Blog
28 Adorable Games For 2 People: Let’s Play And Bond!
Feb
Why don’t we just start appreciating life more? Why don’t we start appreciating that one person more? Wait… I have a better idea! Why don’t we simply find some good games to play with that special person? I mean, they’d definitely create stronger bonds, and make us admire life deeper!
We couldn’t wait to do our extensive research and, fortunately, came up with an adorable list of games. You’ll laugh, you’ll speak out stuff, you’ll get competitive, and very likely, you’ll even cry.
The biggest spoiler is that there are many kinds of games: card games, board ones, and who knows, maybe some made-at-home games! You have no idea how cool they all are!
Let’s take a quick look at the amazing table of contents:
- The games:
- Mancala;
- Cards Against Humanity (2 players);
- Exploding Kittens;
- Chess;
- Icebreaker;
- Jenga;
- Boggle;
- Bananagrams;
- Puzzles;
- Villainous;
- Pandemic;
- Scrabble;
- Codenames;
- Phase 10;
- Couch Skeletons;
- Rummikub;
- Yahtzee;
- Ticket To Ride;
- Chronology;
- Monopoly;
- Chinese Checkers;
- Suspend;
- Five Crowns;
- Cardless & Boardless games:
- Trace Messages;
- Two Truths And One Lie;
- Truth Or Drink;
- Sorry I’m Late;
- Fortunately, Unfortunately;
- How to choose the perfect game?;
- Why were these games worth mentioning?
1. Mancala
Available at: Amazon ($21.99) or Target ($9.99)
Why is ‘Mancala’ unique?
A cool fact about this board game is that the first versions of it, date back to the 7th century, somewhere in Ancient Egypt. Even if you think you’re not that lucky, don’t worry, Mancala is mostly a game of skills and strategy. It comes with more than 50 glass stones, which, during the gameplay, will help you improve your strategic thinking, monitoring, and memory skills.
What is the objective of this board game?
Play quickly and move the stones into the pockets. At the end of the game, whoever captures more stones, wins the game.
2. Cards Against Humanity (2 Players)
Available at: Amazon ($25.00) or Target ($25.00)
Why is ‘Cards Against Humanity’ unique?
Cards Against Humanity always brings unlimited fun. But, who would’ve thought you could play it with only 2 people, isn’t it made for more than 4 players? Well, this is what we love to do: finding special ways! They connect people and give you reasons to laugh… Even though the rules aren’t too different, you still need some more information. That’s why check the rules of playing CAH with 2 players.
What is the objective of this card game?
Read the white card and make sure you find the funniest white card in your hand to create a cool combination. You gotta both agree to the funniest one and give the points. Ps. works great with all the editions, so, go check them at our shop!
3. Exploding Kittens
Available at: Amazon ($19.99) or Walmart ($24.93)
Why is ‘Exploding Kittens’ unique?
Since we were at card games, how could we continue without mentioning Exploding Kittens? A card game which gathers the whole family together, and starts an amazing competition. All of you have one goal: try to keep yourself out of exploding! There are 56 cards in the core game, but, fortunately, there exist many other extra packs, and each one is more fun than the other!
What is the objective of this card game?
You draw and play cards and try to be the last player who remains in the game, meaning, you didn’t explode. Mix your strategy and other ideas, and you’re fine!
4. Chess
Why is ‘Chess’ unique?
Well, it’s Chess. We don’t need to say much about it! One of the most loved games for centuries. It may take a while to be good at it, but for real, it is a sport for your brain. It is proven that Chess develops decision-making skills, algebraic thinking, concentration, problem-solving, and many more important life skills. If you don’t have the game, you may find it in any shop near you, and the price depends on the material used. Take care of your King & Queen!
What is the objective of this board game?
Your mission is attacking your opponent’s King while checkmating him. Once you capture the King, so, the other player can’t escape, you’re the winner.
5. Icebreaker
Available at: Amazon ($24.99) or Walmart ($24.99)
Why is ‘Icebreaker’ unique?
Enough with these strategy games! Let’s take a rest and get to know each other more. Icebreaker deck, the 150 cards, make sure you talk about the deepest things about you. There are many spheres included, such as courage, beliefs, dreams, self-awareness, life lessons, and others. You’ll have to ask each other questions and start to know them way deeper.
