Playing as a pair is different
An evening for two, with your partner, a roommate or your best friend, calls for different games than a party. There is no team to hide behind, and every move goes straight against the other person. In return, you can play games that would take too long in a big group and really settle into the duel.
Gather includes seven classic board and dice games that work for two, plus card games that start at two players. Every game in this article except Corner Chaos runs without a TV.
With or without a TV
With an Apple TV, iPad or Mac as the game table, the board sits big in the middle and each of you moves on your own phone. That works nicely from the couch: you both look at the same picture without crowding around one device.
Without a TV, each of you plays on your own device. One person opens the game, the other joins with a code on the same Wi-Fi. For games with hidden information, like Sea Battle or the card games, that is ideal because everyone keeps their own phone to themselves. And if nobody is free to play, every game in this article has computer opponents.
Board game classics
Four in a Row is the quickest duel. A game often takes just a few minutes, so you will probably play several in a row. A tip for beginners: the middle column is the most valuable, and always watch which square your opponent needs next.
Nine Men's Morris and Checkers sit nicely between quick and deep. In Nine Men's Morris you first place nine pieces, then move them, and once you are down to three you may jump. In Checkers, capturing is mandatory, several jumps in a row count as one move, and the app keeps track of every rule for you.
Chess is the game for long evenings. Castling, en passant and promotion work as you would expect, and a clock makes it tenser: whoever runs out of time first loses. If one of you is much stronger, giving that player less time is a fair handicap you can simply agree on.
Tactics, dice and cards
Sea Battle depends on each player keeping their sea secret. You place your fleet on your phone, and a random layout is ready if you want to jump right in. If you hit, you fire again.
Five Dice is more relaxed as a pair than in a big group because there is little waiting. 13 turns, up to three rolls per turn, and don't neglect the upper section: 63 points or more there earn a 35-point bonus.
Among the card games, Rummy shines with two because you can keep an eye on each other's melds and add to them on purpose. Stack Rush is a race: whoever empties their stock pile first wins. Thirty-One plays very quickly with two and is perfect for a short break.
An evening for two
Warm up with a few rounds of Four in a Row; whoever wins three first picks the next game. Then play a game of Nine Men's Morris or Checkers, and finish with Five Dice or Rummy, where you can still chat along the way.
If you would rather have some speed and you have a TV, Corner Chaos works with two as well, and computer drivers fill the empty grid spots so the race never feels empty.