Carcassonne Central

Off Topic => Other Games => Topic started by: SRBO on April 02, 2015, 02:31:45 PM

Title: 2 player game
Post by: SRBO on April 02, 2015, 02:31:45 PM
Hello,

Im looking for a fun 2 player game..
not too childish,
a kind of serious game, a bit difficult
and not too long..

does anyone know something like this?
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: Decar on April 02, 2015, 02:52:06 PM
I've recently ordered Orleans (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/164928/orleans)  - I was well received at Essen - there are some 2 player run throughs on Youtube.  It's quite long to play.

I've also ordered The Duke (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/36235/duke), which can be pretty quick and very strategic.
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: Andrew the Ambo on April 02, 2015, 03:32:59 PM
Carcassonne would be a good game to try.
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: ooh_jim on April 02, 2015, 03:42:40 PM
My recommendations: Forbidden Island/Desert are both fun and can be fairly challenging. Tsuro of the seas is pretty quick and pretty basic. Hnefatafl is about as old-school as it gets and if you're quite crafty, its a fun set to make yourself. I really like Hive, but it can be an overly short/lengthy game depending on how well matched the players are. For even shorter games, zombie dice, timeline & bananagrams go down well at family gatherings.

Honestly though, I think the best two-player game I've played is Magic the Gathering. As long as you're just playing friends for fun and not planning on entering any competitions or anything, you can pick cards up at a fairly cheap price - my flatmate and I got a deck builder's toolkit each and bought a few lot collections of older cards for cheap on ebay. If you've not already tried it, I'd advise starting with someone else new to the game as deck building, trading and playing is much more fun when you're evenly matched with your opponents.

Are there any particular themes or mechanics you're interested in or want to avoid?
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: Hounk on April 02, 2015, 04:32:04 PM
I like "Rivals of Catan" pretty much. Although I didn't have the opportunity yet, to play it a lot, just a few of the introduction games (it is only the starter deck, which is always used) with an uncle of mine. Game time should be around 30 minutes for the introduction game and 75 minutes for one of the other games, although it took us quite longer than half an hour. But it probably goes faster with practice.

Game is quite cheap as well (nice looking and with solid components, though) and I consider, it should have a lot of replayability with 3 theme packs in the base game and two expansions with another three decks each. You can play each of the decks on there own, or a combination of three of the decks (then reduced by aprox. half of the cards), like I wrote, always including the starter deck. I must say, I enjoy "Settlers of Catan" as well, but this is not mandatory, since it is totally a different game.

Edit: If you go on http://www.playcatan.com/en/ (http://www.playcatan.com/en/) and select in the menu on top Games -> Play Introductory Games you can play the short game with AI and tutorial mode for free. This should give you the idea, if this game is for you or not.
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: Whaleyland on April 02, 2015, 05:17:32 PM
I second Rivals for Catan, but for the fact that it is quite different from Catan [formerly known as "The Settlers of Catan"]. The game is much more tight, and there are many more options available. I'd also recommend buying at least the second expansion for it, which adds a Seafarers component, though both expansions are really fun and improve the game's replayability.

Other than that, Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries or Switzerland are pretty fun but brutal. If you want a co-op, try Flash Point—it can be quite challenging with two players. Zooloretto plays pretty well with two players, though I recommend buying at least one of the big-box expansions for it just to increase the strategy element of the game (Boss is probably the best in this regard, though Exotic may be the more fun). Lastly, Caverna and Agricola both scale well to two players, but Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small is an excellent small-scale version of them that I highly recommend.
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: franks on April 02, 2015, 05:56:34 PM
Splendor might fit the bill.

Very easy to learn, quick to play and has game depth

It is another favourite of ours. We mostly played 2 player so it is my preferred player count. Playing with more changes the game style. Some prefer a higher player count but I think the game play is just different.
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: Hounk on April 03, 2015, 02:57:58 AM
But that's, what I also wrote, whaleyland, that the Rivals are quite different from the (former) Settlers? Although I also like the Settlers for there amount of options, not the vanilla game, though, and for more then 2 players.

