LISTS & QUICKIES

compiled from rec.games.board

• Carcassonne
• Settlers of Catan Cardgame
• Kingdoms (I've played the old version-Auf Heller und Pfennig) These have already been suggested and are excellent choices. The Settlers cardgame was one of the first German games I played and I was instantly hooked. Early on, I really enjoyed tile-laying games and a few others that were lighter and more tactical in nature. Some of my favs were/are:
• Cafe International
• Ta Yü
• Metro
• Streetcar
• Flower Power (Kosmos)
• Big City If you want something a little more challenging, these are good:
• Through the Desert
• El Cabellero
• Samurai
• Torres

• Flower Power
• Bohnanza
• Tabula Rasa
• Wyatt Earp
• Carcassonne
• Starship Catan
• Knizia's Lord of the Rings
• La Citta
• Puerto Rico

• Lost Cities (her favorite)
• Carcassonne
• flowerpower
• Hera & Zeus

• Bohnanza (special 2-player rules come with Rio Grande version)
• Carcassonne
• Puerto Rico (using the variant on Alea's website. I think it's now on the geek.)
• Mystery Rummy 2 (Jack the Ripper)
• Settlers Card Game
• Lost Cities
• Starship Catan
• Settlers of Catan (nearly any variant that doesn't involve bidding)
• Cribbage
• Formula De (using either two or four cars per player) We've also played Wyatt Earp (it'll get back into that list at some point), Battle Line, Labyrinth the Card Game, and a few other that aren't coming to mind at the moment. We tried We the People and my wife found it a bit bland, so we may try Hannibal next. And I'm trying to get her into Blood Bowl, but that's a whole different genre.

• Lost Cities
• Guillotine
• Carcassone
• Knights
• Fluxx
• The Reef
• Kahuna
• Cribbage
• Luxor
• Africa
• Hera and Zeus

• Lost Cities has a 100% success rate with everyone I've exposed it to, and that has been mostly non-gamer types.
• Star Wars : Queen's Gambit also has a 100% success rate for me. Keep in mind though, it's a big game with a lot of pieces, whereas something like Lost Cities can be taken with you on a plane trip.
• Caesar & Cleopatra has done well. I usually break this one out with the Lost Cities players who are looking for a change of pace.
• Hera & Zeus has also done well except that it really doesn't seem to have much appeal to the non-gamers I've tried it out on. I think it's because it's slightly more involved than the other 2-player card games.
• Star Wars : Clash of the Lightsabers is a good, quick filler and you can buy it really cheap.
• Zertz: I've only played a few times, but it's good if you and your friend are into the abstract strategy games.

• Carcassonne plays well with 2, plays up to 5 equally well, is fairly quick, and does not have complex rules.
• Chrononauts (from Looney Laboratories) I like with 2 players. It plays up to 6, but I wouldn't really recommend it for more than 4 players. For light fun:
• Tally Ho / Halali
• Lost Cities
• Schottentotten Slightly more complex:
• Babel

• Tikal, exploring the jungle with 2 gives a strategy boost
• Carcassonne
• Cartagena
• Isis & Osiris (though being a bit easy)
• Robo Rally (not all boards, and use crossing routes)

• Lost Cities. Probably not my very favorite but it is addictive, and everyone seems to take to it very happily.
• Hera and Zeus. A little more involved, but not a whole lot, and a heckuva fun game.
• Pacal. I knew I'd like this, and I thought my girlfriend would find it dry and irksome but she loved it, too. Simple rules and rewards thought.
• Buried Treasure, IMHO, plays best with two people because you can calculate the consequences of your moves. We play that the person who is losing gets to go first each round.
• Quoridor is a good abstract strategy game for 2.
• En Garde is a fun little, an idle diversion but one that I like because it rewards a memory of what's been played.
• Battle Cry if you're willing to take the time to set it up.
• Carcasonne
• Upthrust eventually wears out on replayability but is a fun little abstract game.