What is the objective of this card game?
It isn’t a competition at all. You’ll both be winners. You’ll both learn worthy information about one another.
6. Jenga
Available at: Amazon (19.99) or Target (13.09)
Why is ’Jenga’ unique?
Jenga is special, we can all agree on that! We’d been familiar with it since kindergarten I guess, and I think that’s beautiful. Works great for all ages, besides little kids, just because they could get hurt while pulling the blocks. To play Jenga, the key is to be concentrated and to think about the best possible ways, without rushing. Since it’s a balancing game, who knows, maybe you’ll finally balance your life while playing!
What is the objective of this game?
Pull the blocks, but try to keep them balanced, so the Jenga Tower doesn’t get destroyed. In other words, it doesn’t fall on your head!
7. Boggle
Available at: Amazon ($9.97) or Walmart (9.97)
Why is ‘Boggle’ unique?
Lovely humans, let’s dive into a word-searching game together! It comes with a timer and 16 letter cubes. Make sure you shake up the letters and try to find more words than your opponent. You’ll perform great, and all you need is to be concentrated & observe, so, no word misses your eye. It tests your speed skills, and your reading skills as well. We know you’ll beat the highest score!
What’s the objective of this board game?
You and your opponent compete on spotting the higher number of words being under time pressure. Whoever has a higher score, wins the Boggle!
8. Bananagrams
Available at: Amazon ($19.97) or Target ($14.99)
Why is ‘Bananagrams’ unique?
Well, we may say this is a mix of Scrabble, Boggle, and other word games. Something we found and thought of sharing with you is that based on some statistics, there are more than 5.5 million Bananagram pouches floating around the world. It is a fast-paced and frantic game and if you have a rich vocabulary, you’ll do great. Words will simply pop up, and if you’re clever enough, your word-creating skills will show themselves!
What is the objective of this board game?
What you have to do is try to use all of your starting letters and step-by-step create your word grid. The first player to call out ‘Bananas!’ wins Bananagrams!
9. Puzzle
Why is ‘Puzzle’ unique?
If you haven’t completed at least one puzzle in your life, you’ve lost hours of fun! A puzzle may have a different number of pieces, up to 1000 and more. The time of creating the picture depends on the number of puzzles, ranging from a few minutes to a few hours. Even psychologists have proved that puzzles are good for our brain, specifically, they somehow reinforce connections between some brain cells. You can complete a puzzle all by yourself, but personally, working on it with someone else is a better feeling.
What is the objective of this board game?
Simply connect all the pieces, trying to achieve the final picture, which most of the time, is shown on the box. It may get overwhelming sometimes, but every piece is worth it!
10. Villainous
Available at: Amazon ($33.47) or Target ($39.99)
Why is ‘Villainous’ unique?
Of course, we’d mention a Disney board game, it wouldn’t be fair! Now, there are mentioned some of the most famous Disney villains, such as Ursula, Maleficent, Captain Hook, Jafar, and many more. The game usually lasts 45 or more minutes. There are many tokens, cards, pawns, and more stuff inside the box. Instructions are pretty clear, and the game is more fun than expected! Amazing for tactically minded-people, who’d help the villains!
What is the objective of this board game?
You have to fulfill your villain’s destiny. Each of them has their specific objectives, and their goal is to show their abilities and what they can do. Once you fulfill these objectives, you win.
11. Pandemic
Available at: Amazon ($35.99) or Walmart ($35.99)
Why is ‘Pandemic’ unique?
We hate to admit it, but yes, there’s a game called Pandemic, even though we hate the pandemic! This board game contains aboard, 115 cards, and much more equipment to play. Both of you should get one character card out of 5 available, based on your preferences. You gotta take up to 4 actions in a round. Ps. be careful while drawing an epidemic card, you should be very energetic and complete the rules.
What is the objective of this board game?
You two are a team, you won’t compete against each other. Once you work together and complete curing the four diseases, you win the game. Otherwise, you’re both losers 🙁
12. Scrabble
Available at: Amazon ($13.00) or Target (18.99)
Why is ‘Scrabble’ unique?
