I absolutely love your videos. You don't only talk about the games and just showing their boxes, your videos actually show gameplay. That's so freaking awesome, all while delivering a laugh!
I’ve seen several of these games recommended by other reviewers, but for some reason the way you explain them reveals which ones I’m interested in when I didn’t think I was before. Thanks!
Lost Cities is still astounding all these years later. How Dr. K managed to fit so much tension and angst into a game with like 4 rules is beyond me. And then he did it again! (ST/BL)
@@janetmichel3009 Hmmm. I never thought about it that way, but I can see it. It's very rummy-like in the way you are drawing one card, then playing/discarding one card every turn, and the other player can take your discards. You also potentially lose points for starting a certain group, like canasta. However, most of the tension comes from the fact that every card you place potentially rules you out of playing others - if you go from red 1 to red 5 you never get to place red 2, 3, 4.. This definitely gives it a unique feel.
The Fox in the Forest has the same kind of “pick it up every evening after dinner” kind of vibe. Very low commitment, but a simple and fun card game for two that never feels like someone is intentionally trying to ruin your night.
As exceptional as always - I’ve been working at a board game cafe for around 6 months now and have taught Patchwork 66 times, been an amazing success 65/66 of the occasions so an absolutely top recommendation!
Nice top 10. I also have a wife who likes lighter / shorter games I'd put 1. Carcassonne (amazing with 2-3) 2. Patchwork 3. All Creatures 4. Santorini (it would be my number 1, but the others hit the table more) 5. Lost Cities 6. Tiny Towns (not best with 2, but still good and she loves it) 7. Red 7 8. Kingdomino (best with 2) 9. 7 Wonders Duel 10. Calico
Just stumbled on your channel with the video for couples made 8 years ago. Then yt made me watch all your most popular ones but I didn’t know they were same person. Now back to here it’s crazy what 8 years does. Love how you never changed. 😂
Added a few to my to-buy list after this! My additions are: Star Realms - a very streamlined deckbuilder that's quick to set up and understand Forbidden Island - This was the first game I played with my wife and it's a great intro to Pandemic-style co-op mechanics. Smash Up - Easy to set up and play, but every game is different because of the different combination of factions you can play with Truffle Shuffle - Rules are simple, but you're always in edge as to whether you should cash in your cards or hold out to get a bigger set, while hoping you're opponent doesn't get the card you want
If you like Forbidden Island, you should play Forbidden Desert. I never played Forbidden Island again because of the improvements made in Forbidden Desert.
I’m not sure what “improvements” means. I do think that overall *Desert* is the “better” game of the two. But I really like some simple elements of *Island*, and its tight little design. Just because one game has more things going on / to do, it’s not an “improvement” (I’m 100 % sure you’ve witnessed this in the hobby; also just think about Jon’s (this channel) take on buying expansions). All else being equal, in mixed company I’m often more likely to suggest a game of *Island* over *Desert*. I love them both. But can someone convince me to give *Sky* another chance? 😅
@@vidicate3963 > I’m not sure what “improvements” means. [re: Forbidden Desert/Island] In Forbidden Island you have three actions (a la pandemic). In forbidden Desert you have four. When you only have three, the strategy space is a _lot_ smaller, to the point where all my decisions felt obvious and the game felt uninteresting.
I think Radlands could constitute as a couples game. Easy to learn and setup. Over in half an hour. Usually really close and tight knit matches. It’s really damn good.
It's great to see Fungi (aka Morels) getting some recognition. My wife and I really enjoy that one. In recent memory, Caper: Europe is a very strong 2-player-only entry.
The theme and artwork aren't the most alluring, I think it can be easily overlooked. But I couldn't help but rank it above flashier looking games like Santorini.
@@actualol I know I am in the minority, but I really like the U.S. art (the Morels version). And as an amateur mushroom forager myself, I do enjoy the theme ;-)
Love these kind of videos..and your humor. Only problem is it leaves me wanting to buy every single game afterwards since these are mouthwatering reviews ;)
7 years back you had done a video on games for couples and that too included Battle line, Arboretum, Patchwork and Sherlock Holmes. Good to see so many games continuing your top 10 couple games list even after so many years. And now even Lost cities added to the list. All these games are Classics and great to play.
Solid list. We own quite a few of these but these are all fairly confrontational. My wife and I love Castles of Burgundy which, although not exclusively 2 player, is generally regarded as playing best with two players and can be done in about an hour. It's competitive but can be played without actively screwing each other over and is just a really satisfying experience compared to a lot of 2 player-only 'filler' games. Splendor is also great with 2 players.
