Flowers, chocolates, jewelry… the usual Valentine’s Day stock gift ideas will only showcase your lack of imagination.
Don’t settle for being bored, get board instead… a board game, that is. We’ve picked out the most entertaining game sets for just 2 players. You and your partner can while away February 14th in an alternate universe, far away from the cheesy faux-mantic nonsense.
1. Castle Panic
The ultimate cooperative tower defense board game. Castle Panic pits you and your Valentine against an army of monsters threatening to infiltrate your castle. Come up with a strategy to survive and crown yourself ‘Master Slayer’ for your efforts.
The game even accommodates a 1-player option, so there’s an upside if you find yourself alone on Valentine’s Day.
Gameplay time: 1 hour
Strategy style: Cooperative
2. Pandemic
One of the most cooperative strategy board games around, Pandemic immerses you in a world of newly emerging deadly diseases. You must work together with your partner to find a winning strategy and eradicate the outbreaks before it’s too late.
Gameplay time: 1 hour
Strategy style: Cooperative
3. Ticket to Ride
Transport your date to October 2, 1900 for a winner-takes-all challenge to visit as many cities in North America as possible in 7 days. Not a bad way to get the conversation started about your next road trip.
Gameplay time: 30 mins – 1 hour
Strategy style: Winner-takes-all
4. Forbidden Desert
A spin-off from the popular Forbidden Island game (see later on in the list), Forbidden Desert leaves you stranded in the desert in search of a buried flying machine. You and your partner must survive the arid desert conditions and excavate the ancient desert city to achieve victory.
Gameplay time: 45 minutes
Strategy style: Cooperative
5. Small World
Small World is a quirky civilization game in which you’ll need to grow your empire larger than your partner’s. Ideal if you’re a competitive kind of couple. Small World is full of wizards, amazons, orcs and the occasional human and teeming with imagination.
Gameplay time: 45 – 60 minutes
Strategy style: Winner-takes-all
6. Takenoko
One of the more rustic strategy board games on the market, Takenoko is all about nurturing land to grow special bamboo for a Giant Panda. You and your partner will become courtesans of the Nippon emperor, competing against each other and the elements to please the panda. Light on strategy, but full of heart, Takenoko is a perfect introduction for strategy game newbies.
Gameplay time: 45 minutes
Strategy style: Winner-takes-all
7. Forbidden Island
A former Mensa “Favorite Brainy Games” winner, Forbidden Island is a strategy-laden mission to collect buried treasure. Oh yeah, the island’s also sinking. Forbidden Island is fast-paced challenging and collaborative. What more could you ask for on a date?
Gameplay time: 30 minutes
Strategy style: Cooperative
8. Carcassonne
Be transported to Carcassonne, in France, a city famous for its Roman and Medieval structures. You and your Valentine must lay tiles to develop the city and take victory. Quick tip: start playing on a large table as the tiles can start building up in all kinds of directions.
Gameplay time: Varies
Strategy style: Winner-takes-all
9. Mr. Jack
A classic 2-player detective game, Mr Jack puts you on the trail of Jack the Ripper in 19th century London. Work together to catch Jack before he can outwit you and escape.
Gameplay time: 30 minutes
Strategy style: Cooperative
10. Agricola
For a longer night of gaming, Agricola turns you into a 17th century farmer. You must build a farming empire from scratch, while caring for your spouse and the inevitable rugrats that follow. The perfect ice-breaker for anyone who wants to know what kind of spouse their Valentine’s Day date might turn out to be. It’s sort of like the Game of Life meets Age of Empires, but it works.
Gameplay time: 2 hours
Strategy style: Winner-takes-all
11. Power Grid
Get acquainted with the high-octane world of power provision. In this oddly fascinating game, you must compete to navigate the fluctuating commodities market and supply the most cities with power. With no dice to add the element of luck, Power Grid is a 100% hardcore strategy game for dedicated gamers.
Gameplay time: 2 hours
Strategy style: Winner-takes-all
12. Terra Mystica
Terra Mystica is as mystical as it sounds with 14 factions (including the Alchemists Darklings and Mermaid Swarmlings) and 4 religious cults to get a handle on. You must build, trade and manage resources to create the most powerful group on the board. Gameplay takes a while, but requires enough brain-power to keep it both entertaining and challenging.
Gameplay time: 2 hours
Strategy style: Winner-takes-all
13. The Castles of Burgundy
The Castles of Burgundy is an extremely detailed strategy board game set in Medieval France that will please the most dedicated of gamers. You and your partner must compete against each other to build a thriving estate by collecting possessions, points, wealth and knowledge. Winning will require a keen attention to detail and plenty of strategic thinking. A couple of glasses of French wine will also help set the mood.
Gameplay time: 30 – 90 minutes
Strategy style: Winner-takes-all
14. King of Tokyo
Coming from the designer behind Magic: The Gathering (Richard Garfield), King of Tokyo is a fun-filled battle to become, you guessed it, THE King of Tokyo. Roll dice, battle monsters and fight your way to victory. King of Tokyo is a light-hearted and easy to learn game that blends strategy with dice-throwing luck and will suit a broad audience.
Gameplay time: 30 minutes
Strategy style: Winner-takes-all
So there you have it, 14 two-player strategy board games for a strategic Valentine’s Day date.
But wait, there’s more!
BONUS: Mysterium
Mysterium is a strategy game of inductive reasoning. You and your teammate must work side-by-side to interpret ghostly messages to solve a murder case. Fun whether you get to the answer or not, there’s plenty of replay value in this one.
Gameplay time: 45 minutes
Strategy style: Cooperative
BONUS: Patchwork
Patchwork is a quick-to-play competitive 2-player strategy board game that’s great for couples and friends alike. Unlike some games that can be played with 2 people only, Patchwork was designed as a two-player game, which means it works really well as one.
During gameplay, your goal is move around the board, collecting pieces of fabric and buttons to fill your patchwork square. The player with the most buttons and least empty patches wins. It might sound deceivingly simple, but don’t be fooled – Patchwork is a surprisingly complex startegy game that will challenge even experienced board gamers.
Gameplay time: 15 – 30 minutes
Strategy style: Winner-takes-all