• Settlers Card Game - a looong 2 player game, a bit solitaire-ish
• Caesar & Cleopatra - decent game
• Hera and Zeus - if you get past having to remember all the special powers, there's apparently good replayability
• Lost Cities - fast, quick game, good for 30 minutes between doing other stuff where you don't have to think much
• Clash Of The Lightsabers - 30 minutes, fun theme to muck around with if you get over the corn
• Zertz - engrossing deep thought 15 minute game
• Rosenkonig - 40 minute, limited decision tree where the luck of the cards is illusionary
• Kahuna - 40 minute memory skill game (what cards haven't been played, meaning that's what she's got, meaning ...) Games that work for two (in order of approachability):
• Carcassonne - works pretty well up to 5, still good with 2
• Durch Die Wuste - best with 3, very good with 2, 4 or 5
• Samurai - best with 3, good with 2 or 4
• Euphrat & Tigris - best with 3, still excellent with 4 and 2

• Lost Cities
• Mystery Rummy: Jack the Ripper
• Battle Cry (amazingly, she enjoys this "light" wargame)
• Battleline
• Hera and Zeus
• Caesar and Cleopatra

• Metro
• Carcassonne
• Durch die Wuste
• Upwords
• Quinto
• Scrabble I've also heard that Tikal, Euphrat & Tigris and Samurai play well with just 2 players, but I've not yet played them that way.

• Daytona 500: though I haven't played with 6 players, but 2-5
• Mamma Mia: 2-5
• Robo Rally: uh-oh, I've opened up a firestorm on this one. But yes, I enjoy it with two players as well as more. But use a timer!
• Pick Two: if word games are your thing. Great crossword game with a time limit.
• Expedition: great with any number from 2-6 I could list many others. But I'm the sort of person who doesn't mind a multi-player game played with just two players, as long as I like the game's system or theme. And if the game simply won't work with two players, I invent a quick variant to force it to work.

• Carcassonne (2-5)
• Expedition (2-6)
• Hare & Tortoise (2-6; with 2, each player uses two tokens)
• Master Labyrinth (2-4; unusual because it is best with 2, then 3, then 4)
• Ricochet Robot (2-however many people can fit around the table)
• Samurai (2-4)
• Through the Desert (2-5)
• Tigris & Euphrates (2-4)
• Tikal (2-4)

• Torres
• Through the Desert
• Carcassonne
• Streetcar
• Bosworth
• Samurai

• Tabula Rasa
• Samurai (Plays with 2-4 but works fine with 2)
• Stonehenge
• Cartagena (Plays with 2-4 but works fine with 2)
• Ferkelei (an old OOP Knizia game that's fun)
• Schotten Totten
• Lost Cities
• Carcassonne (Plays with 2-5 but works fine with 2)
• Take It Easy Others we play with two though far better with more are:
• Through the Desert
• Hare & Tortoise
• Carolus Magnus
• Torres

• Tutanchamun
• Hare & Tortoise
• Ferkelei (A Knizia OOP)
• Cartagena
• Carcassone
• Torres
• Carolus Magnus
• Take It Easy

• Amoeba Wars
• Axis & Allies
• B-17
• Blackbeard
• Car Wars
• HeroQuest
• Merchant of Venus
• Monsters Ravage America
• Robo Rally
• Sanctuary
• Star Fleet Battles
• Tai-Pan
• Third Reich

• Up Front
• Knightmare Chess
• Fight City
• Master Labyrinth
• King of the Elves
• Button Men
• Brawl
• Attack Sub
• Bosworth
• Carabande (takes up a lot of room though)
• El Caballero
• En Garde
• Rise of the Luftwaffe/Eighth Air Force
• Robo Rally
• Safari Jack
• Scrabble
• Set
• Settlers of Catan Card Game
• The Very Clever Pipe Game

• Wildlife Adventure - Each player has much more control than in a 3+ player game. Plays quick - about 15 or 20 minutes. Lots of fun!
• Elfenland - The lack of player interaction makes it a different game. It's a lot harder to make it around the board. I think this adds more challenge and doesn't detract from a great game. Plays quicker with 2 - about 30-40 minutes.
• Iron Horse - A great game no matter how many players.
• Drunter and Druber - I like this one best with 2 players. A few others that I think work well with 2 players:
• Union Pacific
• Tikal
• Can't Stop
• Freight Train

• Lost Cities
• Caesar & Cleopatra
• Kahuna
• Settlers of Catan Card Game (also available from Mayfair in an English edition I would also recommend Schotten Totten which is a 2 player card game similar to Lost Cities from the German company ASS. There are two board games for 2 players well worth looking at too.
• Carolus Magnus (plays for 2, 3 or 4)
• Isi (by Cwali Games)

• Samurai (2-4),
• Siesta (2-4)
• Ta-Yu (2-4)
• Ricochet Robot (2+)
• Tikal (2-4)
• Torres (2-4) all of which play well with 2 players. We have also recently enjoyed 2-player ZERTZ (not quite a German game, but a good 2 player abstract). More recently I'd have to add Carcassonne.