Nice list. We are both very passionate boardgamers. Our favorite games to play together are ark nova, terraforming mars and sleeping gods. (But we actually have whole board game nights lasting 4 hours or more with just the two of us.)
@@bookwurmlibrary3064 that’s the same for us! 4 littles and my husband works a lot but our date nights are games. People always judge our game collection and I tell them “you spend that money, too. You just ate it”
I really enjoy all of your videos, but I think this one might be my favorite. I laughed so much, and wrote down a few games I've absolutely got to try like Fungi/Morels, Schotten Totten, and Arboretum. Thanks for all of the work you put into your videos!
Castles of Burgundy belongs on any good 1v1 list, I am also a really big fan of the deck builder Ascension. Unlike many deck builders, Ascension is really fast and easy to play rather quickly and isn't that complicated to setup or remember. Castles does take slightly longer, but for any couple that has played it a few times, it goes by rather fast and every game is different.
@@actualol We have recently evolved from Codenames to Decrypto and are really enjoying playing both with other couples (though I honestly prefer playing with like 6 people instead of 4). My favorite game to play with 2 sets of couples is The Crew, though obviously that is a cooperative game and not 2v2, but honestly that might be better for a double date. BTW I was very excited to see Lost Cities on top of your list because it just recently joined my collection and we have been looking forward to playing it.
@@tabletalkreviews We had to institute a rule of putting my fiancée and I on opposite teams so she could interpret my weird ass clues and attempt to decrypt. Decrypto is definitely well aligned to people who know each other well.
Although more fun with more players my husband and I love Lanterns. It's a tile-laying game. Every tile has one colour of lanterns facing each direction. Every players gets a card of that coloured lantern that points in their direction. You can get bonus cards by matching the colour of an adjacent tile. You need the cards to buy points. 4 of the same colour, 1 of each colour, etc. The earlier you buy points, the more points you get. It sounds quite complicated when you have to explain it without the pieces but it's actually quite simple and so much fun!
Great list. Own half of them because of Actualol! You can’t be more right about Lost Cities. I love playing it with my wife. Schotten Totten is great but with our competitive natures, it really works out our brains! For something so simple it really offers a lot of hard choices!
I know I am late to the party but I only recently found your channel. Thanks for this. I really have always wanted good games to play with my wife as a couple. but whenever looking for couples games they are always like literal couples games... you probably know the ones I mean lol
Nice list, we do own and love Caesar, Sobek, Patchwork and Arboretum. I really miss Finca, Botanik, 7 Wonders: Duel and Kingdomino - beside Patchwork I think these are our top two player games. I suggest them to everyone regularly. Have been already looking at Fungi already, will try it definitely.
Some of our favorites not mentioned: Babylonia Fugitive Jaipur Codenames: Duet Blitzkreig! (Caesar's predecessor) Blue Moon My City Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation Orongo MicroMacro Carcassone: The Castle Hive Santorini Fox in the Forest En Garde Royal Visit Qin Axio 10 of those are by Knizia. He is a genius!
I'm surprised to not see many co-op games here! My partner and I love them! Pandemic (especially Pandemic Legacy) and Burgle Bros are both great options.
Mandala and Hive pocket have been our go to games these last few years. Perfect for taking the pub whilst on a long weekend away, neither take longer than 15-20 mins and simplicity of mechanics lends itself to tight games time after time
Great picks. I really enjoy the Express version of Patchwork too. It adds a few small changes and some blue tiles that improve the overall experience in my opinion.
Great video (as always). In answer to the question "what are your top couples games?", I have managed to get my non-board game wife to play and enjoy Jaipur, Hanami Koji, Curious Cargo, Santorini and (don't hate me for it) Monopoly Deal.
Rivals for Catan is our main couples game go-to. She got it for me for Christmas one year thinking it was the 2 players expansion, but it's been our favorite since.
Lots of great suggestions here. I have (and agree with) about half of the ones listed, so I'm sure the others will be just as good. Time to add them to the Christmas list!
Great list! And great video, as usual. I love Arboretum and Fungi, but haven't played most of the others. Two others that my partner and I enjoy playing are Glasgow and Botanik.
We've been playing a lot of Azul and Jaipur along with QUIXX and Rummycube. Breaking out into a few new games as well - some of these look pretty interesting.
