Civilization the Board Game.

[Holy Bovine]

Well here I am again at the tail end of a thread (why I can't I find the really interesting threads at the beginning?).

I love and play a lot of board and card games most of which have been mentioned above. A few 2-player card games that I have enjoyed recently include

Hack! by Kenzer & Co. based on their Knights of the Dinner Table comic. You and your adventuring buddies build the dungeon you explore searching for the Hand of Vectra (or at least the exit!) fighting monsters, circumventing traps and outwitting NPCs to grab the kewl l00t! Great fun with 2 players and freaking fantastic with 4 or 5.

Once Upon a Time. A (sadly) overlooked and overshadowed story telling card game that came out in 1995 from Atlas Games. You can still order it from them though (or get your FLGS to - I got 2 packs from them). The premise of the game is that you use the cards to build your fairy tale story - each card must be used in such a way as that it is important to the plot of the story being told (and the short rulebook has some excellent examples of how to adjudicate this). The cards have things like "forest", "magic sword" and "dragons" on them but also things like "People meet each other", "By the Sea" and "A fight". Other players can interrupt your story if you mention something that they have a card for and then they take over (forcing you to draw more cards). You also have ending cards that you have to work towards. A great deal of fun if you are into stroy telling (although it can be difficult for those you can't 'think on their feet' I find that of you have done any DMing on the fly in the past it is a great help).

Before I Kill You Mister Bond... A great card game from Cheapass Games. You are evil. You have a Secret Lair. You lure agents to their deaths while taunting them unmercifully. And you are easily distracted by ice cream! Great with 3-4 but still very enjoyable with only 2. Reallybig games (6 or more people) really need 2 decks combined to provide a full game.

Some great board games that are easily playable with only 2

Heroquest - from Milton Bradley. Out of print now but you can usually find a copy in "used" bins at gaming stores or online (the ones on eBay go for extraordinary amounts - almost temps me to sell my copy ). One player controls the 4 heroes (Barbarian, Dwarf, Elf and Wizard) and the other reveals the dungeon they are exploring and controls all monsters. Great fun for 2-5 players (can get very compeditive with 5 though especially if you don't allow people to share gold they find)

Starship Catan (2 player version of Starfarers of Catan). Surprisingly good (I say that because the 2 player version of Settlers of Catan was so surprisingly bad).


Those and I agree that the original Civilzation/Advanced Civilzation (don't try to play the basic game get the 'advanced' rules they make the game run faster so even 6 player games are playable within an 8 hour timeframe the original would take nearly 12 hours with 6 players), Settlers of Catan, Starfarers of Catan, Axis & Allies, Tikal and, of course, Monoploy! (just kidding, I always hated Monoploy )

 

[Holy Bovine]

bump because I don't wanna be the Thread Killer!

 

[Witchking of Angmar]

Anyone a fan of Talisman? Man, I love that game. Fun and oh-so-easy to make new stuff for. Characters, magic items, monsters, you name it! It does have a high head-to-head factor though, since it involves a lot of combat and only one player can win.

 

[Lalato]

I found this list of two player games at funagain.com

http://kumquat.com/cgi-kumquat/funagain/twoplayer_top

--sam

 

[KnowTheToe]

Thanks for all of the input everybody, it really gave me a few new directions to look.

We currently play Scabble, Cribbage, Boggle, Back Gammon, Gin Rummy, Stock Market Game, Yatzee, and occasionally I can get her to play Risk. I was looking for a few new ones to throw into the ring.

 

[WizarDru]

Anyone a fan of Talisman? Man, I love that game. Fun and oh-so-easy to make new stuff for. Characters, magic items, monsters, you name it! It does have a high head-to-head factor though, since it involves a lot of combat and only one player can win.

The last time we played Talisman, we laid out a huge table, covered it with Talisman and it's expansions, prior to lunch time. After dinner, as the sun was setting, we realized that we weren't EVER GOING TO FINISH. Oh sure, multiple attempts had been made to get to end...but someone always stymied it. We were exhausted, and suddenly realized it stopped being fun about three hours earlier.

We cleaned up and went to do something else.

Now, years later, I realize I simply don't have the time to play such a game, and my kids would probably destroy the board if I tried.

 

[TommyTutone]

Thanks for all of the input everybody, it really gave me a few new directions to look.

We currently play Scabble, Cribbage, Boggle, Back Gammon, Gin Rummy, Stock Market Game, Yatzee, and occasionally I can get her to play Risk. I was looking for a few new ones to throw into the ring.

I am a spielfriek (game lover) in training, and currently have a collection of 61 or 62 German, and some American, board games (you can see my collection at www.boardgamegeek.com and look up TommyTutone). For two players, I strongly recommend the following:

Lord of the Rings - the original board game created by the genius Reiner Knizia. In this game, two to five players work together to get the ring to Mount Doom. I don't own the expansions yet, but am hoping to change that soon.

Schotten-Totten - you can also pick up Battlelines, though S-T is more 'pure' in strategy. You play cards to one of 9 stones, trying to lay a better 3-card hand than your opponent. Claim 5 of the 9 stones, or any three in a row to win.

Caesar and Cleopatra - not the BEST game out there for two, but the beautiful cards, and the fact that the wife will play the sultry Cleopatra to your indignant Caesar as you try to win the influence of the Senate makes for a good time.

Puerto Rico - ideally for three to five players, there are two player variants at the Geek. My wife LOVES this game as it allows you to build up your island with buildings (each provides special benefits) and plantations.

Carcassonne with or without expansions, or buy the new Hunters & Gatherers (I have all of them) - the game, as played creates a beautiful layout and scores are often quite close, making for more fun. It can be played for up to five players, and you will forever call your game pieces in any game 'meeples'.