These games were designed for more players but come with 2-player variants and we still enjoy them.

1. BRASS: LANCASHIRE or BRASS: BIRMINGHAM

Designers: Gavan Brown, Matt Tolman, Martin Wallace Publisher: Roxley Theme: Industrial Revolution, England

We haven’t decided if we prefer Lancashire or Birmingham. For two players, Lancashire offers a smaller and tighter map so you feel like you are competing for limited locations to move your coal, steel, cotton... There is more tension. Birmingham is a larger map with more things to acquire, and more things to do (eg, all sales transactions require sufficient beer). On your turn you play 2 cards to build canal or rail links between cities, develop industries, buy and sell goods… Yes, this sounds like any other worker placement game, but Brass is really well-done, and the moody art is stunning.

2. CYCLADES

Designers: Bruno Cathala, Ludovic Maublanc Publisher: Matagot Theme: Greek Mythology

We love Greek mythology! If you are after a cut-throat battle in Ancient Greece, Cyclades is it! On your turn, you are bidding for help from the Gods (each one bestowing different powers), conquering islands, and recruiting creatures of myth and legend. The first player to establish three Metropolises (2-player variant) or collect four Philosophers is the winner. Sink your enemy’s ships! Release the Kraken!

3. BUNNY KINGDOM

Designer: Richard Garfield Publisher: IELLO Theme: Feudal Bunnies

We picked up a more intuitive 2-player rule variant from the BGG forums; and don’t use the official one in the rule book. In this game, you are controlling as much space and as many different resources as possible to get the most points. Points are calculated by multiplying castle turrets with unique resources in each “bunny fief,” plus bonus card bonuses. There is a lot of math involved...

4. TERRAFORMING MARS

Designer: Jacob Fryxelius Publisher: FryxGames Theme: Corporations compete to terraform Mars

We play with the “Prelude” and “Venus Next” expansions. 

On Mars, your goal is to raise the temperature, build cities, plant greenery to generate oxygen and create oceans, while making as much money as possible - which allows you to do more terraforming. The game ends when Mars is terraformed and the player with the most points wins. Warning: The card images are bland and awful, and the game itself is quite long and meditative. We play with upgraded 3D tiles (bought on Etsy) which make such a difference to the overall table presence of the game.

5. ABOMINATION: HEIR OF FRANKENSTEIN

Designer: Dan Blanchett Publisher: Plaid Hat Games Theme: Collect body parts to build a monster

A game sequel to Mary Shelley’s book. You are a scientist in 18th century Paris - sending your assistants to different locations (Cemetery, Hospital, Morgue, Docks, etc) to collect organs, muscle, bone and blood to build and bring a creature to life before the law catches up to ypu. You also need to keep your body parts fresh to score more points, and roll dice to charge your leden jars. The art is very gruesome and we love how thematic this game is. Better with 3 or more players but still fun with 2.

*We upgraded our components (purchased on Etsy).

6. GHOST STORIES

Designer: Antoine Bauza Publisher: Repos Productions Theme: You are Taoist monks fighting Chinese ghosts

This co-operative game is best for 4 players/monks but the 2-player variant is still fun. The imagery and components are amazing in this game. The ghosts come in four types - blue water ghosts, green plague ghosts, red blood ghosts, and yellow ghouls and zombies. They are relentless and there is a lot of tension in a whack-a-mole sense. To win, you have to exorcise all the ghosts (with die rolls and tokens), save the villagers, not die, and defeat Wu Feng, the most evil of them all.

*We insist on the White Moon expansion or you will never win!

7. TZOLK’IN, THE MAYAN CALENDAR

Designers: Simone Luciani, Daniele Tascini Publisher: Czech Games Edition Theme: Mayan civilization

The board is amazing - with six turning “pyramid” wheels and so much to do. On each turn you either place or pick up your workers to gain resources (corn, wood, iron, gold etc), build buildings, advance on the “technology track” or make offerings to the Gods. There is a lot of corn involved which is also important for feeding your workers. Tzolk’in requires learning what all the icons mean, and serious forward planning because those wheels keep turning and worker locations change and the game can end before you get to do the thing you really wanted to do!

For the two-player variant, dummy workers are placed on the wheels.

8. BLACK ORCHESTRA

Designers: Philip duBarry Publisher: Game Salute Theme: Killing Hitler, World War 2

This co-operative game plays better with at least 3 players but there is no shortage of tension and excitement with 2. Over several rounds, you are preparing all the elements and planning the perfect moment to assassinate Hitler. At random moments, you are raided by the Gestapo, and being thrown in jail is really rough. However, winning Black Orchestra is the most satisfying board game victory ever.

9. YOKOHAMA

Designer: Hisashi Hayashi Publisher: Tasty Minstrel Games Theme: Trading in the Meiji Period, Japan

Yokohama’s table presence can feel overwhelming at first because there are so many board pieces and different cards that go on top of the boards, in addition to your own “warehouse” boards consisting of workers, trading houses, and shops. The variability of this set-up makes the game fun and very replayable.

In Yokohama, you are a President moving around doing business:  manufacturing products (tea, silk, fish, copper), building shops, implementing new technology, importing and exporting goods. We love that there are so many different ways to score points, and we can never tell who is going to win until the very end. 

*In the two-player variant which has less locations, we prefer to replace the Bank with Chinatown.

10. THE BLOODY INN

Designer: Nicolas Robert Publisher: Pearl Games Theme: You’re a murderous innkeeper in 18th century France

We love the theme and art on the cards! The rules are a little complicated at first because each card has multiple actions that happen at different times. On each round, new guests arrive at your inn. You can either bribe them, murder them, build an annex, bury and rob a corpse, or launder money while avoiding the police. At the end of the game, the player with the most francs is the winner.

*This game plays up to 4. We play with “The Carnies” expansion.