Other Than Chess Or Checkers...Can You Think Of Any Good Two-Person Games?

[arwalden]

Which ones do you enjoy?

[mac56]

1. Backgammon!

And cribbage.

[pokerfan]

39. Another vote for backgammon!

Probably the best game for two players that involves an element of chance. The chance element allows a lesser skilled player to win now and again and not get discouraged. The strategies involved are subtle and deep, much more so than in Cribbage. There's nothing wrong with Crib as a pleasant way to to spend some time, but backgammon never ceases to fascinate and thrill me.

[Blue-Jay]

2. The Funky Alphonso?

[In_The_Wind]

3. Backgammon

I can play all night.

[sarahinmexico]

8. two votes for cribbage

I always make my husband play. (oops I meant to click on the cribbage post, obviously)

[DS1]

4. Cribbage - 2 or 4 players

[rbnyc]

16. Love cribbage...best w/2. (nt)

[giant_robot]

20. Another cribbage fan checking in.

You can also play with 5 players. I think you can even play with 6 (tho I think that's partners).

[last_texas_dem]

5. Stratego

It may be a little difficult to find now, but it was my favorite two-person game when I was a kid, not too long ago. Kind of like Chess with a twist: most of the pieces move only one square at a time, you set up your pieces differently every time, and players can't see what their opponent's game pieces are unless they attack them.

[mac56]

6. Battleship!

nm

[bigwillq]

11. That would be my pick!

:)

[ThomCat]

7. Scrabble!

[spindrifter]

9. Cribbage for sure,

Parchesi, Dominos.

[Sacajawea]

10. Horizontal mambo.

[Telly Savalas]

12. Rock paper scissors

[Richard Steele]

38. I prefer the 5-way variation: " rock/ paper/ scissors/ Spock/ lizard"

http://www.samkass.com/theories/RPSSL.html



'Paper DISPROVES Spock' just tickles me!

[Kali]

62. Funny!

[DanCa]

13. I like Scrabble personally. (nt)

[graywarrior]

14. Yahtzee.

Scrabble turns into vicious fights in our house.

[fizzgig]

21. when i'm with my sister

scrabble turns into a drinking game, so good times are had by all

i used to spend hours playing yahtzee with my grandmother (i was named for her) and it was some of the best time i've ever spent

[SeattleGirl]

15. Yahtzee and Scrabble are both good ones.

Monopoly (though I refuse to play with Mr. SG, as he skunks me every time, and what's the fun in that?).

[gristy]

17. Scrabble is great

Never boring. Well, hardly ever. Depends how fast your opponent plays...

[jpgray]

18. Nine Men's Morris

Quicker than checkers or chess, but just as strategically interesting. Plus Morris boards were found as far back as 1400 BC in Egypt, and later were very popular in England and all over Europe. It's easy to make your own, and though it's easy to learn, a good player is very tough to beat.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

19. My husband used to play the Chinese game "Go."

I never learned it......but it's supposed to be fun! Ancient Chinese war game, I think...

Black and white stones on a wood board marked with a grid pattern. You try to surround your opponent....

[Kali]

30. I know it as Othello

[pokerfan]

34. Othello is not Go!

Othello is a fine game but comparing Go to Othello is like comparing Chess to Checkers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_%28board_game%29

Go is a wonderful game and it is fairly easy to handicap so that players with quite different skill levels can still enjoy a game. I learned to play it almost thirty years ago at college.

It's also a very beautiful game.

[Kali]

45. oops guess it was the little black and white pieces on lots of squares

I have not played Go. Agree with comparison - heh heh

[pokerfan]

57. It's a common misconception

It's an easy game to learn, not much more difficult than Othello. The goal is to encircle your enemy on all sides. Note in the picture how the stones are played on the intersections, not the squares themselves. I have a Go set but no one to play with. :(

[windlight]

69. I know too well

I learned Go while i was in High school and well playing at the local university i got clocked more then a few times... When i went to university (wyoming) i couldn't find any one to play and then found a spot a hour away (Ft Collins) but they played on Wens during the school year and anyone who knows, knows driving back at 10pm in the winter isn't fun even in the best of nights... Now i haven't played in years and wonder if i could even hold my own on the most basic of setups...

[JVS]

22. Connect four!

[JVS]

23. Kaboom!

[WCGreen]

24. Hide the Salami

[Montauk6]

36. Well, French Kissing is a great American pastime.

[WCGreen]

41. On so many levels.....

[Montauk6]

44. Quite.

Some vertical, some horizontal.