My wife and I have enjoyed games that aren't normally best played with 2 players, but it changes the gameplay enough to work. Codenames is fun with 2 because you're both on the same team working to get the fastest solve, and the clue giver "plays" for the other team by strategically covering up the opponent's clues one at a time. Magic Maze is great hectic fun in a group setting, but with just two people you can really work to develop a nonverbal system to maximize your efficiency in the game. I also convinced her to play a cooperative version of 2-player Carcassonne in which the scoring remained the same as if we were opponents, but we collectively tried to get the highest score possible. This meant each sharing as many castles, roads and farms as possible and also coordinating with each other to use pieces as best as possible. Terraforming mars is good, but with 2 players it's really important in our minds to have players alternate hands when picking starting cards, otherwise one player can get too lucky with their opening hand and snowball from there. Dominion is a great 2-player option that's quick. It gets much better when mixing different expansions to keep gameplay fresh.
Great list! A few I may need to add to our collection. One of our current favourite 2 player games is Mandala. Easy but full of strategy and quick to play.
Great list! I have half of these games and enjoy playing them a lot. Schotten Totten will go on my Christmas wish list. Lost Cities has long been one of my favorites. This video brought a smile to my face today.
Thank you so much! My boyfriend and I love playing games but a lot of the best ones are for 4-6 people and we don't have friends we can regularly play with. We play Splendor a lot but have wanted to expand into other games. I bought two games off this list for Christmas. Thanks again!
Recommendations for couples: Caper Europe, Skulk Hollow, Trails, Fox in the Forest, Paris de la cite luminaire, Minecraft builders and biomes, Canopy, Parks. There's definitely other ones, but those are just some off the top of my head.
Niya, Samurai Gardener, and fresh off the presses Abducktion are my favorite fast 2 player games. Some strategy but not too much, easy to learn but with depth, and in the case of the latter 2 randomness that adds to the longevity.
While I really appreciate the links to the games in the description, this video could really benefit from also having timestamps to you talking about those games as half of the games I already know about, but want to learn more about the ones that are new to me. Either way, thanks for compiling this. I'm always looking for great games to play with my wife
Lost Cities, Patchwork, and Morels are all in my wife and I's list of favorites. I love playing Morels even though I have literally never won a game against her. XD
It's a good game, but not one that I love. I prefer Sobek which shares some similarities - in terms of how you compete over what's available, and a co-designer.
Big fan here as well, we can play hours and hours of it without ever getting bored. We keep track of our wins and even after dozens of plays it's still a draw, I'm still amazed at how perfectly balanced it is. Our favorite expansions is Pantheon, if you haven't tried it I can recommend it heartily.
100% agree. The base game on its own is a little imbalanced but adding Pantheon makes it the overall best two-player game we have found so far. My GF still enjoys it even after losing dozens of matches in a row. P.S. I also found cheapening the Zeus statue by 1 resource to be an improvement which makes it competitive. It's the one wonder that feels a bit underwhelming otherwise.
That is an amazing list, which i come back to once in a while to determine which game comes next. An upfront improvement could be timestamps for your recommendations. Greetings and keep up the good work.
Thanks for the suggestions! Still fairly new to board games but have really enjoyed playing Sector escape the Dark with my partner in crime. Also Sherlock is a phenomenal game, we've enjoyed this as a party game but I do think it works better with smaller number of players!
Targi and Akrotiri are two you missed that don't seem to have many recommendations in the comments. Both are brilliant. Targi is an interesting worker placement with restrictions on how the workers can be placed. You get the actions of your spaces and can acquire the cards where your workers intersect. Akrotiri is a pick up & deliver, tile placement game. Really fun trying to map out the world so it suits your needs.
Great list. Own most of them. I would bump one in favor of Fox in the Forest Duet. I personally think it's the best weeknight cooperative 2 player. Personally I'd probably add Targi to this list and just make it a dozen 😉
Great video, thank you. We gotta check out arboretum, cesar and Schotten Totten. Our most favorite couples game is Targi which is amazing and also enjoy tides of time, tetrarchia and carcassonne.
@@actualol tetrarchia was a kickstarter and has similarities to pandemic fall of Rome. Can be played with 1 to 4 players and has a really small footprint. Ideal travel game as well.
Recently Mythic Mischief is my favorite game to play with my partner. Somewhat like chess but with upgradable abilities and you can get extremely creative in the ways you use them to score points. That darn Tome Keeper always trudging through and ruining my plans
My wife and I are into Ark Nova now. It can be a fast two player game for the amount of crunch each game gives. Right now we play a two player game in around 50 minutes. If both help pack and set up add only 5 minutes onto that. I highly recommend it for couples.
