth purchasing even if you will only play it with two players.


Really? I played one game with two, maybe it was just that one game, but conflicts were tough to seek and didn't seem very viable. It degenerated to leaders sitting on monuments and generating cubes turn after turn after turn.
M C
United States
Orem
Utah
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There is a two player map variant for the online version here on BGG now.
Corin Friesen
United States
Orange County
California
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drunkenKOALA wrote:
budral8 wrote:
But its definitely worth purchasing even if you will only play it with two players.


Really? I played one game with two, maybe it was just that one game, but conflicts were tough to seek and didn't seem very viable. It degenerated to leaders sitting on monuments and generating cubes turn after turn after turn.

Fight for that position. If you let your opponent do it, you did something wrong. One mistake and you are cooked. It's great for 2!
4. Board Game: Puerto Rico [Average Rating:8.31 Overall Rank:2]
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 They should have included the 2P rules and marketed it as 2-5.

I have no problem owning this and never playing it with more than 2. It's really good. (Not quite as good as Goa for 2 though).
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Edited Tue May 5, 2009 9:10 am
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The official two player variant seems popular, but many use other variants that seem to work as well.
NaNoWriMo! (Erik Warnes)
United States
Waldorf
Maryland
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I recently started playing this again. It's a very decent 2-player game. I'd say it's worth it.
Bartosz Sawicki
Poland
Warszawa
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It's a great game. No matter how many players are there. But with two it really shines, in my opinion. It's a bit less heavy as compared to games with 3-5 players. I have a feeling of a player getting more control over the actions and strategies.
Henric Fröberg
Sweden

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I've played the variant with 2 players controlling 2 boards each a couple of times. You play just like a 4p game and your score is that of your lowest board.

It works pretty fine, but you have a greater ability to combo this way. Say the play order is player A, board 1, B1, A2, B2 and A1 is governor. Then you can craft with B2 and as B1 is governor next, you can ship (or craft/trade or whatever fits you best), thus giving a big boost to one of your boards.
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I agree. The 2p variant is solid and very enjoyable - even against the same player many times (sprinkling in the "expansion" buildings helps keep up interest).
5. Board Game: Torres [Average Rating:7.31 Overall Rank:116]
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Great game for two. It really feels light for me, though I know my wife doesn't see it this way. Lots of variants included for varying gameplay when the main game gets stale (which will be a long while for us yet).
Michiel Hillenius
Netherlands
Hoogland (Amersfoort)
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Agreed. Jump to the master version straight away. With all action cards in hand at the start you exclude any form of luck at all. The joint mission card to accomplish for bonuspoints adds a nice extra way of scoring points to the game.
Alan Kaiser
United States
Aurora
Colorado
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Great with two and always use the master rules no matter how many players you have.
Alain Renaud
Canada

Québec
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A lot more strategic with only two player!
m d
United States
tyngsboro
ma
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Awesome with two.
Pete Lane
United States
Saint Paul
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I disagree. I found it really dry and too easy to have mimicking turns. "Oh you're doing this, I should do it too just so I don't have to catch up as much." It's just way too easy to sit on either side of the board and do this.
6. Board Game: San Juan [Average Rating:7.43 Overall Rank:74]
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 Great game. It could use an expansion though.

Race for the Galaxy eclipses this, but RftG is a step up in complexity. Start with San Juan if you are just getting into games.
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Edited Tue May 5, 2009 9:12 am
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Awesome with two players. I never get sick of this game, even though it is rather like two-player solitaire. "Two player solitaire" is a frequent criticism of many games listed for two players, but on occasion, two player solitaire is still fun. It helps that the game is fast, and the interaction level is the same as it is for three or four players.
Dick Hunt
United States
Ovid
Michigan
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If you take the Library cards out of the deck (recommended even by the game's designer in 2-player mode), San Juan is an excellent 2-player game. If you play it with 2 while using the Library cards, however, the whole game is a race to build the first Library.

If both players get one built within a turn or two of each other, the game is once again a good toss-up and fun to play. But if either player can build a Library significantly earlier than his opponent, the Librarian is going to win every time. Having a few extra turns with the use of a Library is an insurmountable advantage.