[Deja Q]

61. With the Swiss cheese!

:rofl:

[Nikia]

25. Chinese checkers

It has its own board and uses marbles.
Other than that, Scrabble is probably my favorite.

[book lady]

26. Othello

[Nutmegger]

27. SCRABBLE!!!

:woohoo:

[Kali]

28. Quarters!

:o :toast:


Double Solitare
Othello
Around the Corner (Dice game)
War (another card game - every kid knows it)
Gin (ok just CARDS)
Tick Tack Toe and Hangman
Cat's Cradle
Mancala

LOTS!

[MiniMandaRuth]

29. Scatagories.

It's fun to make up your own categories...

[Nikia]

56. I think that game works better if you have several people though

The rule about not getting points if someone else has the same answer encourages you to pick less common answers when you have multiple opponents. When there is only two, if you have the same answer no one has an advantage over the other.

[liberaltrucker]

31. Horiziontal Bop

:evilgrin:

[Benfea]

32. Get four people together and play team chess.

It's a blast, although it'll ruin your normal chess game.

Your teammate sits next to you and your teammate uses the same color as your opponent so that the colors look like this:

OX
XO

Whenever you capture a piece, you pass it to your teammate. Your teammate can then place the piece anywhere on the board in lieu of a move. The one restriction is that pawns can't be placed on the back row (duh).

It gets really wild and crazy fairly quickly. It's a lot harder to plan very many moves ahead because at any time your opponent might receive a piece you weren't expecting and totally change what's happening on your board.

[havocmom]

33. Strip Poker followed by a round of Twister

Make sure the room is toasty

[Kerrytravelers]

35. Can we include fornication?

:shrug:

[Blue_In_AK]

37. Backgammon rules!

[pokerfan]

40. Dots and boxes

Don't laugh. There aren't many games where all you need is pen and paper. And yes, there is strategy involved. Check out the double-cross strategy:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dots_and_Boxes

[BrotherBuzz]

42. Gin Rummy

With the right opponent and mate, the competition can last a lifetime. My parents played for years and years and I never learned who finally won.

[Oeditpus Rex]

43. I assume you mean board-type games, but

my initial reaction is ping-pong. I could play it all day... and maybe pick up a couple o' bucks.

If you don't have that much space, I'd go with gin rummy.

[supernova]

46. Lots of card games are 2-person friendly

Gin probably being the best one.

Other board type games I like:

Electronic battleship is fun. You can usually find one at the flea market.

Backgammon is great.

Chess.

I'm not that competitive. I tend to view games as more an activity to connect over, rather than a chance to win. So I like games that have a big social component to them.

[derby378]

47. Wa-Hoo and Senet

Two that I don't remember seeing mentioned yet.

[leftofthedial]

48. relationships

but I can't say I enjoyed it

[anarch]

49. mumblety peg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumblety_peg

[Kali]

63. Interesting - I had the mistaken impression

it was when you take a knife and stick it between your fingers (hand flat on a board or table) - a scene in the movie Dark Star always comes to mind. Boiler. hahahahha

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

64. Another Dark Star fan! YAYYY!!

"Guys? How could it live if it was made out of gas?"

[Kali]

65. Shut up, Pinback.

Dark Star and Repo Man = the two best movies ever made.

Big Lebowski #3.

[Mikimouse]

50. Mill...it is a European board game similar to chess...

but the object is to line up three pieces in a row and remove your opponenets pieces. You can also use pieces to block the row construction of the other player, so it really is a strategy game.

[tjwash]

51. Cribbage.

[Blue_Tires]

54. good call!

[WritingIsMyReligion]

52. Osculation.

:evilgrin:

[Deja Q]

60. Undulation.

:rofl:

[NMDemDist2]

53. canasta n/t

[Burma Jones]

55. Mille Bornes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mille_Bournes

[Left Is Write]

68. I love Mille Bornes.

I played with my mom and/or my sisters a lot when I was a kid.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

58. Mumblety-peg.

Or Russian Roulette:



Or Knife-out:

[Deja Q]

59. G-rated, I presume?

:evilgrin:

[tjwmason]

66. Snap.

With the optional extra of razor blades attached to one's fingers to try and slash one's opponent.

[Left Is Write]

67. Lots...

Scrabble, any Trivial Pursuit, gin, cribbage, Othello, Yahtzee, Boggle

[applegrove]

70. Cards.