Fab video, thank you. I'd love to try Ceasar and Watergate. Fungi was one of my very first game purchases and I still love it. I'd add Botanik to this list for a fabulous tile laying game with a quirky theme. P.s. 10:23-10:32 is just absolute genius 🤣
I actually think Res Arcana is also a great game and plays best at 2 players from my experience. My partner and I have played it approaching 30 times already and we only got it at the end of August!
I miss 7 Wonders Duel on this list. And I would add Riftforce (if you want it a little brainier) and That's pretty clever. And of course Mindbug a quick and dirty little card game for two.
Wow married couples really begin to look alike after some time :-)
They say you are what you eat and we eat the same meals! 😮
@@actualol That’s the more scientific explanation 😅
Saucy little minx eh 🙃
@@actualol Or each other
@@actualol had us in the first half
I absolutely love your videos. You don't only talk about the games and just showing their boxes, your videos actually show gameplay. That's so freaking awesome, all while delivering a laugh!
I’ve seen several of these games recommended by other reviewers, but for some reason the way you explain them reveals which ones I’m interested in when I didn’t think I was before. Thanks!
I've shared my *Top 20-11 Couples Games* in my Patreon newsletter. Read that and join the Discord: www.patreon.com/actualol
Lost Cities is still astounding all these years later. How Dr. K managed to fit so much tension and angst into a game with like 4 rules is beyond me. And then he did it again! (ST/BL)
It sounds a little like canasta from how he discribes it.
@@janetmichel3009 Hmmm. I never thought about it that way, but I can see it. It's very rummy-like in the way you are drawing one card, then playing/discarding one card every turn, and the other player can take your discards. You also potentially lose points for starting a certain group, like canasta. However, most of the tension comes from the fact that every card you place potentially rules you out of playing others - if you go from red 1 to red 5 you never get to place red 2, 3, 4.. This definitely gives it a unique feel.
@yaruuvva Scotten Totten/Battle Line
I can tell that many of the conversations presented in this video were inspired by real conversations had by you and your partner. Very wholesome. 😊
The Fox in the Forest has the same kind of “pick it up every evening after dinner” kind of vibe. Very low commitment, but a simple and fun card game for two that never feels like someone is intentionally trying to ruin your night.
is that like uno with house rules
As exceptional as always - I’ve been working at a board game cafe for around 6 months now and have taught Patchwork 66 times, been an amazing success 65/66 of the occasions so an absolutely top recommendation!
Wow, great hit-rate!
Nice top 10. I also have a wife who likes lighter / shorter games
I'd put 1. Carcassonne (amazing with 2-3)
2. Patchwork
3. All Creatures
4. Santorini (it would be my number 1, but the others hit the table more)
5. Lost Cities
6. Tiny Towns (not best with 2, but still good and she loves it)
7. Red 7
8. Kingdomino (best with 2)
9. 7 Wonders Duel
10. Calico
Cascadia is like a simpler version of Calico if you haven't tried it yet
Your analogies are insanely good. The way you were able to explain the emotions of Arboretum was a work of art.
True that!
Thank you! I love a good analogy. I'm really pleased they land. My analogy inspiration is a comedian/podcaster called Hamish Blake.
Very entertaining!
Hamish Blake the Aussie? Are you from down under also?
Definitely a good selection. I would include Jaipur, Air, Land and Sea, Hanamikoji, Seven Wonders Duel, and Splendor (duel...if you can get it!).
Great picks! Air, Land and Sea and Hanamikoji came close.
Just stumbled on your channel with the video for couples made 8 years ago. Then yt made me watch all your most popular ones but I didn’t know they were same person. Now back to here it’s crazy what 8 years does. Love how you never changed. 😂
Added a few to my to-buy list after this!
My additions are:
Star Realms - a very streamlined deckbuilder that's quick to set up and understand
Forbidden Island - This was the first game I played with my wife and it's a great intro to Pandemic-style co-op mechanics.
Smash Up - Easy to set up and play, but every game is different because of the different combination of factions you can play with
Truffle Shuffle - Rules are simple, but you're always in edge as to whether you should cash in your cards or hold out to get a bigger set, while hoping you're opponent doesn't get the card you want
Thanks for the suggestions!
If you like Forbidden Island, you should play Forbidden Desert. I never played Forbidden Island again because of the improvements made in Forbidden Desert.
