I don’t know about you, but sometimes I find it hard to think of ways to spend the evenings together. There’s only so much TV you can watch and finding the perfect film takes longer than watching it.
We recently picked up a handful of board games as a way to do something a bit different in the evenings. They’re also a great thing to include in a self care day, especially if you do this together. I thought I’d share these board games for 2 people here along with how they work and my thoughts!
Board game ideas for two people
There are so many great board games out there, but it’s tricky to find ones that work for two people. Board games for couples or two players seem to be like gold dust for some reason!
After some quick research online and asking a few friends, here’s what we picked up.
The 2 player board games we picked up include Codenames Duet, Carcassonne, Agricola, Patchwork and Hive.
All were pretty reasonably priced, ranging from £15 to £35 each. Codenames Duet is currently the most affordable, so great if you’re looking to pick up a bargain and want to try board games as a self care idea. I’ve also included a link in each section so you can find the game quickly and easily on Amazon.co.uk!
A closer look at these board games for 2 people
I’m not a board games expert, but I thought I’d take you through the basics of each game from the perspective of a casual player.
Apart from Monopoly and the classics, I’d never played many board games until recently. The good news is once you’ve read through the instructions and played a couple of games they’re all easy to pick up.
Carcassonne
Let’s start with Carcassonne. I think this is my favourite of the five and the one I’m the least terrible at playing.
You can play Carcassone with between 2 and 5 players. We’ve only played it with two, but I can imagine you need to work harder to try and outsmart the other players if there’s more of you.
It has a recommended age of 7+ and suggests a 35 minute play time. I’d say give yourself a good while longer though, especially if you’re playing it for the first time.
In Carcassonne, you’re tasked with building cities and joining roads by placing a tile on each turn. You then use your ‘meeples’ to try and score as many points as possible, by placing them on roads or within cities.
I like this game for its simplicity and replay value. Sometimes we end up with really odd-looking cities, or ones that never quite get completed. Other times we’ll have circular roads just about everywhere. Scoring is nice and simple, which I definitely appreciate.
This would be a great buy if you want to try a board game and want something that isn’t too complicated.
Try Carcassone* for yourself and see if you like it! We actually ended up enjoying this so much we bought the “Big Box” version* which comes with lots of expansions.
Agricola
I’ll admit, I found this one a little overwhelming at first. After a few play-throughs it’s easier to understand, even if I’m still not quite sure what the best way to win is.
Agricola is for 2 players only, so if there’s more of you check out the family version instead. The recommended minimum age is 10.
In Agricola, you’re tasked with building a farm. Over the course of a number of rounds you take turns to collect resources, place buildings, add fences and place then breed animals. The goal is to score higher than the other person, through collecting the most animals and/or having a high building score.
I couldn’t get into this game on the first play – I’m used to games where you get to use up all the resources, tiles or pieces so this was a change from that. There are so many animal pieces that I’m not sure it’s possible to place them all within a game. And because there are so many possible actions within a round, it can take a while to decide what to do. Once you’re past that, it’s fine and we’ve replayed this a few times now.
If you have more time available and are happy to invest some time in working out the best strategy to win, Agricola* could be great for you.
Codenames Duet
Codenames Duet is a two-player version of the popular original game, Codenames*. If you’re great with words, you’ll probably enjoy this.
You can play Codenames Duet with 2-4 players, and it’s recommended for ages 11+. There’s a suggested game time of 15-30 minutes, so this could be a great buy if you’re looking for something to play on a lunch break or if you’re low on time.
In Codenames Duet, your goal is to work together with the other player to find all fifteen agents by correctly guiding them to say the words on the right cards. Make sure they don’t land on an assassin – if they do, it’s game over.
You’ll need to find a way to connect up to three cards in one turn with only a one-word clue. With some of the combinations this can be a little tricky. Reindeer, mirror, sword anyone? Still, it’s a fun game and gets you thinking about themes and ways to narrow down your partner’s potential guesses so the right answers are obvious.
I really like Codenames Duet*, even though it’s difficult to find a theme between the words sometimes. I definitely prefer the original Codenames game, but this is a fun alternative for when there’s only two of you around.
Patchwork
Patchwork is a board game where the goal is to build a quilt. I wasn’t that excited about this when it arrived, but after a couple of play-throughs it is an interesting concept.
There’s a recommended age range of 8+ for this game, with a suggested play time of 15 minutes. It’s for two players only.
In Patchwork, your goal is to build a quilt that covers as much of your board as possible. For any remaining squares at the end of game you lose two points, so it’s in your interest to get them covered if you can.
The game works by moving around in a circle to buy pieces of patchwork fabric to add to your quilt. To buy these you need to spend your buttons, and you then move a number of spaces on the game board. Being behind is an advantage here, as you’re further from the finish and get to take another turn.
I’ll be honest and say I really didn’t enjoy this much the first time we played it. It felt frustrating and took me a while to get used to the best way to play it. After a few plays it makes much more sense, and I got pretty close to covering the whole board last time. While it seems like an odd concept, especially if you’re not into needlework, Patchwork* is a fun enough board game for two people.
Hive
Last but not least, here’s Hive. I guess it’s not a board game at all, more of a tabletop game, but let’s include it anyway.
Hive has a recommended play time of 20 minutes, so it’s another great choice for a lunch break game. It’s for two players, with a recommended age of 9+.
In Hive, the goal is pretty simple – to surround the other player’s queen bee tile on all sides. This can be through a combination of your tiles and theirs, and it doesn’t matter which creatures the tiles feature.
To make this happen, you need to place and then move tiles featuring different insects. They all move in different ways, so take some time to figure this out to work out how best to use them. For example, ants can move as many spaces as they like in one turn but only around the outside fo the ‘hive’. Grasshoppers can only make one move – jumping from where they are to the end of the opposite line.
This game’s become a favourite in our home. It’s really simple to play and requires no set up, so it’s something we’ve taken to playing for a screen-time break during the working day. If you’re looking for something simple and easy to pick up, Hive* is a great buy.
Even more 2 player board games to consider
I thought I’d hop in and update my guide with a few new additions! I’ll come back and share some more detail on them soon, but for now here are some other ideas on what to play if there’s only two of you:
- Wingspan* — I love this one! It’s themed around birds and the artwork is beautiful. It also doesn’t feel complex and overwhelming, like some board games can.
- Everdell* — This is another lovely game, themed around woodland creatures and preparing for celebrations throughout the seasons.
- Scythe* — This board game is a little more involved, and takes a good while to play through. Still, it’s a good one, if a little expensive!
- Dominion* — While it’s technically a card game, I wanted to include Dominion here as it’s one of my hands-down favourite games for two people. It’s a deck-building game and there’s so much you can do. I think we’ve picked up almost every expansion by now!
- Heart of Crown — I can’t find this for sale anywhere at the moment, which is a shame! This is similar to Dominion but with a more princess/fairy-like theme and styling.
Which board games for 2 people are your favourites?
From the games above, which looks like your favourite? I’d love to find some new board games for 2 people, so if you have any recommendations let me know in the comments!
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