First, if you’re curious, the game was renamed Scrabble by James Brunot, and it means ‘to scratch or scrape’. Scrabble is a word board game, where both players try to create more words, placing them on the game board. Just to be clear, not all the letters have the same value, some of them are higher scoring. A cool fact about this game is that people who play it tend to have a higher IQ since it helps brain development.
What is the objective of this board game?
Taking turns, you place letters on the board, trying to create words. The score is indicated by the number on each letter. Whoever has the higher score, wins.
13. Codenames
Available at: Amazon ($17.30) or Target ($17.99)
Why is ‘Codenames’ unique?
Are you good at solving mysteries? There are cards with codenames, key cards, innocent bystander cards, and lots more! You two will be the spymasters, and only by using some hints, you’ll try to crack the secret code names for the spies. Codenames is pretty simple to understand and play, and draws people in. It feels like watching a movie or something. If you concentrate and connect the hints together, this spy game will work great!
What is the objective of this game?
It’s all about cracking those codenames before your opponents do. If you guess (or find out) all the words correctly, congrats, you’re the winner!
14. Phase 10
Available at: Amazon ($9.40) or Target ($5.99)
Why is ‘Phase 10’ unique?
Well okay, we may say that Phase 10 is a bit similar to Rummy, but, anyhow, they have pretty special characteristics. There are phases to complete, which most of the time have to do with making runs, sets, and simply, drawing and organizing cards. There are 108 cards inside the beautiful box, including numbers, wild, and skip cards. The game gets addicting, and you’ll feel some competition! We’ve spent some quality bonding over this game, especially on trips!
What is the objective of this card game?
Keep completing the specific phases by creating different sets of cards. Once any of you two completes all the 10 varied cards, obviously, wins!
15. Couch Skeletons
Available at: Amazon ($10.99) or Walmart ($9.99)
Why is ‘Couch Skeletons’ unique?
At some point, we’re all couch skeletons, aren’t we? It’s all about occupying the couch! You’re both given your skeleton cards, out of pink and purple ones. There are 36 cards in each player’s deck. If your card is higher than the other skeleton, put it on top of that, and kick it out of the couch! It takes less than 2 minutes to learn how to play it, and you have no idea how many laughs it brings.
What is the objective of this game?
Your goal is to knock the other player’s skeletons out of the couch. You can declare your victory once you fill the couch with your skeletons!
16. Rummikub
Available at: Amazon ($14.97) or Walmart ($14.97)
Why is ‘Rummikub’ unique?
Rummikub is a mix of luck & skills. It isn’t that complicated to learn how to play, but it for sure takes a while to master! As you may assume, it comes with the tiles, and what you should do is place the tiles on the table, making them parts of sets, or even melds, if you reach the required points. Rummikub helps grow analytic associations, especially in kids and adolescents. It’s lots of people’s go-to game, mostly because of the competition and entertainment!
What is the objective of this board game?
Once any of you have used all their tiles in their rack, they should call out ‘Rummikub!’. This time, the person who has the fewest points is declared the winner.
17. Yahtzee
Available at: Amazon ($4.26) or Walmart ($8.34)
Why is ‘Yahtzee’ unique?
One thing we know for sure is that Yahtzee helps with decision-making and problem-solving skills. Also, there will be a little math included. Let’s mention multiplication, calculating the probability, comparing the numbers, and more. As you can see in the box, there are 5 dice included, which makes it pretty special. You score by shaking the dice. Don’t forget, shake, score, shout!
What is the objective of this game?
After a few rounds, you two compete to roll the dice with one purpose: reaching the highest score after 13 rounds of the gameplay.
18. Ticket To Ride
Available at: Amazon ($39.00) or Walmart ($39.00)
Why is ‘Ticket To Ride’ unique?
Here’s a cross-country train adventure game! The game is pretty intuitive and luck-based. There are hundreds of cards in the game, such as train cards, car cards, destination tickets, and many more. To be honest, this board game makes you feel like you’re traveling around North America. You’ll draw tickets, go through routes, complete destinations, pick up train cards, and a few more actions. Let’s take a trip to the 20-th century USA, shall we?