@@cmat8424 island is good but desert is GREAT!
I’m not sure what “improvements” means. I do think that overall *Desert* is the “better” game of the two. But I really like some simple elements of *Island*, and its tight little design. Just because one game has more things going on / to do, it’s not an “improvement” (I’m 100 % sure you’ve witnessed this in the hobby; also just think about Jon’s (this channel) take on buying expansions). All else being equal, in mixed company I’m often more likely to suggest a game of *Island* over *Desert*. I love them both.
But can someone convince me to give *Sky* another chance? 😅
@@vidicate3963 > I’m not sure what “improvements” means. [re: Forbidden Desert/Island]
In Forbidden Island you have three actions (a la pandemic). In forbidden Desert you have four. When you only have three, the strategy space is a _lot_ smaller, to the point where all my decisions felt obvious and the game felt uninteresting.
That was the most accurate and entertaining explanation of Arboretum I’ve ever seen. Love that game!
I think Radlands could constitute as a couples game. Easy to learn and setup. Over in half an hour. Usually really close and tight knit matches. It’s really damn good.
Radlands is my favourite! Together with Everdell💕
It's great to see Fungi (aka Morels) getting some recognition. My wife and I really enjoy that one. In recent memory, Caper: Europe is a very strong 2-player-only entry.
The theme and artwork aren't the most alluring, I think it can be easily overlooked. But I couldn't help but rank it above flashier looking games like Santorini.
@@actualol I know I am in the minority, but I really like the U.S. art (the Morels version). And as an amateur mushroom forager myself, I do enjoy the theme ;-)
Seems like it plays quite a bit like Jaipur, which is one of my wife and my favorite games to play together.
Love these kind of videos..and your humor. Only problem is it leaves me wanting to buy every single game afterwards since these are mouthwatering reviews ;)
7 years back you had done a video on games for couples and that too included Battle line, Arboretum, Patchwork and Sherlock Holmes. Good to see so many games continuing your top 10 couple games list even after so many years. And now even Lost cities added to the list. All these games are Classics and great to play.
Solid list. We own quite a few of these but these are all fairly confrontational. My wife and I love Castles of Burgundy which, although not exclusively 2 player, is generally regarded as playing best with two players and can be done in about an hour. It's competitive but can be played without actively screwing each other over and is just a really satisfying experience compared to a lot of 2 player-only 'filler' games. Splendor is also great with 2 players.
Id reccomend some Co-op games!
@@ChrisW777 Yeah, Pandemic is great. Got Viticulture World to try too.
@@VoiceofFox i like gloomhaven(cheaper one), spirit island, mysterium and ghost stories! All super fun games my gf and i love em!
They came out with splendor duel (a 2 player only variant). I was curious about that one
Nice list. We are both very passionate boardgamers. Our favorite games to play together are ark nova, terraforming mars and sleeping gods. (But we actually have whole board game nights lasting 4 hours or more with just the two of us.)
Unemployment/retirement sounds fun! 😂
@@actualol lol nopes working more then full time with two little childern in the house. But game night is date night in our house.
@@bookwurmlibrary3064 that’s the same for us! 4 littles and my husband works a lot but our date nights are games. People always judge our game collection and I tell them “you spend that money, too. You just ate it”
Also love those 3 games!!!
Great picks, most of them are also our top couple games. I would add Quest for Eldorado, Cascadia and (the best 2 player game) 7 Wonders Duel.
I really enjoy all of your videos, but I think this one might be my favorite. I laughed so much, and wrote down a few games I've absolutely got to try like Fungi/Morels, Schotten Totten, and Arboretum. Thanks for all of the work you put into your videos!
Castles of Burgundy belongs on any good 1v1 list, I am also a really big fan of the deck builder Ascension. Unlike many deck builders, Ascension is really fast and easy to play rather quickly and isn't that complicated to setup or remember. Castles does take slightly longer, but for any couple that has played it a few times, it goes by rather fast and every game is different.
I love your jokes! I find myself laughing many times and then having to skip back because I'm missing parts of the video. :P
your videos always convince me i need every game - you explain them so well and in a way that makes each game sound more fun than the last.
Thank you 🙂 but you don't need them all, I promise! Or at least, not all at once!
Man! Loving this! Came for the list, but stayed for the cheeky humor. Noice! 👑
Have you ever considered doing a best "Double Date" list? I like playing with my partner crushing other feebler couples. Love all the content!!
Haha! Good idea! What are your favourites for crushing other couples?