So dump the Library cards from the deck, and San Juan is a great 2-player game.
John Burt
Canada
Calgary
Alberta
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My wife refuses to play this two player anymore. She finds there is not enough time to do any sort of strategy.
W M
United Kingdom
London
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I thought I'd like this with 2 but didn't. Too dry with obvious choices and too much luck.
Bartosz Sawicki
Poland
Warszawa
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Great with two, great with three, great with four, a great game, admit it! ;)
7. Board Game: Ticket to Ride [Average Rating:7.52 Overall Rank:55]
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 Ticket to Ride and all spinoffs.

Get the Switzerland map!

And, I think the dice expansion is pretty fun. With dice, we don't score links, just route cards! A lot more suspense and a lot faster. (we recycle route cards, but you could play until the route care pile is gone).
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Edited Tue May 5, 2009 9:03 am
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I hate this for two, but I've read about enough others who like it that I included it for comment. The board is too big, and there is little chance of having your route blocked, taking a lot of tension out of the game. Maybe if each person played two colors it would work.

I've heard the Europe map works better for two. This could really use a two player expansion map.
B D
United States

New York
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IMHO, T2R plays very well with 2 players. I play this all the time with my wife or my son (USA & Marklin)

We also play together, i.e. 3-player games, and for our style of family play, I really don't see much difference. We all like this game a lot.
Ricky Purnomo
Singapore
Unspecified
Unspecified
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T2R for two is only "fun" if you are into cut-throat mode and play accordingly. Played "socially", there is too much space that you won't go into accidental blocking (the fun of playing 5-player version - navigating cramped spaces) if you play for 2.

But played very competitively, intentional blocking is the name of the game. I have lost 110 - 2 (!) when first playing 2P on line, against an experience person who predicted my lines and set out to block them (and incurring many negatives for me). Yes, this means you have to be competitive enough to know all the possible route cards and deduce what your opponent has. But those who do this can really tear the opponent apart. Hence an earlier comment about "no blocking" request for online play. A game between 2 experienced player would be a strategic cat-and-mouse game. And this works better for T2R USA since for Europe, the train station can work around blocks.

Played in that vicious mode, I give T2R two-thumbs-up for 2P. Otherwise, stick to 4 and above.
William Hostman
United States
Eagle River
Alaska
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The only way I play with 2 is the swiss map. 3p I like the swiss map, but will play the Europe map. I find US map too confrontational, period.
Mike Walsh
Finland
Espoo
Unspecified
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These days there is also the Nordic Countries set which is just as good for two as the Swiss one.

That said I still enjoy playing all the standard boxed versions (US, Europe and Märklin/Germany) even with two people.

Some of the variants - especially the ones with tight maps like Belgium and Portugal (I've not tried Italy which might be similar) are also pretty good with two players although to be fair my favourite variant is the French map which I suspect would be even better with 4 players.
Edited Fri May 22, 2009 11:36 am
8. Board Game: Citadels [Average Rating:7.32 Overall Rank:95]
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 One of the best games out there. It's great with 2, and the expansion gives good variety.
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I really like this with two. It results in really getting into the head of one's opponent.
NaNoWriMo! (Erik Warnes)
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Waldorf
Maryland
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2-player with this game is a mixed bag. I don't particularly like it but i can see it being a good 2-player game.

I haven't tried it with the witch and tax collector yet.
Michal Vit
Czech Republic
Zabcice
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I also think it plays best with 2 or 3 players because it adds a lot of psychological aspects. With more players it's getting just more chaotic.
Edited Mon Apr 23, 2007 12:42 pm
Joshua OConnor
Hong-Kong
New York
New York
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Played some games in two and decided it would be sufficiently more fun in four to not want to play it in two again.
Pierce Ostrander
United States
Manassas
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A two player variant can be found here:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/112866
9. Board Game: Tikal [Average Rating:7.43 Overall Rank:79]
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K Bent
United States
Seattle
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Not quite. A little stale with just 2 people I am afraid. It really needs more people.
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Due to the fact Java is out of print, I'm getting this soon even if it isn't as good of a game as Java is with two.