What is the objective of this board game?
You’ll create some train routes between North America, let me tell you! The longer the routes, the higher the points you earn. You already know it, whoever has the highest score, wins!
19. Chronology
Available at: Amazon ($19.99) or Walmart ($19.99)
Why is ‘Chronology’ unique?
If you’ve hated history when in school, this game may get you angry… There are more than 800 events included, all written in 429 double-sided cards. You two will draw cards and read the historical events out loud, such as Disneyland opens, Man lands on the moon, the Bikini is introduced, and hundreds more. All the cards will be added to your timeline, but, you should know where to land them…
What is the objective of this card game?
Well, based on the year of that event, you should line up the cards. If your timeline contains 10 cards, you’ll win the game!
20. Monopoly
Available at: Amazon ($20.95) or Target ($20.99)
Why is ‘Monopoly’ unique?
Have you ever thought of ‘helping’ your friend bankrupt? Well, now it’s the time! Just to be clear, this is the board game, not the Monopoly Deal. The board has 40 squares, and there are chance cards, properties, dice, tokens, Monopoly money, and more equipment is included in the game. Based on many experiences we’ve heard, Monopoly is great for your brain, especially for memory and cognitive skills.
What is the objective of this board game?
Since it is considered a real-estate board game, your goal is to remain economically stable till the end of the game, but, on the other hand, drive your friend(s) into bankruptcy. The player who remains the last in the game wins.
21. Chinese Checkers
Available at: Amazon ($18.99) or Target ($29.49)
Why is ‘Chinese Checkers’ unique?
Chinese Checkers, another name for Sternhalma, is a German-origin board game. The game comes with a wooden board that has holes in the shape of a 6 pointed star. Good decision-making skills and tactics are required to play this game, in case you want it to be dramatic… The key of this board game is to be focused, so you’ll know how to move the pegs. It’ll help you with concentration skills!
What is the objective of this board game?
Continue moving the pegs into the holes. Once you’ve moved all your pegs into the specific triangle, and you occupy all the 10 holes, you win!
22. Suspend
Available at: Amazon ($15.66) or Walmart ($16.99)
Why is ‘Suspend’ unique?
Remember when we talked about Jenga? Well, this is a kind of a more dangerous edition :p. There are 30 sticks (rods) included, and you should try to logic your moves and try to keep the pieces balanced. It is a bit challenging, but of course, makes you test out your creativity and eye coordination… It is a great choice if you’re trying to keep you two away from technology and have some great fun.
What is the objective of this game?
First things first, you should keep the tower balanced. If you can use all your rods without knocking over the pretty tower, you’re absolutely the winner!
23. Five Crowns
Available at: Amazon ($11.99) or Target ($11.99)
Why is ‘Five Crowns’ unique?
Just by the name, you understand how royal it is! We know one thing: Five Crowns is very exciting…The game has number cards, which may have one of the 5 suits, the Court, and jokers. Each round there’s a different wild card, which will be used to make runs or books in the game. This fabulous card game creates a competitive mood, which you Kings & Queens, will love. Ps. let’s say thank you to Marsha Jean for creating Five Crowns!
What is the objective of this card game?
After completing the books and runs, using the wild cards (jokers and others) properly, the player who has the lowest points wins the game…
Cardless And Boardless Games For 2 People
All we showed previously is undoubtedly unlimited fun and laughs. But, in case you have played some of these games, or you want to save some money, in the following, we’ll show you some more card games that cost nothing – but bring tons of giggles!
1. Trace Messages
Oh, how much we love this game! Well, you’ll only need two blank papers and two pens, and I bet you all have that at your home! You may choose between two options: writing or drawing. You place the paper on your friend’s back and start writing them a message or drawing something. They should do the same based on what they feel. When you both finish, compare both papers and see how hilarious they are! Having fun, here we come!
2. Two Truths And One Lie
We couldn’t make a list of games and not mention Two Truths And One Lie! It is one of the games that makes you two bond with each other, and know amazing stuff which I bet you didn’t know earlier! There is nothing complicated at all: you take turns telling 2 truths and 1 lie about yourself, and your friend should guess which one is the lie. If they don’t guess correctly, you tell the lie and tell stories about some interesting truths you told!
