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    61 Games You Can Play With Only Two People

    Who's up for a little 1v1?

    1. A traditional game of Scrabble to test your word-making abilities. You'd better have a dictionary nearby because you're gonna need it.

    Scrabble board and fourtile racks

    2. Or a Harry Potter Scrabble if that's more your cup of tea. It follows most of the rules as an old-school Scrabble game but spells, potion names, characters from the series, and wizarding locations all count as words.

    The board game and pieces

    3. A retro Yahtzee — another traditional game that'll have you pulling out your lucky rabbit's foot before each roll.

    The game pieces

    4. Mancala because I am about to crush you with colorful glass stones. I take Mancala very seriously if you couldn't tell.

    The game's box

    5. Monopoly Fortnite so you can boogie bomb the millennials or Gen Z'ers in this battle royale version of classic Monopoly. It has many of the same elements as the video game: Tilted Towers, loot chests, the storm, and even the battle bus. So, where we dropping boys?

    The game board and pieces

    6. Patchwork to put your thinking skills to good use. Your task is to create a beautiful quilt. Seems easy right? Well, you also have keep track of your resources while trying to make a blanket that's more beautiful than your opponent's.

    Reviewer holding the box

    7. A folding magnetic chess set if you're getting ~board~ with other games. Also, you probably watched The Queen's Gambit like everyone else and their mother and you fancy yourself a chess whiz.

    The folded board with pieces stuck to it

    8. A fun game of checkers that'll no doubt bring out your competitive side. The board is reversible so you get two games in one: checkers and tic-tac-toe!

    The game in its box

    9. Or Chinese checkers for testing your tactical skills. Can you get all your colored pegs to the opposite side of the board?

    The game board

    10. Cribbage because now is the perfect time to finally learn how to play. And once you get going, a game will only take you ~30 minutes so you can try plenty of times.

    The game board

    11. Jenga so you can get your daily adrenaline rush as you remove a block and hope your giant tower doesn't come crumbling down.

    Reviewer photo of their Jenga stack

    12. Or Jenga Throw 'n Go to add another element of surprise to your game. The roll of a dice determines which color block you have to remove.

    The box, colored game pieces, and the die

    13. A indoor foosball table if you'd rather be on the pitch right now but are practicing safe social distancing.

    The foosball table

    14. A fast and frantic word-building game called Bananagrams that'll challenge your spelling skills and finger speed.

    15. A Mexican Train dominoes set for some good, clean fun. It'll bring back memories of playing dominoes with Grandma and Grandpa!

    The game in its case

    16. A stimulating game of pick-up sticks because it's a fun challenge that's like the opposite of pick up sticks. Test your fine motor skills as you attempt to balance colored sticks on without disturbing the rest of the pile.

    The game

    17. An air hockey table so you can take out your aggression on the plastic puck.

    Reviewer photo of the table

    18. A stylish backgammon set to give you a new game to master. Your goal is to remove all your colored pieces from the board.

    Reviewer photo of the brown leather board

    19. Santorini (no, not the Greek island — though we could all use a trip there right now!), a strategy game if you were one of those kids who was obsessed with Greek mythology.

    The board game and pieces

    20. A 3D tic-tac-toe set that'll take you back to your childhood, except you're no longer playing on a piece of notebook paper.

    Child playing the game

    21. Or a more complex multi-level tic tac toe board for kids and adults who want to try something new. You can win three ways: getting three same-sized pieces in a row, lining up three different-sized pieces in ascending or descending order, or positioning three concentric circles in one spot.

    Child playing the game

    22. A strategy-based railroad-building game like Ticket to Ride because it'll take you on a journey across North America without you ever having to leave your home (or even the couch!). It's also Alexa-compatible; just say, "Alexa, launch Ticket to Ride" and you'll have a digital tour guide *or* a virtual opponent.

    Reviewer photo of the game board and pieces

    23. Villainous, a game where you play as Disney baddies so you can finally see evil triumph — y'know, if you're into that sort of thing.

    The game cards and pieces

    24. A 4-in-1 game table to keep you entertained when you don't know what to play. It comes with air hockey, foosball, table tennis, and billiards.

    The table

    25. A tabletop cornhole set if you're a Midwest transplant and missing home a little bit. We'll save the bags vs. baggo vs. beanbags vs. cornhole debate for another day.

    The cornhole game

    26. Codenames Duet, a co-op version of my favorite word-association game that'll encourage team bonding because guess what — you're both on the same team!