@@actualol We have recently evolved from Codenames to Decrypto and are really enjoying playing both with other couples (though I honestly prefer playing with like 6 people instead of 4). My favorite game to play with 2 sets of couples is The Crew, though obviously that is a cooperative game and not 2v2, but honestly that might be better for a double date. BTW I was very excited to see Lost Cities on top of your list because it just recently joined my collection and we have been looking forward to playing it.
Hahaha, this is so savage and funny. Definitely a lot of party games are suited to partners because they understand how each other think.
@@tabletalkreviews We had to institute a rule of putting my fiancée and I on opposite teams so she could interpret my weird ass clues and attempt to decrypt. Decrypto is definitely well aligned to people who know each other well.
Although more fun with more players my husband and I love Lanterns. It's a tile-laying game. Every tile has one colour of lanterns facing each direction. Every players gets a card of that coloured lantern that points in their direction. You can get bonus cards by matching the colour of an adjacent tile. You need the cards to buy points. 4 of the same colour, 1 of each colour, etc. The earlier you buy points, the more points you get. It sounds quite complicated when you have to explain it without the pieces but it's actually quite simple and so much fun!
These are so funny! We aren't in the market at this time for any new games, but I have to watch these videos just to laugh.
Great list. Own half of them because of Actualol! You can’t be more right about Lost Cities. I love playing it with my wife. Schotten Totten is great but with our competitive natures, it really works out our brains! For something so simple it really offers a lot of hard choices!
How about Schotten Totten
Loved your analogies! Had me having a good giggle! The leaving the 2 years old was so apt!
Thank you! I do love an analogy 😁
I know I am late to the party but I only recently found your channel. Thanks for this. I really have always wanted good games to play with my wife as a couple. but whenever looking for couples games they are always like literal couples games... you probably know the ones I mean lol
Nice list, we do own and love Caesar, Sobek, Patchwork and Arboretum. I really miss Finca, Botanik, 7 Wonders: Duel and Kingdomino - beside Patchwork I think these are our top two player games. I suggest them to everyone regularly. Have been already looking at Fungi already, will try it definitely.
“…but then you won’t be doing what you love, taking mushrooms!” 😂
I need to get THAT game…
🤣
Some of our favorites not mentioned:
Babylonia
Fugitive
Jaipur
Codenames: Duet
Blitzkreig! (Caesar's predecessor)
Blue Moon
My City
Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation
Orongo
MicroMacro
Carcassone: The Castle
Hive
Santorini
Fox in the Forest
En Garde
Royal Visit
Qin
Axio
10 of those are by Knizia. He is a genius!
Fugitive, Santorini and Blitzkrieg were very close! I love Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation but I wish it would come back in print!
I'm surprised to not see many co-op games here! My partner and I love them! Pandemic (especially Pandemic Legacy) and Burgle Bros are both great options.
Was hoping for more coop games! Keep the list going
Great list! I’ve bought 3 of these games based on your recommendations. I keep coming back to this vid for ideas. Probably on my 8 watch through lol
Mandala and Hive pocket have been our go to games these last few years. Perfect for taking the pub whilst on a long weekend away, neither take longer than 15-20 mins and simplicity of mechanics lends itself to tight games time after time
Just added Sherlock to my list, this made it look quite fun!
This couples list has been spot on. Each game we've tried from this list has been really fun for us to play!
Great selection! Jaipur, 7 Wonders: Duel and Splendor: Duel would surely be one in my top ten list too!
Great video as always dude. What would be your next 10 games you’d recommend for couples?
That list is for my patron's eyes only in my newsletter! 🕵️♂️
Great picks.
I really enjoy the Express version of Patchwork too. It adds a few small changes and some blue tiles that improve the overall experience in my opinion.
Great video (as always). In answer to the question "what are your top couples games?", I have managed to get my non-board game wife to play and enjoy Jaipur, Hanami Koji, Curious Cargo, Santorini and (don't hate me for it) Monopoly Deal.
Rivals for Catan is our main couples game go-to. She got it for me for Christmas one year thinking it was the 2 players expansion, but it's been our favorite since.
The Arboretum analogy was gold!
Lots of great suggestions here. I have (and agree with) about half of the ones listed, so I'm sure the others will be just as good. Time to add them to the Christmas list!
Great list! And great video, as usual. I love Arboretum and Fungi, but haven't played most of the others. Two others that my partner and I enjoy playing are Glasgow and Botanik.
