Playing board games together is a great way for couples to bond. They can be a fun and exciting diversion from the routine of daily life that lets you unwind and have a good time with your significant other. There are many board games that are perfect for two players, whether it’s a romantic theme, a game where you work together, or just some friendly competition.
The great thing about board games is that they offer hours of entertainment without putting too much work on either partner’s part. Additionally, playing games together promotes communication between partners and offers numerous chances for laughter and companionship.
There are many board games made specifically for two players that make wonderful wedding gifts or just a regular activitu for couples. Here are some fun two player games, each of which would be a perfect choice for your upcoming date night.
Table of Contents
Benefits of Playing Board Games Together
There are quite a few reasons why couples should play board games together:
- Bonding – A great way to bond as a couple is to play board games together. Couples can develop trust and strengthen their relationship by having the chance to cooperate in order to succeed at a common goal in a board game.
- Friendly competition – When played competitively, board games encourage healthy competition without endangering the relationship or causing tension.
- Interaction – Board games are also excellent conversation starters that allow for meaningful interactions between partners. It’s a more interactive activity than watching a movie together.
- Entertainment – Couples can sometimes have difficulty figuring out what to do together. Pulling a board game off the shelf is easy and will provide a good fifteen minutes to a whole night of entertainment.
- Relaxing – Board games provide an activity away from the stress of everyday life, allowing couples to enjoy some quality time together in a laid-back setting.
- Shared experiences – Board games can help couples bond by fostering shared experiences and memories, in addition to providing entertainment and serving as conversation starters. Regardless of who wins or loses, games create special moments where both players feel connected because, in the end, being together is what matters most.
Couples Board Games That Are Popular
Board games have the power to strengthen relationships between couples, just like laughter does. Couples can unwind and enjoy each other’s company while playing board games. The most popular board games for couples are:
| Game | Complexity | Playtime | Best For |
| Codename Duet | Easy | 15-30 mins | Interaction |
| Fog of Love | Medium | 1-2 hours | Theme |
| Pandemic | Medium | 45 mins | Working Together |
Couples Board Games With a Romantic Theme
It’s no secret that board games are a great way to spend time together, and sometimes it’s nice to play a game with a love theme for a romantic experience.
Fog of Love
- Complexity: Medium
- Playtime: 1-2 hours
Fog of Love is an engaging romantic comedy board game for two players. Players explore what it means to be in love in a story-driven board game. Two characters are created by the players and are portrayed by them as they meet, fall in love, and attempt to maintain an unusual relationship. Players will have to decide how their relationship will develop.
Couples should play this game because it encourages them to discuss their own relationships, express their emotions, and have a wonderful time. I’d suggest this one for a couple already in a relationship rather than for a first date.
Love Letter
- Complexity: Very easy
- Playtime: 20 mins
In Love Letter each player assumes the role of a young suitor vying for a princess’s attention. Card hands are dealt to each player at the beginning of the game, and players gradually play cards and learn more about the cards held by their opponents, while trying to be the last player standing and holding the card with the highest number at the end of a round.
This game is quick and simple to pick up, and while competitive is so easy and somewhat luck based that it’s not really an intense competition. It’s the perfect game for a first date where you don’t know how deep into strategy games they are, and want something that keeps things light.
Cooperative Board Games For Couples
For couples who want to have a night spent together, cooperative board games are the ideal choice. These games require working together in order to achieve a goal.
Playing a cooperative board game will bring joy to any relationship. It’s a great way to practice working together towards a common goal and creates a shared experience that you’ll be talking about even after your date is over.
Pandemic
- Complexity: Medium
- Playtime: 45 mins
The award-winning board game Pandemic is probably the best known cooperative game. It calls for two players to work together to eradicate diseases that have afflicted the entire planet. Each player has different actions available to them which encourages you and your partner work together to plan ahead and accomplish your objective before the world is infected.
While maybe not the most romantic theme, it works so well so if you are looking for a fast-paced problem solving game to work on together, this is it.
Forbidden Island
- Complexity: Easy
- Playtime: 30 mins
Forbidden Island is another fun couple-friendly cooperative game where you must work together to find pieces of a ship in a perilous island and then escape. It is up to you two to explore dangerous terrain, keep getting water, and not be overwhelmed by sand.
This game is similar to Pandemic in that it is a fun bonding game, however, it’s a little easier rules-wise and feels more like an adventure.