    The game cards

    27. The Exploding Kittens card game for fans of felines and flare-ups — but not together. The objective is to use your action cards to avoid the exploding kitten and outlast your opponents.

    The game cards

    28. Forbidden Island, another co-op card game, because capturing sacred treasures from a sinking island is more rewarding when you do it together.

    The game cards and pieces

    29. A 500-piece Frank Lloyd Wright double-sided puzzle so you get double the puzzle for your money.

    The puzzle

    30. Sushi Go! to ~maki~ quarantining a bit more fun. This fast-paced, strategy-based card game is a favorite that'll entertain even the biggest grouch. Still on the fence? Just ~roe~ with it and get it!

    The tin and cards

    31. Unstable Unicorns if — and let's get right to the ~point~ — you and your opponent have a strong enough relationship that it can handle a little backstabbing. The goal is to fill your stable with a unicorn army while hilariously screwing over your rival.

    The box

    32. Blokus, a tile-placing game that'll challenge your spatial reasoning. Each player is trying to fit as many of their pieces on the board as possible while simultaneously blocking their opponent.

    The Blokus board with white and black geometric tiles on it

    33. A trivia game because you secretly think you're a genius. Well, here are over 400 questions that'll test your knowledge of random factoids.

    Reviewer photo of a game card that has questions like, "Who founded Facebook?" and "What is 'Greece' called in Greek"

    34. Cake Duel, a light-hearted bluffing game so you can put your poker face to the test.

    The cards and game pieces

    35. Beat That! — a game of challenges to see who comes out on top. You've been quarantining with your partner or roommate long enough that you already know who the best cook is. Now it's time to find out who has the best singing skills while gargling mouthwash.

    The box

    36. Overcooked! 2 so you and your S.O. can test your communication skills while completing as many recipes as possible within a certain amount of time. Oh wait, I almost forgot to mention that you have to do all of this while navigating moving platforms and avoiding exploding mines, pedestrians, and even aliens.

    View this video on YouTube

    youtube.com

    I own this for Nintendo Switch, and it's one of my favorite games to play with my partner. We're not usually fans of the same style of video games, but Overcooked! 2 is a great way to bond!

    Get the digital game code for $24.99 (available for Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC).

    37. Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime to test your combined alien-fighting abilities. Each player controls a different part of the spaceship (like steering and the cannons), so you have to work together to navigate your way out of danger while blasting baddies.

    View this video on YouTube

    youtube.com

    Get the digital game code for $14.99 (available for Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC).

    38. Luigi’s Mansion 3, a Nintendo Switch exclusive if you're ready to join forces to take on the poltergeists that have captured your friends.

    View this video on YouTube

    youtube.com

    Get the digital game code from Amazon for $59.99.

    39. Snipperclips, another Switch exclusive that'll require you and your teammate to put on your thinking caps to solve various puzzles, like carrying objects from point A to point B and popping balloons.

    View this video on YouTube

    youtube.com

    Get the digital game code from Nintendo for $19.99.

    40. Portal 2, a puzzle platformer because even though it's an oldie (and by old I mean it was released in 2011), it's considered by some to be one of the greatest video games ever.

    View this video on YouTube

    youtube.com

    Get it for 9.99+ (available for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC).

    41. Or Fitness Boxing, another Switch exclusive to encourage you and your roommate to get active without ever having to leave the apartment.

    View this video on YouTube

    youtube.com

    Get the digital code from Amazon for $49.99.

    If none of these video games piqued your interest, check out these other co-op games to try!

    42. Words With Friends, a fan-favorite app game to stay connected when you can't be with your friends and family.

    43. Crossy Road, a retro Frogger-style arcade phone app game if your only goal for today is to get your character from point A to point B without getting run over. Take your competition to the next level and go head to head using the split-screen format if you're playing on the same device.

    View this video on YouTube

    youtube.com

    Get it from the App Store or Google Play for free.

    44. Badland, an adventure phone app game that'll wow you with its critically acclaimed art style. The objective is to take your blob through the obstacle course, and it has both co-op and competitive modes.

    View this video on YouTube

    youtube.com

    Get it from the App Store for $0.99 or Google Play for free.

    45. Duel Otters, an adorable phone app game for going head to head against your competitor in a series of mini games, including matching contests, speed-clicking matches, and batting competitions.

    View this video on YouTube

    youtube.com

    Get it from the App Store or Google Play for free.

    46. A deck of cards because you don't need a fancy game board and a million pieces to have fun.

    A music-themed deck of cards with artists like Dolly Parton, Prince, Madonna, and BB King

    Did we miss anything? Let us know what you're playing!

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