I don't own "Ticket to Ride", so whenever playing it, it was always at least in a group of 3, but I agree, that the Swiss map is great for a small amount of players, much more fun with three then the plain European board.
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: DLloyd09 on April 03, 2015, 08:36:58 PM
Highly recommend Dominion, if you haven't played it already. It's frequently the game that gets pulled out while dinner's cooking, as after you're familiar with the basics it can be played in 30 minutes with two. Play is very simple but can get very strategic and if you start to pick up expansions for it the depth of the game increases exponentially.

Also recommend the suggestions of The Duke and Ticket to Ride.
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: Decar on April 04, 2015, 12:24:31 AM
I've quite enjoyed what I've played on Dominion - you can play it online against some AI for free:
https://www.playdominion.com/ well worth a lok if you're interested   :(y)
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: bloggins on April 04, 2015, 03:14:33 AM
At the risk of this turning into a Dominion fan forum, I'd recommend that too  ^-^. It's easy to pick up but has lots of variety and depth, even in the base game. As Decar says, playdominion.com gives you the chance to have a go for free and has a tutorial mode, so is well worth a look - it can be interesting to see some of the different tactics adopted by the bots depending on the combination of cards being used.
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: Curt194 on April 05, 2015, 01:37:28 AM
I would also highly recommend dominion. I have only owned it for a short while but the variety you can get between games is wonderful and it's just really fun to play. It's one that just feels really fun to play and can feel very satisfying when you manage to do loads in one turn.

Another great two player game is province. A tiny travel game but with loads of pieces/depth. I feel like it's a sort of miniature version of Agricola. It's tao player only but I picked it up for £9 and it's great fun. Can feel complicated at first, but really interesting little game if you find a copy!

The "forbidden" games as already mentioned above also recommend for some co-op gaming!
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: danisthirty on April 05, 2015, 12:24:50 PM
You didn't say whether you were looking for a co-op game or not?

If co-op:

+1 for Forbidden Island/ Desert
+1 for Flashpoint

Also, "Escape: Curse of the Temple" is a great co-op that I've been playing lately. It's a dice-rolling game but you don't take turns, you're just rolling and rolling and rolling until you get what you need. And although it's a co-op, everyone is playing independently at the same time. Also, there is an accompanying soundtrack which means games are always limited to exactly 10 minutes. It's very tense and chaotic!

If not co-op:

+1 for Carcassonne (obviously)
+1 for Dominion

Or perhaps something like Fluxx or Monopoly Deal if you like card games? My preference would be Fluxx although MD was something that my wife and I played a lot before we discovered Carcassonne.

Good luck!  :(y)
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: SRBO on April 05, 2015, 03:14:47 PM
Well i got some fun games, but when i play with my girl, she looses her focus pretty fast, with games like carcassonne,

Now we play 7 wonders which she really likes, but you need 3 players for it,
There is a two player version but its less fun, the same goes for saboteur, love letter and party games.

I definitly recommend 7 wonders to everyone, its a balanced game with very good explanation and for 4 years i has a lot of collectible promos and expansions

Thanks for the replies everyone,
However railroads is not in my theme, i like games with historical themes like middle ages, and before that.

Im going to look into the suggestions you guys gave to see if something intressting shows up!

Thanks again!
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: Hounk on April 05, 2015, 03:31:22 PM
I like "7 Wonders" very much as well. Have had some nice 3 player games with it already.
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: danisthirty on April 05, 2015, 11:38:44 PM
Quote from: Hounk on April 05, 2015, 03:31:22 PM
I like "7 Wonders" very much as well. Have had some nice 3 player games with it already.

Same here! When the kids are old enough I think we will be playing this a lot, but we don't own it at the moment as it's usually just my wife and I playing. Fortunately many of our friends own it so whenever we have people round for an evening they can usually bring it with them...