Exit! The Abandoned Cabin
- Complexity: Medium
- Playtime: 1-2 hours
For those who like escape rooms, Exit! The Abandoned Cabin is an escape room in a box that you can spend a couple of hours playing together in your pajamas!
This game requires strategic thinking and cooperation, as you’ll need to solve puzzles and find clues in order to escape.
Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle
- Complexity: Medium
- Playtime: 30-60 mins
Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle is a fun board game for all Harry Potter fans. You and your partner take on the roles of different characters from the series, such as Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville. The goal is to defeat the villainous forces of the death eaters. It’s a deck-building game, so you do this by acquiring magical items, recruiting allies, and mastering spells in order to protect the castle and ultimately defeat He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.
I think it’s great for couples as the theme draws in a lot of non-board gamers, and it has pretty simple rules. It will also give you something to talk about as you relive the epic adventures of Harry and his friends in a much more interactive way than watching a movie.
Light Card Games For Couples
Imagine spending a romantic evening at home with your special someone, in front of a card table all while enjoying the soft glow of candlelight. Playing a light card game is the perfect relaxing way to spend an evening together.
Codenames Duet
- Complexity: Easy
- Playtime: 15-30 mins
Couples should play Codename Duet because it promotes both cooperation and communication, lots of communication! You and your partner are playing as a team in this game, searching for the hidden code words that will reveal the identity of secret agents. To come up with the correct guesses as a team, you must be able to be on the same wavelength and understand the word-based clues your partner is giving you to figure out what cards they want you to pick. The game’s open-ended clue giving means that you can try something new each time you play, which is its best feature. You can count on endless hours of enjoyment, laughter, and occasional frustration with Codename Duet.
The Fox in the Forest
- Complexity: Easy
- Playtime: 30 mins
The Fox in the Forest is a trick-taking card game for two players. The object of the game is to accumulate as many points as you can by winning tricks. Each player has a set of cards and in order to choose which card to play, players must use strategy and card counting. In addition to the normal trick-taking, cards also have special powers so you can change the rules of the game.
This fast-paced game is ideal for couples because it is light enough and familiar enough for non-board gamers to enjoy. The game is relatively simple, so those who prefer more intricate board games might not enjoy it.
Hanamikoji
- Complexity: Easy
- Playtime: 15 mins
Hanamikoji is a two-player competitive game that pits each player against the other in a battle of wits. Players are trying to place cards down to win the geishas, but in taking actions they may split their hand and the other player gets to decide which pile they take, and which pile the player keeps. It’s an easy game to learn and play but requires a lot of thought to win.
Hanamikoji is an ideal game for couples as it requires lots of interaction and considering how the other person thinks, creating a fun and challenging experience for both players.
Couples Board Games That Are Competitive
If you are the type of couple that enjoys serious strategy or humorous banter, then you may like games that offer a little healthy competition.
I’m not a fan of board games that are overly competitive and make someone feel stupid or overwhelmed by how far ahead the other player is, that doesn’t make for a good date night. So, when it comes to choosing competitive games for couples, I prefer ones where you can work on your own goals or have only a bit of “take that” interaction with each other. This helps make sure everyone has a good time while still providing a bit of competition!
7 Wonders Duel
- Complexity: Medium
- Playtime: 30 mins
The popular two-player board game 7 Wonders: Duel allows players to create their own civilizations, erect monuments, and engage in resource-based competition. Players must attempt to develop their civilization to the highest point value possible as they compete through three ages.
Couples should play 7 Wonders: Duel because the two-player format encourages strategic competition while still allowing you to develop your own civilization. The game is quick to pick up and play, making it perfect for less serious players, or for having a casual game where you can still chat with each other.
Azul
- Complexity: Easy
- Playtime: 30-45 mins
Azul is a board game that is great for couples as it works really well for two players, and is just the right balance of casual and thinking. In Azul, you want to score points to win, and you do this by collecting tiles and filling in patterns on your board.
Because there are so many different tiles and patterns to choose from, the game has a lot of replay value. However note that this game can be played nicely with each other where you just focus on what you are doing, or can have a lot of hate drafting, where you try and pick tiles to sabotage the other player. It is flexible in that way, but don’t misread the situation as hate drafting when your partner just wants a relaxing game is going to ruin the mood.
Splendor
- Complexity: Easy
- Playtime: 30 mins
Splendor is an engine-building game where you score points by gathering gemstones that you use to buy cards that give you points or discounts on future cards.
