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Board games for two players

(31 Posts)
teabagwoman Tue 20-May-25 14:36:17

I love having my dgd, a bright, always in a hurry, rising 11 year old, over in the holidays but I’m increasingly arthritic and need as many sit down activities as I can find. We’ve played Cluedo, Monopoly and Sorry a lot and I’m wondering if anyone can suggest other board games that work well with just two players. I love Scrabble but dgd flatly refuses so that’s out. Your help will be very much appreciated.

Celieanne86 Sat 28-Jun-25 23:47:00

Connect, Draughts and Dominoes were always the favourite with my family. The little ones started off with snakes and ladders and the boys liked Battleships until grandad taught them gin rummy 😳

higgsdominoapk Sat 28-Jun-25 22:46:05

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teabagwoman Thu 22-May-25 14:02:02

Oh yes Greyduster I’d forgotten Build a Beetle, that brings back happy memories. I’ve just found a backgammon board hidden at the back of a cupboard so am going to try and teach myself how to play over the weekend. If 10 year olds can learn it there’s some hope for me. I don’t know if it’s down to my dyspraxia but I find some games very hard to master.

Salti Thu 22-May-25 10:59:29

I would recommend backgammon. My husband and I were once on an overnight ferry. We had taken our board to occupy ourselves. We were suddenly mobbed by a "gang" of Spanish children who appeared to be on a school trip. They were probably about ten years old. They were fascinated and a couple of hours later they all seemed to have mastered the basics, despite the language barrier. Their teachers came over to buy us a drink as a thank you.

Sarnia Thu 22-May-25 10:06:57

Retread

I used to love playing Chinese Checkers with my grandad when I was little. Happy memories. smile

I remember that. Lovely game but one I haven't seen in years.

growstuff Thu 22-May-25 09:39:59

Othello

Retread Thu 22-May-25 09:34:29

I used to love playing Chinese Checkers with my grandad when I was little. Happy memories. smile

nanaK54 Thu 22-May-25 09:11:41

Try 'Magnetic Chess' - it has nothing to do with chess, but is just addictive and lots of fun for all ages.

Greyduster Thu 22-May-25 09:00:37

And Chinese Chequers!

Greyduster Thu 22-May-25 08:59:08

Mention of Snakes and Ladders reminded me that our GS used to really enjoy Ludo. It could get a bit cutthroat but was huge fun. Also a favourite: Build a Beetle. The old ones never go out of fashion.

Lathyrus3 Wed 21-May-25 10:13:46

I confess to being addicted to Stone Age.

It works really well for two.

Sarnia Wed 21-May-25 09:16:23

Another vote for Labyrinth. Colour Brain, Dobble and Guess in 10 are all good games for that age group with Grannies who need to sit down to play. My youngest, coming up to 11, loves Snakes and Ladders and as a Harry Potter fan loves the board games that feature anything to do with Hogwarts.

silverlining48 Wed 21-May-25 09:04:53

You coukd have a look in charity shops. There are often an astonishing amount to choose from. Have fun with your gd. The grow up so fast. .

teabagwoman Wed 21-May-25 06:47:14

I’ve never heard of Mancala or Quirkle and dgd would love Jenga, partly because she would always beat me! Now the next step is to clear some cupboard space so I’ve somewhere to keep the games.

HettyBetty Tue 20-May-25 21:43:03

Qwirkle is popular with all ages in our family.

Macadia Tue 20-May-25 21:01:10

Great post !
I choose backgammon, mancala and jenga.

teabagwoman Tue 20-May-25 20:54:27

To be honest I’m trying to avoid card games, I really don’t enjoy them as I have great difficulty remembering what cards have been played. Being made to play whist at a young age was ahorrendous experience.

grumppa Tue 20-May-25 17:52:12

Cribbage, draughts, chess.

grannydarkhair Tue 20-May-25 17:40:36

Card games - Cribbage, I learnt how to play it when I was 11/12. Gin Rummy, can’t remember when I was taught this but definitely earlier than Cribbage.
As someone has already suggested - Backgammon - I only learnt to play as an adult but know that children can pick it up very quickly.

Ilovecheese Tue 20-May-25 17:37:20

Connect four

teabagwoman Tue 20-May-25 17:31:16

I’ve never heard of games cafes Keepingquiet, thanks for that, I shall Google.

keepingquiet Tue 20-May-25 17:17:33

I'm not sure where in the country you are but in some places there are games cafes- where you can go and play all sorts of different board games. The one I go to with my grandkids is called Chance and Counters or maybe Chance Encounters?
The drinks and the food isn't cheap but the games are free and will keep you busy for ages.
I suggest you look up games cafes in your area and give it a try if you find one. Booking is recommended in school holidays. Staff are good at finding games to suit your needs too.

teabagwoman Tue 20-May-25 17:06:41

Thank you all, lots of good ideas to keep dgd occupied and me sat down.

agnurse Tue 20-May-25 16:09:38

Could you play chess or checkers? Those work for two people. Maybe you could see if you could find Scotland Yard - this is an older game but a very interesting one; one player is "Mr. X" and the other players are police officers trying to capture him and deducing his movements across London based on the transit tickets he is using. Risk is another one that can be played with two, and it can take a long time to play.

Greyduster Tue 20-May-25 15:07:18

We like Ingenious; can be played with two, three or four players. GS hated Scrabble but would always play Bananagrams. There is also a little game called Minotaurus that we both enjoyed playing.