UPDATE: Got it and like it a lot. Auction variant is very good. I really want Java now.
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Edited Tue May 5, 2009 9:45 am
Renato Tavares
Brazil
Goiânia
Goiás
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It really needs more people

I think it needs more workers... It plays very well with only two players, but at the end of the game you can't do anything else, because you don't have markers anymore...
Maarten D. de Jong
Netherlands
Zaandam
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Perfectly fine with 2, when it isn't quite so simple as it looks. (Any region---save for those with a guard---can score as long as you place sufficient men in it, and this balance is tricky.)
Susan L.
Canada
Lethbridge
Alberta
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2-player Tikal is easily my favourite form of the game. Placement becomes more crucial and I find you're less likely to win/lose simply based on luck of the draw. (I would have expressed this on the "best # players" list, but I haven't yet found the thumbs up and thumbs down icons for within a post.)
10. Board Game: Attika [Average Rating:7.17 Overall Rank:165]
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 Great with 2. A nice, solid game.
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Mike Adams
United States
Brigham City
Utah
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This is great with two, likely at its best.
Uba Rose
United States
Vernon
Connecticut
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This is currently my favorite two player game.
Dan Poole
United States
Goldsboro
North Carolina
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a pretty boring game overall, but I agree it plays very well with 2
Lyman Moquin
United States
Washington
Dist of Columbia
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It is ONLY run as a 2 player contest at WBC.
11. Board Game: Maharaja: Palace Building in India [Average Rating:7.38 Overall Rank:103]
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 Very unique mechanics, a great addition to any collection. It reminds me of Hansa, and it is a lot more fun.
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Another good Kramer game. Of all the games I have, I miss a rule on this one more than any other. The gameplay is unlike any other game we have, and it works great for two players.
Ed
United States
Oakland
California
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I've only played this once with two, but as I recall it was still pretty good. Remember with two only one player is allowed to build per village, which makes for some fun "move the house" opportunities.
J Martin
Canada
Milton
Ontario
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GREAT game for 2- one of my favourites (obviously). Need to play with the author's advanced variants though (multiple characters, etc.).
Ivan Watling
England
Mirfield
West Yorkshire
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Really didn't like this with two players.
Kevin Beckey
United States
Minneapolis
Minnesota
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Fantastic 2-player game if using multiple character variant.
Edited Wed Feb 27, 2008 9:30 pm
12. Board Game: Samurai [Average Rating:7.55 Overall Rank:51]
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 Great with 2p, and one of the best Knizias but it's been eclipsed by the new. I think about pulling it out, but usually go with something less abstract.
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Luke Morris
Japan
Nagoya
Aichi
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There of course are the worries that only playing half the boards may take away from the experience, but I still love this just as much with 2 players.
Kristian
United States
Seattle
Washington
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It's pretty easy to count who has majorities in what commodities with two. That would be my only gripe about it. Otherwise excellent game.
Guy Riessen
United States
petaluma
California
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Excellent for 2! The game scales perfeectly from 2 to 4.
Mike Summers
United States
Ammon
Idaho
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Eryops wrote:
It's pretty easy to count who has majorities in what commodities with two. That would be my only gripe about it. Otherwise excellent game.


Agreed. No need to even hide your captured pieces. Whenever you want to know what your opponent has you can see your own + what's on the map + what was removed from the map because of ties. Subtract that number from 7 and that's what your opponent has. :p
Russ Williams
Poland
Wrocław
Dolny ÅšlÄ…sk
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Eryops wrote:
It's pretty easy to count who has majorities in what commodities with two. That would be my only gripe about it. Otherwise excellent game.

Which is probably why the rules state that the points are public in the 2-player game. (At least the rules I've seen say that.)
13. Board Game: O Zoo le Mio [Average Rating:6.77 Overall Rank:433]
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 Severely underrated game. Use a steady money stream and pretend its a grant. That evens out the runaway leader problem. It feels very thematic.

