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Recommend a 2 player strategic card game
- Thread starter danowat
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sasimirobot
Junior Member
as someone who has traveled quite a lot recently and brought and taught many games at guesthouses/boats/trains here are my recommendations:
jaipur- one of the best purely 2 player modern card games ever
hanabi- great with 2,but up to 5. cooperative card game so not intimidating to most
pandemic the cure - awesome co-op dice game, comes in a great tiny travel pouch. theme goes over well with most
lost legacy or love letter - only 16 cards so wins for most portable and easiest to teach. I prefer lost legacy for the extra layer of intrigue.
one night ultimate werewolf - great for drinking and getting to know new people, like at bars or guesthouses.
jaipur- one of the best purely 2 player modern card games ever
hanabi- great with 2,but up to 5. cooperative card game so not intimidating to most
pandemic the cure - awesome co-op dice game, comes in a great tiny travel pouch. theme goes over well with most
lost legacy or love letter - only 16 cards so wins for most portable and easiest to teach. I prefer lost legacy for the extra layer of intrigue.
one night ultimate werewolf - great for drinking and getting to know new people, like at bars or guesthouses.
ZackieChan
Member
ymmv, obviously, but you absolutely do not need to worry about any immediate time Shapershenanigans or competitive play styles when you're learning the game or playing casually with another person. You can mature into that stuff as a player and as your curiosity peaks, but I think it's misrepresenting the game to say you absolutely need two or three core sets and bunch of expansions right off the bat.bullshit
I mention this as someone who has introduced this game to a few different sets of friends over the past three or four months, and started playing myself earlier this year. I probably can't convince you otherwise, but at least both perspectives are accounted for itt!
If you're not playing in public or in tournaments, just sleeve your cards and print out a copy of whatever card you need a 2nd/3rd core set for. Stick that in front of a useless card in the sleeve, and you're good to go.
I consider myself a pretty hardcore mtg grinder so naturally trying to get my wife into casual mtg was difficult.
Bought Hanabi as a gateway type of game and she loves it (although its way better with 4-5 people).
I like splendor a lot and never considered getting her to try it so will give that a go next.
Bought Hanabi as a gateway type of game and she loves it (although its way better with 4-5 people).
I like splendor a lot and never considered getting her to try it so will give that a go next.
ThanksVision
Member
+1 for Hanabi. Game is simple, inexpensive, and lots of fun. It's very easy to learn, but fairly challenging to beat. Also, its footprint is practically the size of a normal deck of cards, so if you're looking for portability, it's a great choice.
The Artisan
Member
kent
I had fun with the core set yes. Maybe I'm a bit too hard on the experience. But the game just opened up so much when adding the 2/3 agenda's from the Genesis cycle. Even Plascrete which is a much needed hard counter against the brain damage decks from the core set is in the first data pack. Would it not be for the rotation I would recommend What Lies Ahead, Humanity's Shadow and Future Proof as instabuys for the staples that it added to the core experience (3/2 agenda's, plascrete, both interfaces, kati, eli, faerie, ash, quality time). Now you are probably good with 1-2 Core's and the World Championship decks.ymmv, obviously, but you absolutely do not need to worry about any immediate time Shapershenanigans or competitive play styles when you're learning the game or playing casually with another person. You can mature into that stuff as a player and as your curiosity peaks, but I think it's misrepresenting the game to say you absolutely need two or three core sets and bunch of expansions right off the bat.bullshit
I mention this as someone who has introduced this game to a few different sets of friends over the past three or four months, and started playing myself earlier this year. I probably can't convince you otherwise, but at least both perspectives are accounted for itt!
It just didn't take long to realize that Anarch had by far the stronger cards and Jinteki lacked the most so I started expanding quite quickly.
Incorrect. Those will not help new players at all unlike Core (and by proxy, getting the deluxe) and the expansions. Those are meant as "Collector's Items" in a way. Not a Newbie booster, unlike Magic where theme-decks (and Championship decks but even then those are more meant as collectors like these Netrunner ones) help new players get certain decks and an "idea."
It's honestly one of the problems Netrunner has with getting new players (IMO, the other being the Core not having 3 of ALL cards in that, but I've already bitched about that).