We played a card game called "Bang" for the first time recently. That was great fun as it involved shooting each other in a wild-west style shootout! Unfortunately this also needs at least 4 players.
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: Chooselife on April 06, 2015, 12:58:01 AM
Although it can be played up to 5 players I considered  "Council of Verona" a very fun card game to play with especially if you are "just making time" for more players to arrive for a Carcassonne evening  ;D
It is fast paced and the more and more you play it a certain adversary the more strategic it gets as both will try to counter act and bluff onto one another.
It has a Table Top episode on youtube.
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: SRBO on April 06, 2015, 01:41:21 AM
Quote from: danisthirty on April 05, 2015, 11:38:44 PM

We played a card game called "Bang" for the first time recently. That was great fun as it involved shooting each other in a wild-west style shootout! Unfortunately this also needs at least 4 players.

A card game which involves shooting?:P lol
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: danisthirty on April 06, 2015, 01:44:00 AM
Quote from: SRBO on April 06, 2015, 01:41:21 AM
Quote from: danisthirty on April 05, 2015, 11:38:44 PM

We played a card game called "Bang" for the first time recently. That was great fun as it involved shooting each other in a wild-west style shootout! Unfortunately this also needs at least 4 players.

A card game which involves shooting?:P lol

You should check it out for playing with your brothers!
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: SRBO on April 06, 2015, 02:06:32 AM
Well, from your suggestions i found some nice games that looks very fun to me:

- Splendor
- Council of Verona
- Forbidden Island
- Bang

Dominion looks like a very HUGE game, with all its expansions.. maybe for in the future, for now, im going for 1 or 2 from above!:)
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: totor66 on April 06, 2015, 02:17:00 AM
From my experience: One of the best 2 player game (playable up to 4 player) is Race for the galaxy, even the base game only is enough for a looong time of fun, the mecanic is great and a bit unique.

You can find a lot of info on BGG, it has a big community also and is still ongoing.
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: jma03 on April 06, 2015, 03:12:40 AM
my first board game was chess.
I played this game several years in my childhood and adolescence, studying books (opening and defense ) .
currently staying with friends
after having two sets of Carcassonne and 2 or 3 drinks ,
DIXIT we play .
a game that has no strategy but with much imagination.

Do you would seem well (administrators ) create a thread , what was your first board game ?
maybe already created .
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: Chooselife on April 06, 2015, 03:24:39 AM
Another swift and fun card game is "Guillotine" the dark humour ends up being quite fun.
Although it is not very strategic the upside is that we can teach it to anyone in one round, so it's perfect when one of the players is not that much into games.
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: danisthirty on April 06, 2015, 12:57:56 PM
Quote from: jma03 on April 06, 2015, 03:12:40 AM
Do you would seem well (administrators ) create a thread , what was your first board game ?
maybe already created .

Good idea, I look forward to posting on it! Anyone can create a new thread though, it doesn't have to be an administrator...
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: Hounk on April 07, 2015, 09:51:10 AM
Sorry to hear, I could not get you into the "Rivals". Wish, I could play it more often myself, but since it is a strictly 2P game, I have seldom the opportunity.
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: Jéré on April 07, 2015, 01:03:13 PM
I'd like to know if somebody has tried "Letters from Whitechapel" ?  Looks quite good, especially for 2 players.

http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/59959/letters-whitechapel

Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: Jéré on April 07, 2015, 01:07:33 PM

Quote from: SRBO on April 06, 2015, 02:06:32 AM
Well, from your suggestions i found some nice games that looks very fun to me:

- Splendor
- Council of Verona
- Forbidden Island
- Bang


Bang! is super fun but it can be a bit random sometimes. For instance your teammate can kill you by mistake so you have to be in the right mood and laugh about it.  Note that it is not a 2-player game, minimum 4 I think.
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: SRBO on April 07, 2015, 01:27:03 PM
Quote from: Hounk on April 07, 2015, 09:51:10 AM
Sorry to hear, I could not get you into the "Rivals". Wish, I could play it more often myself, but since it is a strictly 2P game, I have seldom the opportunity.