3. Truth Or Drink
Finally, a drinking game! You may also add ‘Dare’ to the game and make it more challenging, but, we recommend this version more for 2 people. All you gotta do is take some alcohol with you, think of some questions, and start asking each other. If any of you doesn’t feel comfortable answering, just take a sip of your drinks! The questions can include everything: family, personal, love life, ‘spicy’ questions, or anything you want. You’ll either get to know each other better or get drunk!
4. Sorry I’m Late
This article wouldn’t be completed without a game related to movies… Let me spoil it: one of you has to guess the movie, the other one gives hints. What you gotta do is say ‘Sorry I’m late’ and add a piece of information. To make it clearer, you may say ‘Sorry I’m late, I had to survive the ship’s sinking’, and the other player should answer Rose, Titanic. Of course, you’ll use more details, but that was one good try. Make sure you make things as simple as possible…
5. Fortunately, Unfortunately
We love telling stories, don’t we? It’s important to know that ALL sentences while telling this imaginative, creative story, should start with fortunately or unfortunately… Let’s say one of you starts with ’Fortunately, I had a day off today’, the other one should say ‘Unfortunately, I had tons of things to do’, and continues in the same flow. If any of you two take too long to say a sentence, or can’t come up with anything, you may get a dare, or take a shot. All up to your rules!
How To Choose The Perfect Game For 2 People?
Ahh, the struggle is real! Okay, we found some cool games, card and board ones, and even some DIY (if I may say), but, hold on! How do we choose one game to order or to play with our special person? There are dozens of choices, aren’t there? That’s why we’re here, making it easy! Here’s a guide to follow:
Decide between board games and card games. This should be your first decision, so, you’ll kinda filter the games. In general, board games require more skills and take more time, but card games may seem too simple or boring to someone. That’s why think of this clearly, and ask yourself if you’re more into, let’s say Monopoly, Chess, Pandemic, or Five Crowns, Phase 10, Couch Skeletons, and the other amazing card games we had mentioned above.
Do you want the game to be challenging? By and large, some games can get a bit challenging, and therefore, they help with different life skills, such as concentration, strategy, memory skills, speed, word-creating, and more. We can mention here Codenames, Rummikub, Ticket to Ride, Monopoly, and more… On the other hand, playing some other games, such as Cards Against Humanity, Exploding Kittens, Yahtzee, and more, most of the time bring only fun, and don’t require any special skill.
Think about the age of players. Well, these games we mentioned can be played with any of your special people. Your friend, partner, child, parent, relative, or simply, anyone. When looking for a game for that specific person, make sure you analyze the game difficulty and the age of players. Let’s say you’re playing with an 8-year- old kid, we don’t recommend you choose, hmm, Chess, Phase 10, or anything else, it would be a bit complicated. Otherwise, if playing with someone older, don’t pick something that may perform boring…
Are you trying to improve your word-creating skills? If you paid attention to details, you’ll see that we mentioned a few of these types of games. They improve your brain work and help you with creating and learning new words as well. Scrabble, Bananagrams, Boggle, are some great examples. They have similar meanings and goals, but they totally differ from one another and have their specifics.
Check the homemade games to save some money. Well, times are getting hard, and sometimes we need to keep some money left in our bank account. If you’re thinking of being a better saver, but at the same time you want to have fun, Trace Messages, Sorry I’m Late, Truth Or Drink, and the other two we mentioned, are perfectly thought… They bring tons of laughs and they’re not complicated at all. After all, who doesn’t want to save $20 or something?
Summarize: Why Were These Games Worth Mentioning?
First of all, are they worth mentioning? Let’s put it this way: YES, they’re undoubtedly amazing!
What we hardly tried to do, was to bring unique games. Even though we mentioned dozens of board games and dozens of card games, we made sure that each of them was different from the other, so, it wouldn’t be like mentioning the same game twice.
On the other hand, we took care that the prices of the games were reasonable, so, nothing was extreme for all strata of society. Also, it was really important to us to read about ratings and costumer’s comments, so, it meant that they had good experiences with them, and none of them was offended.
Read about the details in each game, pick your favorite, and let the amusement begin!