A great list! We love Hive, and Escape the Dark Castle works great as a 2!
We've been playing a lot of Azul and Jaipur along with QUIXX and Rummycube. Breaking out into a few new games as well - some of these look pretty interesting.
My wife and I have enjoyed games that aren't normally best played with 2 players, but it changes the gameplay enough to work.
Codenames is fun with 2 because you're both on the same team working to get the fastest solve, and the clue giver "plays" for the other team by strategically covering up the opponent's clues one at a time.
Magic Maze is great hectic fun in a group setting, but with just two people you can really work to develop a nonverbal system to maximize your efficiency in the game.
I also convinced her to play a cooperative version of 2-player Carcassonne in which the scoring remained the same as if we were opponents, but we collectively tried to get the highest score possible. This meant each sharing as many castles, roads and farms as possible and also coordinating with each other to use pieces as best as possible.
Terraforming mars is good, but with 2 players it's really important in our minds to have players alternate hands when picking starting cards, otherwise one player can get too lucky with their opening hand and snowball from there.
Dominion is a great 2-player option that's quick. It gets much better when mixing different expansions to keep gameplay fresh.
The mushroom joke was top notch
Great list! A few I may need to add to our collection. One of our current favourite 2 player games is Mandala. Easy but full of strategy and quick to play.
Such a great list! Patchwork is one of our all time favorites, we even play it on the app! Going home now to play Sherlock, the best rainy day game!
Great list! I have half of these games and enjoy playing them a lot. Schotten Totten will go on my Christmas wish list. Lost Cities has long been one of my favorites. This video brought a smile to my face today.
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it 😊
Thank you so much! My boyfriend and I love playing games but a lot of the best ones are for 4-6 people and we don't have friends we can regularly play with. We play Splendor a lot but have wanted to expand into other games. I bought two games off this list for Christmas. Thanks again!
Ok the mushroom joke convinced me to like and subscribe 😂
Recommendations for couples: Caper Europe, Skulk Hollow, Trails, Fox in the Forest, Paris de la cite luminaire, Minecraft builders and biomes, Canopy, Parks. There's definitely other ones, but those are just some off the top of my head.
hahahaha!!! I absolutely love your Arboretum explanation!!
Great video! I’m always on the lookout for games to play with the hubby - I guess I really SHOULD have picked up Arbetorium yesterday!😅
Niya, Samurai Gardener, and fresh off the presses Abducktion are my favorite fast 2 player games. Some strategy but not too much, easy to learn but with depth, and in the case of the latter 2 randomness that adds to the longevity.
While I really appreciate the links to the games in the description, this video could really benefit from also having timestamps to you talking about those games as half of the games I already know about, but want to learn more about the ones that are new to me. Either way, thanks for compiling this. I'm always looking for great games to play with my wife
Got me with the mushroom pun, liked and subscribed!
Ice Team is my wife's and I favorite board game. Cute polar bears, board changes every time, and clever strategies.
I just bought Arboretum at the weekend. I can't wait to play it for the first time now ☺
I just found your channel randomly and saw your entire top 50 games; I love your channel!😊
Lost cities looks so simple, but it's so gooooood!
Lost Cities, Patchwork, and Morels are all in my wife and I's list of favorites. I love playing Morels even though I have literally never won a game against her. XD
That chichenitsa joke was pretty fantastic
Loved the idea. Yeah, my wife is also my main partner when playing hahaha
We love 7 wonders duel. Our absolute favourite. Thanks for the list!
My gaming partner, my 10 yr old son, love it and have played more games of this than perhaps any other we own
Great list! I'm a bit surprised 7 wonders duel isn't mentioned at all. It's such a tight, great game for me, especially with the Pantheon expansion.
I'm pretty new to board games and only play with wife and so far 7w duel is our favourite. we haven't even tried the expansions yet
It's a good game, but not one that I love. I prefer Sobek which shares some similarities - in terms of how you compete over what's available, and a co-designer.
I love 7 Wonders Duel, it is it one of my all-time favourites.
Big fan here as well, we can play hours and hours of it without ever getting bored. We keep track of our wins and even after dozens of plays it's still a draw, I'm still amazed at how perfectly balanced it is. Our favorite expansions is Pantheon, if you haven't tried it I can recommend it heartily.
100% agree.
The base game on its own is a little imbalanced but adding Pantheon makes it the overall best two-player game we have found so far.
My GF still enjoys it even after losing dozens of matches in a row.
P.S.
