Best Board Games for 2 Players (Only) | ThinkerThemer Top 5

There's nothing quite like a head to head battle; a game perfectly designed for the 1 V 1. We couldn't agree on a combined Top 10 (seems our tastes are diverging more and more...) so we hope you enjoy hearing each of us talk through some of our favourite 2 player only board games! A&M x

00:00 Introduction (a bit about our taste in games)
04:06 Combined #6 (honorable mention)
08:37 Maggie's #5
12:01 Amy's #5
15:20 Maggie's #4
18:34 Amy's #4
23:06 Maggie's #3
26:12 Amy's #3
31:12 Maggie's #2
36:07 Amy's #1
41:00 Maggie's #1 ...and.. Amy's #2
47:26 Wrap up

Thanks for stopping by! We're Amy & Maggie aka ThinkerThemer. We're an Australian couple with two very different perspectives of what makes a great board game - Amy (Thinker) is all about the mechanics and enjoys tight, competitive games, and Maggie (Themer) is all about the storytelling and the theme of the game, and the 'world' that the designer is trying to create. Subscribe to our channel to hear us talk about these two elements of a game, and how well integrated we feel these are in delivering a cohesive and wonderful game experience.
Are you #teamthinker or #teamthemer? ❤🏳️‍🌈🇦🇺

[joshuawestlund]

“My preferred opponent” ! What a great compliment to pay your partner! Nice to meet you both. Just played Fox/Forest with my own preferred opponent, my 8 year old daughter. I’m team Themer/Maggie already. Going to snap up Radlands on her recommendation. Thanks for sharing your passions and positivity. You brightened a dark day …

[brianquillen]

Great video. I love how in depth you guys are on your picks. I watch quite a few of these top 10 videos to get ideas to look out for and most are very quick " I really like this game" but you guys really go into what the game is. Super awesome, very indepth, and great pacing. Going to go a deep dive of videos I think to see what else you guys are playing.

[stevekingswell]

Fugitive is fantastic 2 player puzzle, bluff, mind-bender, so well crafted thematically too.

[andyleggett]

I finally introduced my partner to Kahuna online... NOW, we often have some emotional moments playing new games, because he DOES NOT like games that are too take-that-y/gotcha, but he LOVES area control and he was instantly like "so... can we buy a copy of this?" *throws hands up* I'm just glad he sees the beauty in it that you and I (Amy) see. One of our two-player faves is Backgammon, and I think this has a similar element of "you can't blame me for taking the lead when you gave me the opening". Kahuna really brought out his "silent plotting" face--which is the cutest! So I am just tickled pink that it will be entering my physical collection soon

[Cissewis]

Fantastic list! Really enjoyed this one! Really love base Star Realms as well, this was actually our gateway game. Such addictive and quick gameplay! Have a great week over there :)

[salbertron]

I'm just getting into board games and this is my favorite channel I've found

[leaalien]

Love your outfits-always can’t wait to see how wild and solid they are!!

[memeLaughLove]

Great video; would be interesting to see which game you love the most playing with each other that aren't necessarily 2-player only games!

[Slvers]

"Fairy Abstract" .... I laughed loud enough that I scared the cat off my lap :D

[ricardp]

Wow, a top 5 from You should definively do more of these ;) (best 2021, best of all time, etc).
You have lots of great games in that list. I never tried Kahuna but will definitively get it. Sound so much fun. I love 7WD with the expansion Pantheon. I also like Raptor and Santorini. I ordered Jekyll vs Hide and looking forward to play it.
Keep those list coming 😀

[mindyfranke]

Great video! Nice haircut, Maggie and nice to see you wearing your rings again. :) Hope you both have a wonderful Christmas and New Year's. Travel safely!

[mifi]

Ooh, a 2 player list! I’m tempted to get your #6 now. Star Realms is such a great game. I put off buying it for ages as I wasn’t drawn to the theme but I have to say that I think the artwork is fantastic. A lot of love went into that.

[MrJmarzetti]

Fun video! Yes, during the recent times, a lot of 2 player games were played! My "Kahuna" would be Hanamikoji/Jixia Academy....I own the later. I find myself talking this one to anyone who'll give me a listen. I love how it only gets better the more often you play the same opponent. Getting into their head becomes half the game.
Other good options are Naga Raja, Santorini and Air, Land and Sea.
Have a wonderful holiday!

[stevekingswell]

Great number 1 choice, and fab with the expansions too.

[maiducle]

This was great! I (mainly) collect 2P games, so I was drawn to this video - the first of yours that I've watched. It was a really interesting way to point up a game or two that I might like, since you two sets of tastes are so different! While Maggie's generally appealed less to me*, nearly all of Amy's are high on my own list ... so now I will check out the only one of Amy's that I'm NOT familiar with!

* Not saying there's anything wrong with Maggie's choices ... just that different people have different tastes, and Amy's are a great fit to mine!

Looking forward to watching more Thinker-Themer videos. Hope 2022 is good for you.

[steveorourke]

Oh yes, 2p games. Love so many of these! (Apologies in advance for the long post. Buckle up!)
Targi is the one that I always recommend to gamers looking for a tactical delight. Andy Steiger made a gem of a game with this. A true design triumph.
7 Wonder: Duel is great, too, but I love playing it most on BGA for the easy of set-up and keeping score.
Patchwork is a brilliant spatial puzzle with an efficiency economy (filling space vs. earning button income).
Lost Cities is an oldie but a goodie. I play that one on BGA all the time.
And Jaipur is wonderful as well.
Agree that Watergate is a great push-pull game. Liked it a lot, but did move it on to another home when it was highly in demand.
I've also liked the historical tug of war in Votes for Women. We'll see if The Shores of Tripoli is another good historical 2p game.
And how about the beautiful 3d tic-tac-toe of Santorini?
Or the chase and hidden movement race of Fugitive?
Or the puzzle of my friend Steve Finn's great Nanga Parbat?
Or the cutthroat fight for control of islands in Kahuna?
Love, love, love great 2p games! Thanks for this episode!

[sarahjoylagunzad]

Great video ladies!! I definitely need to try Kahuna and Radlands! My favorite 2 player games are Targi and Star Realms, but my favorite game at 2 players is Castles of Burgundy. Cheers!

[stevekingswell]

Ohh…. Wow! Radlands, incredible. Moths, water light… what a description!

[edmundengland]

really nice editing and as usual great content and discussion.

[maxkosek]

Love your lists and topics of the list is awesome 👏 thank you for that