I don't know how this compares to Zoolaretto, but I like this enough that I don't feel any desire for another zoo game.
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This is also very good with two, even though it has an auction element, blind bidding. It is really frustrating to make a bid far above one's opponent. Some don't like that in a game, but I enjoy it.
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Here is a good thread on income variants to lessen the runaway leader problem. http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/32552
Dan Poole
United States
Goldsboro
North Carolina
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Great with 3 or 4. Decent with 2
Don Mills
United States

Virginia
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We play this as 2 all the time and think it's great.
Pete Grey
United States
Portland
Oregon
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really good with 2
14. Board Game: Caylus [Average Rating:7.99 Overall Rank:11]
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 Seems to be worth it, but I have lots of other games I'm more interested in at the moment.
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Christian Fechner
Germany
Gladbeck
Ruhrgebiet
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Can be played with more players, but the long duration with more makes it a good gmae for two.
Eva Crespo
United States
Saint Louis
Missouri
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2p Caylus is disappointing in my opinion. You may win (or lose) by your second action! Everything is crucial and a bad move will kill the rest of your actions. Impossible to catch the leader!
David Turner
United States
Dallas
Texas
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I prefer it with 2.
Tom Fisher
United States
Lakeville
Minnesota
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Good with 2 players, but when one goes in the castle first the other has to select the royal favor action or you never catch up. So purple becomes the dominant cube to get.
T. Nomad
New Zealand
Winnipeg/Auckland/Cheonan
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Couldn't disagree more with the inclusion. I find 2pl Caylus to be a recipe for a blowout (sometimes even without the castle). Haven't played it yet without a huge score gap. 3p, by contrast, is invariably close.
15. Board Game: Ra [Average Rating:7.73 Overall Rank:28]
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 I'll leave it on the list because there are mixed opinions. I think my distaste for playing with 2 on this stems mostly form my distaste for this game generally. (the whole game is a bizarre, annoying scoring system)
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I've heard there are good variants that make this worth getting for two. This looks like a popular one: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/17800
Nyarlathotep
United States
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The variant does work, and it's a very enjoyabl 2p experience (surprisingly), but really there are so many better 2p options.
Dan Poole
United States
Goldsboro
North Carolina
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An Awesome game, though I can't imagine it being much fun with just 2
Maarten D. de Jong
Netherlands
Zaandam
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With 2 it's a very psychological game, and depends greatly on you knowing how far you can play the game of chicken. It shares this trait with Goa. If you like this aspect, Ra is a worthwhile addition.
Scapegoat
United States
Houston
Texas
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I love Ra, and the 2 player variants around here worked, but I didn't find it to be any fun.
Damon Asher
United States
Jefferson
MA
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I think this works surprisingly well with the 2 player variant. I've had several tense, enjoyable games with my wife. I'd much rather play 2 player Ra than Medici vs. Strozzi.
16. Board Game: Through the Desert [Average Rating:7.26 Overall Rank:115]
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 Pretty popular here.

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7 comments [Hide]
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Not my favorite game, but it is slowly growing on me. This game illustrates a problem with scaling games for 2 to more players. On the one hand, limiting the board size for two players makes one feel as though the experience is lacking. Look there's all that board we aren't playing with! On the other hand, not limiting the board size can ruin the ability of a game to play two player (see ticket to ride).

UPDATE: It stopped growing on me. Really fiddly for the time and fun you get out of it. Do people who really love this play it as a brain burner or quick and light? I really don't understand this game's appeal.

Play Terra Nova instead.
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Edited Tue May 5, 2009 9:48 am
Iain K
United States
Lakewood
Colorado
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This is an excellent two player game .. . but a great deal depends upon the other player's ability and agressiveness.