If OP really wants to learn Netrunner (but I really recommend him to do Magic: Duels of the Planeswalkers 2009-2015/Duels 2016: Origins, tutorials first for his girlfriend to learn interrupt phases): This buyers guide will back up what I'm saying (get a Core set or two, get the deluxe expansions since those won't "phase out" with 2017's introduction of phasing out cycles for tournaments, unless you don't care about tournaments and are playing super casually/kitchen, in which case get expansions as well if you enjoy the game). Get a Core, learn the game that way, if you enjoy it, get the deluxe expansions which will help expand deck building options along with the "cycles" for certain factions you enjoy and go from there.
And just because I'm linking things for Netrunner: New Player Guide from that subreddit. New player FAQ
.PDF of the Core Rulebook you get in the Coreset, shows how much more complicated Netrunner is in comparison to Magic. (I'm exaggerating that it's VERY complex, but it's more complex than Magic for sure)
Goldenroad
Member
Twilight Struggle kind of, but more in the Dominion kind of way than Magic. I really love Twilight Struggle though. Best 2 player game period, imo.
Smash Up is fun even with only two players. The basic gist of it is you combine two factions to destroy bases and earn victory points (you can make Zombie Dinosaurs or Pirate Wizards, for example). If you enjoy it you can get expansions to make even more crazy combinations (Steampunk Minions of Cthulhu, Werewolf Princesses, etc.).
Really surprised nobody's mentioned Race for the Galaxy yet. Arguably the rules are more complex than magic, but really it's just that the cards are more icon-based than text-based which can make it tricky getting started. When it comes to timing and interrupts and whatnot Race has none of that.
And it's a great economic empire-building kind of feel without requiring the ridiculous table space of Eclipse and the like. You don't have to worry much about enemy action (eg people invading your worlds), but if you can predict your opponents' moves you'll do way better (each turn every player picks one [two in 2-player] of the five phases; any phase that isn't selected won't happen, but any phase that is selected happens for all players. So if you know your opponent is going to want to ship their goods this turn, you can prepare for the Consume phase coming by getting some goods out ahead of time).
I've always thought it was very popular, but perhaps it's a bit outdated.
Also a note on Ascension (which is also pretty good): you can download a mobile version and play it pass-to-play. The base game is free IIRC, and expansions are $3-ish. The phone interface can be a bit obnoxious, but give it a whirl.
And it's a great economic empire-building kind of feel without requiring the ridiculous table space of Eclipse and the like. You don't have to worry much about enemy action (eg people invading your worlds), but if you can predict your opponents' moves you'll do way better (each turn every player picks one [two in 2-player] of the five phases; any phase that isn't selected won't happen, but any phase that is selected happens for all players. So if you know your opponent is going to want to ship their goods this turn, you can prepare for the Consume phase coming by getting some goods out ahead of time).
I've always thought it was very popular, but perhaps it's a bit outdated.
Also a note on Ascension (which is also pretty good): you can download a mobile version and play it pass-to-play. The base game is free IIRC, and expansions are $3-ish. The phone interface can be a bit obnoxious, but give it a whirl.
The Xtortionist
Member
Star Realms is fantastic and very compact.
Yeah great suggestion. Also easy to carry and play anywhere.
SigmasonicX
Member
You don't have to include all that stuff if you think it would be too complex. You can make a perfectly reasonable set of beginner Magic decks just using lands, creatures, and sorceries. If your wife loses interest once it gets more complicated, then I'm not sure recommendations like Netrunner would be a good choice, though I'm sure the other simpler games recommended would be fine.
Also, when it comes to teaching Magic in general, it's usually best not to explain everything upfront, but rather go through a few practice games with your hands revealed and give advice as you go.
ZackieChan
Member
I'd recommend Eminent Domain over RFTG.
piratepwnsninja
Member
Epic Card Game is probably the best suggestion based on your criteria. It's very Magic-lite, and all in a single small box that can easily travel. I really enjoy it, as it's entirely about massive spells and creatures and a resource system that is literally you have spells that cost zero and spells that cost one. You have one resource a turn to play a one resource spell. Super easy, quick and fun.
Smash-up probably gets the runner up suggestion here. The caveat is that it does take up some amount of space and probably isn't great for airport play.
While I love Netrunner as my favorite card game of all time, it's so far off of what was asked that I can't recommend it. If your wife can't or isn't willing to grok Magic, there is no chance in hell that Netrunner fits here. While I guess one could say there are some aspects that are more straightforward, there are so many more decisions that have to be made, in addition to requiring a tremendous amount of bluffing in play, not just with your face.
Smash-up probably gets the runner up suggestion here. The caveat is that it does take up some amount of space and probably isn't great for airport play.