I really like it, catan is also a good game, but everytime i ask nobody wants to join me soo, well.. rivals didnt seem a good choice
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: danisthirty on April 07, 2015, 01:31:03 PM
Quote from: Jéré on April 07, 2015, 01:07:33 PM

Quote from: SRBO on April 06, 2015, 02:06:32 AM
Well, from your suggestions i found some nice games that looks very fun to me:

- Splendor
- Council of Verona
- Forbidden Island
- Bang


Bang! is super fun but it can be a bit random sometimes. For instance your teammate can kill you by mistake so you have to be in the right mood and laugh about it.  Note that it is not a 2-player game, minimum 4 I think.

I'd never heard of it before last Friday but I really enjoyed playing it. It's a shame there isn't a 2-player variant of it, but I don't think it would be too difficult to come up with something if the abandon the secret identities and just make it a one on one shoot out.
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: Decar on April 07, 2015, 01:43:03 PM
But there is:

http://bangcardgame.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/official-two-player-bang-rules.html?m=1

Never played it but sounds fast paced!
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: Jéré on April 07, 2015, 06:24:29 PM

Quote from: Decar on April 07, 2015, 01:43:03 PM
But there is:

http://bangcardgame.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/official-two-player-bang-rules.html?m=1

Never played it but sounds fast paced!

Oh cool. I didn't know. Thanks
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: Bixby on May 04, 2015, 03:07:53 PM
Here are some recommendations from our group.

Jaipur
Great card game that is portable, easy to learn, and quick to play
Plays 2

Machi Koro (With Harbour Expansion)
This has quickly become a go to game in our group. Very popular. Note: Only play WITH the Harbour expansion.
Plays 2-5

A La Carte
Fun cooking game with a dexterity component.
Plays 2-4

Battle Line
Great two player game that is portable and very quick to play. Simple rules with some strategic depth.
Plays 2

Castles of Mad King Ludwig
Another popular game in these parts. Very captivating game play.
Plays 2-4

Fjords
Very clever two player games that involves tiles laying and area control.
Plays 2

Hive
A brilliant 2 player game. Portable and great for camping. Simple and deep.
Plays 2

San Juan
A very cool card game that plays quickly and has just been reprinted.
Plays 2-4


Good luck with the game search!
Matt
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: spikey_dino on May 05, 2015, 12:17:09 AM
Quote from: franks on April 02, 2015, 05:56:34 PM
Splendor might fit the bill.

Very easy to learn, quick to play and has game depth

It is another favourite of ours. We mostly played 2 player so it is my preferred player count. Playing with more changes the game style. Some prefer a higher player count but I think the game play is just different.

My husband and I play Splendor together often.  I love it!  Also, you should look at Hive.  It's a simple game to learn and you can try it for free on boardgamearena (new favorite website) to see if you like it before you buy it
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: obervet on May 05, 2015, 12:12:48 PM
I'll add one that I don't think I've seen on the list yet: Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small. This has some good but not too difficult strategy, and there's always one more thing that you wish you could do each turn. If you like the base game, there are also a couple of expansions that are completely worth it, too.
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: Whaleyland on May 15, 2015, 03:32:52 PM
Quote from: obervet on May 05, 2015, 12:12:48 PM
I'll add one that I don't think I've seen on the list yet: Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small. This has some good but not too difficult strategy, and there's always one more thing that you wish you could do each turn. If you like the base game, there are also a couple of expansions that are completely worth it, too.
I second buying the two expansions. They make the game SOO much better and replayable.
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: SRBO on June 15, 2015, 02:06:50 PM
So hello guys, a little update on this..