I also found cheapening the Zeus statue by 1 resource to be an improvement which makes it competitive. It's the one wonder that feels a bit underwhelming otherwise.
That is an amazing list, which i come back to once in a while to determine which game comes next.
An upfront improvement could be timestamps for your recommendations.
Greetings and keep up the good work.
Thanks for the suggestions! Still fairly new to board games but have really enjoyed playing Sector escape the Dark with my partner in crime. Also Sherlock is a phenomenal game, we've enjoyed this as a party game but I do think it works better with smaller number of players!
How many people have you played it with? Does everyone take notes?
We started with patchwork and now we have a hundred games collection 😅❤ Now we are planning to make some new players to enjoy new games
You, sir, are very funny. Loved the review. You have my subscribe
Big fan of lost cities and patchwork. Jaipur and carcassonne are also pretty fun for couples, especially carcasonne gets so competitive i love it.
Targi and Akrotiri are two you missed that don't seem to have many recommendations in the comments. Both are brilliant. Targi is an interesting worker placement with restrictions on how the workers can be placed. You get the actions of your spaces and can acquire the cards where your workers intersect. Akrotiri is a pick up & deliver, tile placement game. Really fun trying to map out the world so it suits your needs.
Sobek looked inspired by Targi
Agree on Targi (don’t know Akrotiri) 😊
@@Fjongus you should get akrotiri! My husband and I love that game. So much going on but simple turns.
We love love love Targi!!
i love this guy’s humor
I love your channel 🎉
Thank you ☺️
I don't know if you'll see this but I highly suggest Hanamikoji ! It is an amazing two player with tons of replay. Easy to learn, hard to master.
Great Video as always! Convinced me to pickup Sobek & Schotten Totten!
Great list. Own most of them. I would bump one in favor of Fox in the Forest Duet. I personally think it's the best weeknight cooperative 2 player.
Personally I'd probably add Targi to this list and just make it a dozen 😉
Great video, thank you. We gotta check out arboretum, cesar and Schotten Totten. Our most favorite couples game is Targi which is amazing and also enjoy tides of time, tetrarchia and carcassonne.
Love a bit of Tides of Time and Carcassonne! Not heard of Tetrarchia 🧐
Yes! Targi is one of the best. You are the only other comment I could find recommending it too.
@@actualol tetrarchia was a kickstarter and has similarities to pandemic fall of Rome. Can be played with 1 to 4 players and has a really small footprint. Ideal travel game as well.
Great entertaining video. A lot of useful suggestions for people to go out and get.
I love this video. 🤣 thank you for all the recommendations! They all sound great.
The first video I watched from this channel was also top 10 couple game, 7 years ago
This one goes out to you and everyone else who found me back then! ❤️
Recently Mythic Mischief is my favorite game to play with my partner. Somewhat like chess but with upgradable abilities and you can get extremely creative in the ways you use them to score points. That darn Tome Keeper always trudging through and ruining my plans
This guy is so funny!! I loved this
Nice list! With my husband we like to play Rune, Azul and Calico.
Yes Lost Cities! My mom and I have been playing that game for 20 years and we're not tired of it.
10:30 What a delight to the senses of her soothing soul!✨
I haven't laughed this hard in a long time! Thanks for making this video guide to couples' games.
Thank you Jeff! 🙂
"To be clear, the hole is in your heart."
This is both super informative and also way more entertaining than it has any right to be, haha.
My wife and I are into Ark Nova now. It can be a fast two player game for the amount of crunch each game gives. Right now we play a two player game in around 50 minutes. If both help pack and set up add only 5 minutes onto that. I highly recommend it for couples.
Fab video, thank you. I'd love to try Ceasar and Watergate. Fungi was one of my very first game purchases and I still love it.
I'd add Botanik to this list for a fabulous tile laying game with a quirky theme.
P.s. 10:23-10:32 is just absolute genius 🤣
Caesar is excellent. Great game to have in the collection.
I would add curious cargo. Tons of fun and complexity packed in a cute little fairly lightweight game for two!
I actually think Res Arcana is also a great game and plays best at 2 players from my experience. My partner and I have played it approaching 30 times already and we only got it at the end of August!
not gonna lie ... I subscribed for the puns alone
You're gonna love it here 😁 Check out my Hidden Movement Mega Review for some strong punnage 👌
I miss 7 Wonders Duel on this list. And I would add Riftforce (if you want it a little brainier) and That's pretty clever. And of course Mindbug a quick and dirty little card game for two.