FYI, Ticket to Ride using all of the 1910 expansion's tickets is a much better game (2 player or otherwise) then the original.
Ryan Sturm
United States
Lancaster
New York
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My only complaint is sometimes im just too lazy to set up all those little dots and sort all the camels and such. :snore:
Kris Verbeeck
Belgium
Mol
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Best 2 player game out there IMO.
William Crispin
United States
Wilmington
Massachusetts
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2 player is very good. More like a classic abstract. There is potential for large area surrounds. It is a more strategic game than with 3 or more. You can and must make longer range plans.
17. Board Game: Big City [Average Rating:6.97 Overall Rank:300]
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 I'm still waiting for the reprint. I can't wait for this one.
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Edited Tue May 5, 2009 9:08 am
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George Kinney
United States
Bellefontaine
Ohio
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My wife and I enjoy this one, its a bit easier to guess what cards your opponent is holding with just two players, but that makes it all the more fun to plop down factories where you know they'll be the most disruptive.
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When is this being reprinted? Valley games website hasn't had much to say about it since announcing the reprint.
Intergalactic Trucker
United States
Houston
Texas
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Looks like it got lost in the shuffle.
18. Board Game: Clans [Average Rating:6.61 Overall Rank:527]
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A decent game, not one I'd want to play all that often. The unknown color element makes this fun, but it seems like there isn't enough incentive to keep one's color hidden. Giving points for a successful guess of one's opponent's color might incentivize keeping one's color hidden.
Dan Poole
United States
Goldsboro
North Carolina
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I like this because of the unknown elements. Pretty cool with 2, though not my favorite game in the world
William Springer
United States
Fort Collins
Colorado
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IMO this game is at its best with just 2; once you add more it's generally whoever acts after the worst player who wins. With just 2, it's a great game.
ronaldinho @boardspace.net
Taiwan

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Best with two.
jan waeben
Belgium
Humbeek
Brabant
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Great with 2!

As with many abstract games, more players cause more chaos.

I prefer to be in control, so I enjoy 2player.
19. Board Game: Carolus Magnus [Average Rating:7.00 Overall Rank:273]
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K Bent
United States
Seattle
Washington
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Agreed - great with 2!
Christian Fechner
Germany
Gladbeck
Ruhrgebiet
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Best with 2.
With 3 players you always have the problem of the kingmaker.
With 4 players the team that first manages to get 4 turns in a row in midgame wins every time.
Nyarlathotep
United States
Unspecified
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Love this game with any amount of players, feels like it scales wonderfully.
20. Board Game: El Caballero [Average Rating:6.70 Overall Rank:618]
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K Bent
United States
Seattle
Washington
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thumbsupthumbsupthumbsup
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Reprint coming sometime soon I hear.
Chad Winter
United States
Farmington
Utah
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Quote:
Reprint coming sometime soon I hear.


Let's hope so.
21. Board Game: Cartagena [Average Rating:6.78 Overall Rank:359]
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Sanjay Subrahmanyan
India
Chennai
Tamil Nadu
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Ah! A one time favorite at home!
22. Board Game: Alhambra [Average Rating:7.09 Overall Rank:175]
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Another game that is okay. The dummy third player (Matt, Dirk, Jimmy or whatever his name is) used for playing with two actually adds a fun and unusual element.
Matthew Smith
United States
Orion
Michigan
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My wife lost to Matt the first time we tried this two-player, so she now hates Matt and two-player Alhambra. Yes, hates.

Yes, my name is Matt too, but she doesn't hate me. Just the other Matt. At least, I hope so.
Dick Hunt
United States
Ovid
Michigan
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This is a favorite 2-player game of me and the missus, and has been for a long time. We played it that way for a long time before realizing that we also loved it with 3 players. There's not the usual dogfight factor when playing with 3, so it's excellent for either 2 or 3 players.

It accommodates anywhere up to six players, but it's a disaster with more than three, in my opinion. It gets far too chaotic with more people. Either you buy the buildings you can afford to buy when it's your turn, or else you'll be looking at an entirely different market by the time your turn rolls around again. With more than three players, your ability to plan ahead is shot to hell. And with every player you add, it seems that the downtime between your turns multiplies exponentially. Everyone has to check out everyone else's Alhambra-building progress in order to figure out where he stands, and waiting around while each player does THAT makes the game excruciating for more than 3 players.
Guy Riessen
United States
petaluma
California
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This is great fun with 2, my wife and I play it fairly often.
Japhy Sullivan
Canada

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The Dummy Third player also works great in Mykerinos and Ys, Ys espesially Ys. In fact, I think Ys is best with two players.

I'm designing a majority game right now, I havn't tried it with two players but it probobly will use a Dummy player.
23. Board Game: Nexus Ops [Average Rating:7.23 Overall Rank:154]
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I think this is good fun with two players. A good dice roll attack game for two players. I don't know of any other games like this that are fun for two.
Lacey's Grandpa
United States
Grand Priarie, Texas (between Arlington and Dallas)
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Your use of the words, "...like this..." would absolve you of any offense. Afterall, there is nothing quite like Nexus Ops.