While I love Netrunner as my favorite card game of all time, it's so far off of what was asked that I can't recommend it. If your wife can't or isn't willing to grok Magic, there is no chance in hell that Netrunner fits here. While I guess one could say there are some aspects that are more straightforward, there are so many more decisions that have to be made, in addition to requiring a tremendous amount of bluffing in play, not just with your face.
HappyPuppy
Member
I see a lot of good games being recommended but it's kinda stretching what the OP is asking for, it would not be ideal to play a lot of these games considering all the components and setup, for some you really need an appropriate space like a table.
It would help OP if you included what your gf likes, what themes,settings or franchise is she into, does she have any preference on mechanics like dice rolling, does she like any board games etc.
Would recommend Hive chess like game with cute little bugs. No dice, tokens or markers. Easy to travel and play on a flat surface. Hive pocket.
I love Netrunner, it's sooo good. Wouldn't recommended it for a newbie experience, can be overwhelming with the interactions, you need to bluff and can be a tense game but so worth it. If your gf is into cyberpunk and wants to go into something more complex and deeper, go for it but you need space. Sneaking agendas while playing corp feels sooo good.
It might also be helpful to find a group and expose her to board games by playing coop games or fun and light games like Sheriff of Nothingham.
It would help OP if you included what your gf likes, what themes,settings or franchise is she into, does she have any preference on mechanics like dice rolling, does she like any board games etc.
Would recommend Hive chess like game with cute little bugs. No dice, tokens or markers. Easy to travel and play on a flat surface. Hive pocket.
I love Netrunner, it's sooo good. Wouldn't recommended it for a newbie experience, can be overwhelming with the interactions, you need to bluff and can be a tense game but so worth it. If your gf is into cyberpunk and wants to go into something more complex and deeper, go for it but you need space. Sneaking agendas while playing corp feels sooo good.
It might also be helpful to find a group and expose her to board games by playing coop games or fun and light games like Sheriff of Nothingham.
Scrabble, word games, crosswords, Suduko.
In terms of themes, stuff like the usual Female orientated YA fiction, Hunger Games etc, Harry Potter, LotR, She also likes a lot of Sci-fi stuff, Marvel etc.
Flash Duel is very easy to pick up, doesn't grow stale, has cute characters. Has an extremely compact board, and even an extra backup board that's literally built out of 5 cards, so you can bring just one card deck and play using 2 coins as tokens. Best card/boardgame purchase I've ever made.
HappyPuppy
Member
You can try Scrabble express for word games. Add +1 to Star Realms and Lost Cities.
Forbidden Island is a very simple game, not a lot of components and coop.
Marvel Dice Masters is a fun, simand affordable game, it has card but the main mechanic is dice rolling, so that might not work on certain scenarios like an airplane.
Not fitting criteria: Legendary great deckbuilding game with a nice theme, not too complex but you do need space and setup time.
You can also go to boardgamegeek and search some games or ask on the forums, it has a good search filter.
Came here to plug this. Yup.
Wife and I really like Race for the Galaxy. Maybe a little bit of a learning curve with the icons, but after that it is a fun card game with deep gameplay and interesting choices. Also fits in a small box. Would probably be simple enough for her and deep enough for you.
Also, maybe look into Card Wars? It's an Adventure Time themed game. Not the best, but it's a pretty fun and simple card battle game. You can get start with 1 or 2 packs, and if you do end up liking it then the packs are cheap, especially when they go on sale.
Also, maybe look into Card Wars? It's an Adventure Time themed game. Not the best, but it's a pretty fun and simple card battle game. You can get start with 1 or 2 packs, and if you do end up liking it then the packs are cheap, especially when they go on sale.
moondoggerr
Banned
Boss Monster is great and has a nifty video game theme.
Came here to post this. A great card game that fits the OPs bill
And it's not a TCG either, you can buy the expansions if you want but it is not like booster packs or anything.
So a bit of a bump to this....
We finally got round to playing Paperback this weekend, and it's great (although I keep getting beaten!)
Not only is the base game really good, but there are tons of rule changes and mods which make it really fun, we haven't even tried the coop mode yet.
Thanks for the suggestion, it fit perfectly!
We finally got round to playing Paperback this weekend, and it's great (although I keep getting beaten!)
Not only is the base game really good, but there are tons of rule changes and mods which make it really fun, we haven't even tried the coop mode yet.
Thanks for the suggestion, it fit perfectly!
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