Last week I turned 22 and on my birthday I recieved the following games:

- Forbidden Island (as requested by the suggestions here)
- Machiavelli (dutch version of Citadels)
- Machiavelli - The Dark Lands
- Guillotine

My girlfriend also tried the council of verona, but sadly it wasnt available..
Thanks again on the suggestions,

I really like the new games,

Forbidden island is a fast learning game, with the cooperation mechanic. its really fun and its short. Possibly i end up buying the other version (the sand version ) also.
Machiavelli i really like, lots of possibilities. and nice graphics.

Guillotine is just a really fun, annoying, strange, awkward, weird game. where you have collect heads with a certain value. definitely a suggestion to all of you.
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: Whaleyland on June 15, 2015, 03:09:03 PM
Quote from: SRBO on June 15, 2015, 02:06:50 PM
Guillotine is just a really fun, annoying, strange, awkward, weird game. where you have collect heads with a certain value. definitely a suggestion to all of you.
Hands down favorite game ever. I've played it more times than I can count and just love it. The only thing that would make it better is an expansion that adds a fourth day and another set of people to the mix. I think foreigners would be the best option. It even beats Carcassonne in my list.
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: danisthirty on June 15, 2015, 03:50:22 PM
Quote from: SRBO on June 15, 2015, 02:06:50 PM
Forbidden island is a fast learning game, with the cooperation mechanic. its really fun and its short. Possibly i end up buying the other version (the sand version ) also.

Happy birthday for last week!  :(y)

Glad you're enjoying it. My wife and I enjoy co-operative games and have enjoyed Forbidden Island many times. I highly recommend Forbidden Desert (the sand version) too, as it's a similar sort of game but with some interesting mechanics that can mean the game quickly gets out of control if you don't keep a close eye on everything. Always nice when everyone's a winner though!  ^-^
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: Jéré on December 18, 2015, 05:19:05 AM
Quote from: Jéré on April 07, 2015, 01:03:13 PM
I'd like to know if somebody has tried "Letters from Whitechapel" ?  Looks quite good, especially for 2 players.

http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/59959/letters-whitechapel

Just want to confirm this is an excellent choice for 2 players. At the time I made the suggestion, I had never played it. It was on my radar for quite some time, finally bought it half a year ago and I've played it about 5-6 times now with my partner and we really like it. The map of London is gorgeous and playing Jack the Ripper is super tense and fun. A bit like Carcassonne, it can be multiplayer but the game really shines with only 2. Plus, it meets your criteria: for adults, bit difficult and not too long. Well, playing time is 120 min on BGG but I think that must be for 4, 5 or 6-player games because we've played full games in less than 1 hour (excluding time to set up the game at the beginning).

This has Jéré's seal of approval.  :(y) :yellow-meeple:

See also this link if you want to know more:  https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/636089/letters-whitechapel-2-player-review

Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: Valheru on January 21, 2016, 05:41:59 PM
Probably kicking an open door in with this, but I think it hasn't been mentioned before: Stratego!

For me, the best game ever, I even had a league with the other kids in my neighbourhood and I drew out starting strategies on a piece of paper during school. Still play it from time to time and gets me sucked in every time.

(http://forum.stratego.com/uploads/profile/photo-thumb-9.png?_r=1364305812)

Anyone ever played The Hive? Very interested in that as well. And from now on, Guillotine is on my to play/buy list!
Title: Re: 2 player game
Post by: franks on January 21, 2016, 05:56:52 PM
Quote from: Valheru on January 21, 2016, 05:41:59 PM
Anyone ever played The Hive? Very interested in that as well. And from now on, Guillotine is on my to play/buy list!

I really enjoy Hive though most of my plays have been on IOS. Unfortunately my wife doesn't enjoy it. Just like a lot of abstract games if there is a disparity of experience between players it won't be fun for at least one of them.

Regardless I think this is a great game and one of my favourite abstacrts, I would recommend it. As indicated above, imaybe the best way to try it might be in electronic format. Just don't get too good, noobs might not want to play you  ;)