• Lost Cities - Excellent Reiner Knizia little card game. It plays in 20 minutes an provides great replay value.
• Caesar & Cleopatra - Nice card laying gaming that plays sort of like War with special features.
• Kahuna - This game comes with a small board where players must gain control of islands by building the most bridges (played by placing cards) on an island.
• Katzenjammer Blues - Another card game we enjoy very much. This is also a Reiner Knizia release and can play in 20 or so minutes.
• King of the Elves - Alan Moon's card version of his Elfenroads/Elfenland game. Involves card management where you try to travel across as many villages to gain the most gold.

• Auf Achse (I have a soft spot for this game, even though it is family fare)
• Wildlife Adventure (the WA rules work well with 2, expedition is not as interesting)
• Euphrates & Tigris
• Billabong
• Double Quick (this totally rocks with 2 competitive word hounds)
• Scotland Yard
• Big City (better with 2 than four, since the size of luck can be shrunk by the increased power each player has in possession half of the property)

• Shotten-Totten: Better and more strategic then Lost Cities.
• Pacal: Generally unknown but well worth it.
• Corner: Old Sid Sackson game that looks cool and plays great. Try to find it.
• Revolution: Early Knizia, embryonic version of Samurai.
• Brawl: Newest Cheapass is one of their best efforts.
• Mystery Rummy: If you haven't tried it yet, what are you waiting for?
• Sphinx: Another older Ravensburger title that is fun filler.

• Iron Horse (DB Spiele) - this is really designed for up to 6 players, but plays great with 2 players.
• Upwords (Milton Bradley) - my favorite of the crossword style games.
• Mystery Rummy (US Game Systems) - Rummy variant using a Jack the Ripper theme.

• Master Labyrinth (actually better than 3 or 4 player!)
• Maestro (though better with 3 or 4)
• Spectrangle (best with 2)
• Mysteries of Peiking (it's OK with 2, although better with more)
• Formule De (if you play with 2 cars each)

• Quirks by Eon Products does as well with 2 or 3 players and can take from 30 minutes to an hour and a half. Trying to build the perfect beast no matter what type of climate.
• Source of the Nile by Avalon Hill. Almost two solitaire games going on at once as you explore and map out Africa.
• Blackbeard and Titan, both by Avalon Hill are long and fairly complicated. As for card games - Skip-Bo, Casino and Canasta.

• Kahuna
• Caesar and Cleopatra
• Samurai And the stand-bys:
• Boggle
• Backgammon I also like Fluxx, just for fun. Other games that look promising, but that we've tried only once so far: En Garde & The Very Clever Pipe Game

• Auf Heller und Pfennig
• Billabong
• Cafe International
• Doctor Faust
• Favoriten
• Serenissima
• Tutanchamun All work well with two players, and even better with more.

• Entdecker (Goldsieber) by Klaus Teuber .. works very well with just 2.
• Settlers Card Game by Klaus Teuber
• Caesar & Cleopatra (Kosmos) by myself .. is also a nice 2-player card game

• Historical Wargames: the "wooden block games" from Columbia Games; Blue Max from GDW; Hannibal & We the People from AH; Ancients from 3W; The Last Crusade from CEE; Swashbuckler from Yaquinto.
• F&SF Games: Full Thrust from GZG; Space Empires from Mayfair; The Awful Green Things from TSR/SJG; Monster Derby from Gamesmiths; Deep Space Navigator from Tactical Templates.
• Abstract: Scoozi from Rich Maiers; Chess from SJG; Chase from TSR; Double Morphus from Lost Horizons; Octiles from Kadon; Knots from Jolly; En Garde from Abacus; Pirateer from Mendocino; Trax from D. Smith; Can't Stop from various.
• Sports: Pursue the Pennant from PTP; Wrasslin' from AH. Some of these are reviewed on my web page, SOS Gameviews: http://www.io.com/~sos/gviews.html