Splendor is a great game for couples because it is light and simple to learn and play, and is just the right amount of competitiveness that the better player will win, but you’ll still get a lot of really close games. It’s also light enough that you’ll still be able to have plenty of conversation around the game.
Paperback
- Complexity: Easy
- Playtime: 45 mins
Paperback is a fun and interesting board game that is a great alternative to the classic game of Scrabble.
It’s a deck-building card game where the goal is to make words using letter cards to score points. Each turn players draw cards from their deck, then use those letters to form words which then give them points to be able to purchase more letters for their deck.
For those who enjoy wordplay, Paperback offers a great way to show off both your strategic and creative side.
Couples Abstract Strategy Board Games
Couples who want to pit their wits against each other in a friendly way should consider abstract strategy games. They have easy rules to learn, yet offer plenty of room for strategic thought, making them ideal for a fun and stimulating challenge.
Hive
- Complexity: Medium
- Playtime: 20 mins
Hive is a two-player board game with a lot of depth and challenge that’s easy to learn and play. There are six different types of creatures, each on hexagonal tiles that you place near other tiles to create the play area. Each creature can then move around the play area in certain ways.
Hive is a great game for couples because it’s simple to learn and play but has a lot of strategic depth. But it is very competitive (in a similar way to chess) so may not be suitable for those who don’t like to go head to head.
Patchwork
- Complexity: Easy
- Playtime: 15-30 mins
Patchwork is a fantastic two-player board game that will delight couples looking for a relaxing kind of game night. By carefully arranging various Tetris style patch tiles on their board, players compete to create the best patchwork quilt by filling up their board the most. While it is competitive, there is something very satisfying about making an attractive quilt whether you win or lose.
Because it requires both creative thinking and strategic planning while remaining entertaining and engaging, Patchwork is a great game for couples. The game is also fairly quick to play, making it ideal for a relaxing night in.
Santorini
- Complexity: Easy
- Playtime: 20 mins
Couples love to play the board game Santorini. In this game, each player takes turns moving their pieces around the board, and constructing towers, with the aim to be the first to have one of their piece reach the top of a tower. There are also additional god powers that make the game asymmetric, with each player having special moves.
Santorini is a fast-paced game that requires players to think quickly and use their spatial reasoning skills. But it is competitive and does require a lot of thinking, so if a couple is looking for a more relaxing game then this may not be the best option.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Are there board games that can foster closer relationships between couples?
A: I think an adventure together is the best way to build a stronger relationship. Games such as Forbidden Island and Pandemic are perfect for bringing you closer together.
Q: Are there any board games made with couples in mind?
A: There are board games made specifically for couples, but I think some of the games specifically designed for two players such as Patchwork and Codenames Duet are much better if you want a clean board games night.
Q: Which board games are ideal for couples with varying skill levels and interests?
A: Board games like Codenames Duet where you work together are great for couples that have different skill levels. Because you are giving each other clues no one is able to give too much advice such as with some other cooperative board games. Another game that works well for varying skill levels is Patchwork, while it is competitive, even if you lose you have made an awesome quilt that is very satisfying to look at.
Q: Which board games are ideal for couples who enjoy more leisurely, laid-back gameplay?
A: Out of this list Patchwork and Fog of Love are probably the most relaxing. While it didn’t make the list, PARKS is a very beautiful and relaxing game where you are traveling through national parks and it would make a great relaxing date night game.
Q: Are There Any Quick-Playing Board Games That Require Minimal Setup?
A: Some of the best board games can be easily set up in just a few minutes, so no extensive planning is required. This is great if you just want a quick game before another activity, or if you are taking a game out to a restaurant for a date. Hive and the Fox in the Forest are two examples of quick games to set up.
Conclusion
Board games are a great way to spend quality time with your significant other. It gives you and your partner a chance to bond while also giving you a chance to activity to do together and have fun.
Finding a board game that suits your interests and how you want to interact is crucial when deciding what kind of game is best for couples. There are many options available that range from working together such as in Pandemic or an Exit! escape room, to being competitive such as in Santorini or Azul.
No matter what kind of board game you choose, it’s sure to bring joy, laughs, and memories that will last a lifetime.
And if you enjoyed this list and are a couple that enjoys playing board games together, it would also be worthwhile checking out our article on the best 2 player games, which aren’t specifically aimed with couples in mind, but many would also make great picks for couples to play.
