Best 2 Player Games:
Since it's just normally me and my husband, we needed to find games that were meant just for two players. Let's face it, a lot of board games just aren't meant for only two people, like Clue (yes, we tried it--it doesn't work). To our surprise, there's quite the market for two player games. Some of them can be a bit pricey, so I've listed below the games that we love playing and that are most affordable.
Amazon Listing Price: $22.00
***** Stars
Jaipur is a great combination of strategy and luck. It's fast pace, and requires you to make risky decisions--fast. The objective of the game is to gain the most points trading goods, such as rubies and cloth, on the market. As you assume the role of a merchant, you must become the #1 trader to corner the market. Should you trade right away or should you wait to accumulate more cards to make your trade more worthwhile? Should you try to trade for rubies, or gold, or silver? Should you corner the camels on the market, or leave them for your opponent? Camels are used to trade for various goods--you can't sell camels, but you use them for trading. If you have the most camels at the end of the round, you get an extra bonus. The cards are made of high quality material, as well as the tokens. It's also a very colorful game, which we really appreciate!
Amazon Listing Price: $14.99
***** Stars
Lost Cities has two forms: the Original Card Game (which is what we have) and the 4 player board game. All of my research indicates that the 2 player card game is the way to go, but since we haven't tried the board game, I can't give that a fair review.
I can, however, express how much fun we've had with the card game! This is the game that I bought Nick for Valentine's Day, and we've played it at least once every day since :D
The game moves FAST! There's literally not a move to waste. You assume the role of an explorer going on various expeditions. It is up to you what expeditions you choose to start (each expedition corresponds to a different color). But remember: each expedition will cost you 20 points, meaning, don't start an expedition you can't make profit on! You can earn bonuses by wagering on your expedition, double, triple, or quadrupling your total point value. But beware: don't wager on an expedition that you can't complete! The rules are simple to learn, but the strategy is complex. Neither of us feels like we've really gotten the strategy down yet and we can't wait to keep playing!
Amazon Listing Price: $12.99
**** Stars
This game is a classic! I remember playing this game with my mom, aunt, and Grandma growing up. We actually have the older version which I found at Goodwill--ours is from 1994!
This game can be played with multiple players which we really enjoy, but it can also be played with just two people. There is a variation listed in the rules that instead of trying to create a sequence of cards one through sixty, you only use cards one through forty. Plus, you have to have a set of three cards in a consecutive sequence i.e. 24, 25, and 26. This makes the gameplay really challenging and requires you to stay one move ahead of your opponent. This allows for fast play and multiple rounds. You can choose to total your rounds or play best out of three. This is definitely a family favorite I plan to keep around!
Best 4 Player Games:
Target Listing Price: $39.99
***** Stars
There are many versions of Ticket to Ride, but we own the Europe version. This game requires you to make quick decisions about the best way to complete your train routes...before you are blocked by an opponent. It's the luck of the draw to determine whether you will get the color cards that you need to complete your routes. While you're at it--can you build the longest train? How many routes should you attempt to build?
The major difference between the original Ticket to Ride and the Europe version is obviously, the geography, but in the Europe version, there is an addition of train stations. Train stations allow you to, in the event that your route is totally blocked, use your opponents train route to connect to your own. But, every time you use a train station, you lose 4 points. Those points can make all the difference in who wins...or who loses.
This game can be played with two players, but we've found that it we enjoy it most with 4 players. 2 players is not quite competitive enough, and more than 4 players becomes very difficult to complete your routes. Be careful which version you buy on Amazon--we purchased a counterfeit version that we ended up sending back. We purchased our game at Target, which is what I will link to above.
Amazon Listing Price: $33.52
***** Stars
This spaghetti Western themed game is fantastic! Your objective: shoot the sheriff before you are killed off by the outlaws. This game relies on both strategy and luck to determine who really is the baddest and meanest in the wild, wild west. There is a lot to this game--there are a lot of different cards, as well as several expansion packs that you can purchase to make the game even more exciting. After 2-3 rounds, you can usually get the hang of it...and then your hooked! We recommend getting the game in the bullet edition (as pictured above) as it comes with several expansion packs and your very own sheriff's badge!
Best Party Games
Amazon Listing Price: $26.39
**** Stars
Nick and I had never played this game until a friend brought it over for a game night. We loved it so much we bought it right away! Codenames requires you to turn your thinking cap on, and hope that you paid attention in English class to your synonyms and thesaurus readings! The weight of the game rests on the Codemaster, as they try to deliver clues to help their teammates guess the word (or words) in front of them that they have been assigned. But beware: don't lead your team to believe it's one of your opposing team's words, or worse, the Assassin! If the Codemaster misleads their team to believe that their word is the Assassin, then your team automatically loses! We've had the most fun playing in teams of boys vs. girls!
There are several version of this game, including Duet, Marvel, Picture, and Disney (to name a few). We just have the classic Codenames. One thing we really like is that the game comes with directions for how to play with 2 or 3 players so it's very versatile--my husband and I have also played the 2 player version, and we've had a blast with that.
Amazon Listing Price: $17.85
*** Stars
Nick and I do not yet own this game, but we had such a blast playing it at a game night a few months ago! The game is simple: you have 5 seconds to name 3 of something--3 African American actors, 3 professional baseball teams, 3 things that you'd find at a picnic. When the time runs out, if you haven't named 3, or if your group determines that any of your 3 are incorrect, you do not get the card. First person to collect 7 cards wins (very similar to Apples to Apples).
When our friends explained the rules of this game, I thought this would be a piece of cake! It's not! The mind just seems to go blank when there's a timer forcing you to think fast. There are several apps that mimic this game, but in my experience, the full version is the best.
Well, that concludes my first board game review! What games do you like to play? Leave your comments below--Nick and I are always down to try out some new games!
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