• Blockade: each player moves a pawn and places a wall each turn, attempting to reach his goal while blocking his opponent.
• Upwords: Scrabble-type word game in which you score extra by replacing letters.
• Twixt: 3M/Avalon Hill classic in which you try to connect your sides of the board before your opponent.
• Abalone: Push your opponent's marbles off the board before he does the same to you.
• Scotland Yard: Mr. X versus the detectives. I won't play this with more than two players.
• Shuttles: Get your pawns through the adjustable maze before your opponent.

• Master Labyrinth (Ravensburger): a real brain burner with two players, this is a simple looking game of sliding maze tiles to allow you to reach a series of tiles increasing in value. And this is available in the US.
• Headquarters: very cool and short two player game involving putting wooden blocks into a giant wooden head trying to form groups of color. Each player has his own side, and you are allowed to place blocks to hinder your opponent. The only downside is the price, which is about $75-$80.

• Gipf (Kris Burm; DonCo(www.gipf.com)/Blatz)
• Gyges (Claude Leroy)
• Avalam Batika (P. Deweys)
• Lines of Action (Claude Soucie; Hexagames)
• Pyraos(Pylos) (David Royffe; GiGamic) Skill/luck/bluff
• Entropy (Dr. Eric Solomon; Skirrid International)
• Quantum (Meg & Peter Aleff; Kadon (www.gamepuzzles.com))
• Plateau (J.W. Albea; (advicom.net/~jwalbea/plateau))
• Knightmare Chess (Bernard Faidutti; Steve Jackson Games) Family Games
• Die Mauwurf Co. (Bertram Kaes; Ravensburger)
• Durch die Wuste (Reiner Knizia; Kosmos)
• Hare & Tortoise (David Parlett; Intellect/Waddingtons/Gibsons)
• Billabong (Dr. Eric Solomon; Amigo)
• Snit's Revenge (Tom Wham; TSR)
• Awful Green Things... (Tom Wham; TSR/Steve Jackson Games)
• Take it Easy (Peter Burley; F X Schmidt)
• Roborally (Richard Garfield; WotC (www.wizards.com))
• Man-Eater (Macrory & Young; Footloose)
• Elfenroads (Alan R. Moon; White Wind)
• Fluxx (Andrew Looney; (www.wunderland.com/looneylabs)) Word Games
• Pass the Bomb (Los Rodriguez; MB)
• Scrabble Deduction Games
• Mastermind: when you get bored of normal mastermind, allow the codemaster to lie once each game!
• Runes (Eon)
• Code 777 (Bob Abbott; Jumbo) Story Telling Games
• Tales of the AN (West End Games)
• Dark Cults (Kenneth Rahmen; Dark House) Dexterity
• Carabande (Jean Du Poel; Goldsieber)
• Jenga (MB)
• Sack of Bricks (Lord Carter) Card Games
• Spite and Malice: can be found in most good books of card games; it lives up to its name!

• Settlers card game
• Fury of Dracula
• Tutankhamun
• Santa Fe
• Master Labyrinth (but use a chess clock)
• McMulti
• En Garde
• Palmyra
• Chaos Marauders
• Airlines
• Spanish Main
• Wildlife Adventure
• Bazaar
• Bridgette

• Dixie
• * Eagles
• Iron Dragon
• Sorcerer's Cave
• Talimsan
• Space Hulk
• Air Baron
• Auf Heller Und Pfennig
• Australia Rails
• British Rails
• Detroit/Cleveland Grand Prix
• Die Ausreisser
• Die Siedler Kartenspiel
• * Dinosaurs Of The Lost World
• Drunter Und Druber
• * Elfenroads
• Enchanted Forest
• * Entdecker
• * Euphat & Tigris
• Formula De
• * Fury of Dracula
• Goldrausch
• * Mississippi Queen
• Mole Hill
• New Games From Old Rome
• Palmyra
• Serenissima
• * Scotland Yard
• * Shark
• * Sinbad
• Spanish Main
• * Take It Easy
• Tutanchamun
• * Twixt (* more likely to be played)