Gg
Robert Martin
United States
Atlanta
Georgia
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It's "OK" with two players, but it wants more.
Blake Phillips
United States
Montague
Massachusetts
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I don't agree with the "OK" label. It is a great game - for 2, 3 and 4. The addition of Secret Mission victory point cards and the initial exploration phase/alternate board configuration are what I think makes this a great game. You can win by eliminating your opponent (though rare - I have yet to see it happen) but the focus is on points which adds to the decisions that you have to make each turn. You never know what your opponent might be planning and you have to take into account what Secret Missions he may try to complete. The war for the planets resources may seem to be going one way but a good turn of completed Secret Missions can bring victory to the underdog. Also - I have used this game to bring a few new gamers into the fold - guys who played Risk etc when younger and had no idea what new stuff is out there now. Just last week I did this and the guy bought the game 2 days later and is hosting our next gaming session. I label that a great game. That said - there are certainly other games that have more depth and I can see some wanting 'more' but that does not lessen the value of Nexus Ops.
David notlisted
United States
Cedar Rapids
Iowa
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This is a great game. It is a fun wargame that rewards attacks. The rules are simple, yet it has strategy. Do you go for the monolith, the mines, the secret missions. It plays quick enough to get 2-3 games in a night. It is simple enough to play with young kids (my 8 yr old loves it). Newbies pick up quick. Can't say it is my wife's favorite game, but she will play it with me as it goes quick. It has a variable board and cool looking pieces. I only wish the board was a bit bigger and it had an expansion for 6 player.
24. Board Game: Antike [Average Rating:7.29 Overall Rank:145]
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C Lloyd
United States

Massachusetts
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How does this play with two? It feels like one of those games that won't play that well without 4 or 5 people.
Guy Riessen
United States
petaluma
California
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Although reasonably fun with 2, I would hesitate saying you should purchase it strictly for the 2-player game (part of your rules to this list which seems to be only sometime remembered by the posters!). There are many on this list I'd recommend before this one for 2.
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But are there any other civ type games that play better with two? I'm ready to get this for two just for the civ-type gameplay, and I don't see any better alternatives.
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Check this thread, which summarizes the three main two-player variants:
The best way to play with two players?
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/141568

Variant 1 is listed in the official rules, but Variant 3 seems to be the popular two-player variant of choice, and is quite a satisfactory way of playing with two. It requires a few rule modifications, which are well described in this thread:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/128940
Paige & Javi
United States

Ohio
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Absolutely. We play this as a two player often, and it's a lot of fun with the half map variant.
25. Board Game: On the Underground [Average Rating:7.04 Overall Rank:286]
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Morgan Dontanville
United States
Brooklyn
New York
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For my taste, I think this is more of a three player game.
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Christopher Gritt
United Kingdom
Brighton
East Sussex
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Another list on this subject...

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/14971

Doesn't attempt to be comprehensive, but does have some good commentary.
Penny
United States

Connecticut
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MontyCircus wrote:
Cool list, thanks for making it. I have recently decided to sell off my multiplayer collection as I have no one to play them with. It's just me, my fiancee, and all the 2-player games we can find from here on out :cool:


I was doing the samething. selling/trading the games that only/mostly accomodate 3+ players and only keep and buy games that plays only, or well with 2 players. It is only me and my husband so if a game don't have 2 player capability I am not likely to buy it. Unless it's cheap and looks cool, then maybe. When we went to europe i can't resist buying those cute Amigo small box card games even though some are 3+ only. But for big box games, I am more selective now as they are expensive.

Burkhard Henke
United States
Davidson
NC
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... and I did. Great list!
raaf
Finland
Helsinki
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Hi

This ( http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/24727) list is called "Vote it yourself: are these multiplayer games any good with only 2 players?". The name says it all. We already have a good number of votes, but the more, the better! I have added many games thanks to your great list!
Timothy Pinkham
United States
La Palma
California
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A while back I created a geeklist with this same topic in mind, but limited to light eurogames, 60 min or less. http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/15532
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