2-Player ONLY Games: Mini Reviews

Does this sound like you?

You want to play board games. However, you’re only two to play! You’ve tried all sorts of games, but they just don’t seem to play well at two players or be as enjoyable compared to when you play with a bigger group of people.

Finding games that play well at two players isn’t as easy as finding a box that says 2-5 players. Or even 1-4 players. Unfortunately, not all games play well at two players, even when the box makes you believe it does.

Luckily, some game designers noticed this issue and came up with a solution: 2-player ONLY games!

These games are exactly what they sound like: Games that can only be played at two players.

The big difference is that these games have been specifically designed and optimized to be a good (and in some cases, even great) experience at two players.

Here are a couple of two-player ONLY games that you might enjoy:

Stellar

Patchwork

Caper: Europe

Stellar

Publisher: Renegade Games

Designer: Matt Riddle and Ben Pinchback

Player Count: 2 players

Mechanics: Area Control, Hand Management, Open Drafting, Set Collection, Tile Placement

“Space! For millennia, humans have marveled at the cosmos. Modern astronomy gives us valuable insight about what’s happening in the universe, but there is still a sense of wonder to be had in looking up at the expanse above us.

In Stellar, you are stargazers, calibrating your telescopes to bring into view celestial objects of various types — planets, moons, asteroids, interstellar clouds, black holes, even satellites — as you create a beautiful display of the night sky!” 1 - Description from the publisher

In Stellar, you are trying to make the most beautiful display of the night sky. You accomplish this by placing cards representing celestial objects in your “notebook” and your “telescope”.

Stellar uses an interesting open-drafting mechanic that creates an intriguing puzzle that forces you to make decisions which might benefit both of your areas (telescope and notebook) but, sometimes, it also might limit your scoring potential.

Stellar is a beautiful-looking game that has a challenging puzzle. It is a quick game to play (<30 minutes) and the scoring is unique. The different mechanics employed in the game makes it quite compelling.

For whom is Stellar?

If you enjoy games that are quick to play but still offer a good puzzle, this might be for you.

This game might also be for you if you enjoy open drafting, “tile” laying and working to get the majority of an area.

CBG Mastery Score

Stellar gets a CBG Score of:

5 / 10

Does Crunchy recommend Stellar?

Stellar gets 8 crunchies out of 10.

It is a beautiful game, has a fun puzzle, is challenging and plays quickly.

However, the game takes up quite a bit of space due to the telescope setup and sometimes, turns can drag on due to analysis paralysis.

Score: 7/10

If you enjoy Stellar, give these a try

Subastral

Subastral is pretty much the same game as Stellar, but for up to five players. Subastral uses many of the same mechanics as Stellar, however, the scoring system varies as well as the theme. The illustrations were done by Beth Sobel, so you know it’s a very pretty game. Some of Beth’s other work: Wingspan, Cascadia, Calico, etc. Talking about Calico:

Calico

Calico is an open tile drafting, set collection game that is cute, very challenging and super fun! This game is a perfect example of a game that is “easy to learn, hard to master”.

Patchwork

Publisher: Lookout Games

Designer: Uwe Rosenberg

Player Count: 2 players

Mechanics: Area Control, Hand Management, Open Drafting, Set Collection, Tile Placement

“To create a beautiful quilt, however, requires effort and time, but the available patches just do not want to fit together. So choose your patches carefully and keep a healthy supply of buttons to not only finish your quilt, but to make it better and more beautiful than your opponents” 2 - Description from the publisher

In Patchwork, you will place polyomino tiles on your player board (quilt) to have the most complete quilt.

Patchwork uses a rondel-open drafting mechanism where you buy different-shaped patches to place on your quilt. Each patch gives you points but also costs you movement points. As your resources are limited, you will need to be strategic in order to optimize your turns and the coverage of your board.

Patchwork has very accessible rules but also offers a good challenge if you are looking to optimize your turns.

For Whom is Patchwork?

Patchwork is a great game for a quick play (15-30 minutes), to show people who are interested in learning board games or even if you are looking for a game that is quick to set up but offers tons of fun.

CBG Mastery Score

Patchwork gets a CBG Score of:

4 / 10

Does Crunchy recommend Patchwork?

Patchwork gets 8 crunchies out of 10

There is a reason why Patchwork won multiple awards and is loved by (almost) everybody: its simple rules make it easy to pick up, it’s challenging for novice players but also for the more experienced players and is simply fun to play.

We would be surprised if you don’t play a second time in a row every time you take this game out!

Score: 8/10

If you enjoy Patchwork, give these a try

New York Zoo

If you are looking for a little bit more of a challenge, New York Zoo might be one of the best alternatives to Patchwork. You will be using a lot of similar mechanics, but you will gain extra points by selecting animals that go within your selected polyomino shapes which will eventually give you free(!) shapes to place on your board.

The Isle of Cats

If tile laying is your thing, The Isle of Cats is one to check out. It adds a closed drafting element which adds to the randomness of the game (especially at 3 or more players).

It plays really well at every player count and also offers expansions that really do add to the game!

Caper: Europe

Publisher: Keymaster Games

Designer: Unai Rubio

Player Count: 2 players

Mechanics: Area Management, Hand Management, Open Drafting, Set Collection, Tug

“Plan and execute an elaborate string of heists in Caper: Europe, a game for two. Recruit a crew of skilled thieves to outmaneuver your opponent, steal valuable goods, and dominate the most famous landmarks across Paris, Rome, London, and Barcelona… Another day, another caper!” 3 - Description from the publisher

In Caper: Europe, you will engage in a tug-of-war against your opponent to pull off the most prestigious heists.

You accomplish this by drafting your team of thieves and the equipment that you will be using. These thieves have unique abilities and the gear will help them take control of the heist’s location as well as help steal goods.

On your turn, you will play a card, then your opponent. But there’s a twist: once the turn is over, you will trade your hand with your opponent and the following turn will be played using the card they drafted!

You will need to be deft with the strategy you employ. Whether it will be the order you play your cards, the risk you take that your opponent will, or will not, take the card you will need, how you manage your money and more!

Once all the cards have been played, you will tally up the score: the thief with the most points wins!

For whom is Caper: Europe?

If you love to fight for area and you love to strategize without knowing how your opponent will react, this game might be for you.

This game is especially for you if you enjoy tug-of-war games, as there are no exceptions, you will have to outwit your opponents to win.

CBG Mastery Score

Caper: Europe gets a CBG Score of:

5 / 10

Does Crunchy recommend Caper: Europe?

Caper: Europe gets 8 crunchies out of 10

Caper: Europe is a beautiful game that offers A LOT of strategy. The options that are offered to you are engaging and thematic. What is great is that the more you will play this game, the more tension there will be in the gameplay!

Caper: Europe was also nominated for the 2022 Golden Geek Best 2-player Game, which gives you a good idea of how good this game is.

Score: 6.5/10

If you enjoy Caper: Europe, give these a try

Watergate

If you enjoy the tug of war element in games, Watergate is on to check out.

In Watergate, you are playing through the Watergate Scandal: one player as the media/journalists and the other as the Nixon administration.

The media is trying to gather enough evidence to connect two informants to the president while the Nixon Administration is try to keep its momentum to finish its presidential term.

Will history repeat itself, or will you manage to rewrite the story?

References:

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