• Raj
• Quoridor
• Terrace
• Pente
• Quixo
• Upthrust
• Field Command (long game, but enjoyable)

• Igel Ärgen (made in Germany, but includes English rulebook).
• Formula De
• Wiz-War

• Die Siedler von Catan Kartenspiel
• En Garde
• The Awful Green Things from Outer Space
• Breakthru
• We the People (OK, it's a bit wargamey, but not too bad at all)
• Knightmare Chess
• Netrunner
• Pico
• Mole Hill
• New Games in Old Rome (2 or 3 of them) Multi-player games that work reasonably well or better with two:
• Auf Achse
• Auf Heller und Pfennig
• Can't Stop
• Drunter & Druber
• Entdecker
• Manitou
• Mr. President
• Santa Fe
• Die Schlangen von Delhi
• Sisimizi
• Wildlife Adventure
• Zug nach Westen/Rock Island

• Stratego still works well.
• Conquest is a good game.
• Axis & Allies is a good 2 player war game also.

• Mille Bournes (Parker Bros.) It's a great little card game.
• Enemy In Sight (Avalon Hill) is another great little card game. It's set in Napoleonic times and is a sea battle. Good for ages 8 +.

• Backgammon
• Cribbage
• Crokinole
• Cathedral
• Halma (Chinese Checkers)
• Morris
• Fox & Geese (a favorite of Victoria & Albert)
• Dominoes
• Mancala
• Gin Rummy

• En Garde ... fast 'n fun
• Mississippi Queen works very well with 2, use 2 boats per person. Lots of fun.
• Detroit/Cleveland Grad Prix is another good race game.
• Backgammon is the only "classical" game we've liked much.

• Knightmare Chess (I'm one of the authors, so I can recommend it! Absolutely chaotic)
• Geister (the best of Alex randolph's game, a very nice mix of strategy and bluff). One of my all times favorites.
• Mole Hill (the only Knizia game that I like. I don't know why!)
• Quarto (abstract strategy game, fast paced, very funny)
• Dino Hunt (more luck than strategy, but very nice to play)
• Badabum, Bausack, Jenga... and all the games about buildings which have not to fall down
• Batik (strange "two player tangram') And when you want something heavy, try Axis and Allies.

• Auf Heller & Pfennig (Reiner Knizia; Hans Im Gluck)
• Drunter & Druber (Klaus Teuber; Hans Im Gluck)
• Entdecker (Klaus Teuber; Goldsieber)
• Wildlife Adventure (Wolfgang Kramer; Ravensburger) Favorite games designed for two players:
• We the People (Mark Herman; Avalon Hill)
• Abalone (Laurent Lavi & Michel Lalet; Abalone Games)
• Kick-Off/Gazza (Unknown; Milton Bradley England)(A two-player soccer card game)
• Twixt (Alex Randolph; 3M)
• and Chess isn't bad either, although I've never been particularly good at it.

• Take It Easy is wonderful regardless of the number
• Palabra is a superb, fast moving word card game
• Bali is, too
• The Settlers of Catan Card Game works very well
• Colliding Circles is a great abstract game
• Spectrangle, too See David Parlett's "Dictionary of Card Games" (penguin) for a terrific list of card games for two players. See Sid Sackson's "A Gamut of Games" (Dover) for an assortment of excellent two player games. And then there the following out of print games (if you can find them)
• Marrakesh
• Deal Me In

• Dark Tower (1-4 players) her favourite
• Talisman (2-8 players best with 4-6)
• Family Business (2-6 best with more than 2, but playable with two) my mom also likes Family Business a lot
• Wiz War is fine with two people, but the games tend to be short and you sometimes argue about the rules. (don't know why, maybe it's just me)

• Auf Heller und Pfennig (Hans im Glück)
• Drunter & Drüber also by HiG.
• Um Reifenbreite/Demmerage by Jumbo (if you like bicycle racing).
• Cude/McMulti also is a decent 2 player game.

• Athos (Kosmos) - another Knizia game
• Billabong (Amigo)
• Spiel der Turme (Schmidt) Basically, the more abstract games tend to have two-player options.

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