Top 10 Best Board Games for Couples

board games for couples

It can be very difficult to find good two player games for couples to play. A lot of games have a 3 player minimum (like Catan) or, even though they technically can be played with two players they are far better with 3 or more. Listed here are my (and my partners) top 10 favorite board games to play when it is just us. I hope this list helps you find the perfect game to play with your partner.

1 Gloomhaven

gloomhaven review

Time: 45-60 min per session

Cost: Very High

What can I say about Gloomhaven that I haven’t already? It is by far one of the best board games ever made period and the fact that it’s also a great game to play as a couple is the ultimate bonus. Some players prefer to play this with the full 4 players, but from personal experience I can say that playing through the main campaign with my partner was a blast and I would not have wanted to play it any other way. It’s cooperative nature means that you will either win together or lose together, a theme that you will see is fairly common in this board game list. Gloomhaven is my number one pick for a couple’s board game.

Read the Full Review of Gloomhaven

2 Pandemic

Pandemic Review

Time: 45 min

Cost: High

Pandemic is another cooperative board game where you and your partner assume different roles to try and save the world from a series of diseases. Pandemic is certainly not for the faint of heart as even on the easiest difficulty winning is not guaranteed. This is a great game to play with your partner as the two player experience is just as good as the 3 and 4 player one. If you and your partner like a challenge, definitely check out Pandemic as your next couple’s game.

Read the Full Review of Pandemic

3 Ticket to Ride

ticket to ride review

Time: 45 min

Cost: High

Ticket to ride is the first competitive game to make this list. You and your partner are trying to complete as many destination tickets as you can to gain the most points and win. My personal favorite map of the ticket to ride series is the Europe map as the stations come in handy, especially when playing with more than just your partner. When playing Ticket to Ride with two players you can only use a single route once, even if there are multiple tracks on that route. With this rule variant the two player version of ticket to ride can feel just as cramped (and just as fun) and the three to four player games.

Read the Full Review of Ticket to Ride

4 Takenoko

takenoko review

Time: 30 – 45 min

Cost: High

Takenoko is an adorable game set in medieval Japan in the garden of the emperor. Players are trying to be the first to complete 7 objective cards and have the most points at the end of the game. This is a great game to play as a couple as the game is just as fun with two players as it is with 4. The advantage of a two player game is that the games themselves can go a little faster. I have heard some people saying that the art style is too ‘girly’, but I personally love the bright and colorful art and those who dismiss the game based off that are truly missing out on a fantastic gaming experience.

Full Review coming soon.

5 Kingdomino

kingdomino review

Time: 15 min

Cost: Medium

Kingdomino is a fun domino placing game where the aim is to make as many large groups of colors as possible for maximum points at the end. In the two player version of this game each player goes twice in the one round using both of their king tokens. Each game of Kingdomino typically lasts around 15 minutes so it’s a great game to play to the ‘best of three’ or whomever has the most points at the end of the three games. It’s also a fairly chill game compared to others on this list and is easy to learn and play.

Read the Full Review of Kingdomino

6 Castle Panic

castle panic review

Time: 60 min

Cost: High

Castle Panic is another cooperative game to make this list. You and your partner are trying to work together to defend the castle from the invading goblins and ogres. The art style is fun and colorful and the game mechanics really force you to work together to overcome the hordes of monsters coming at you. This is a great game to pull out and play with your partner (or even by yourself!)

Read the Full Review of Castle Panic

7 Fog of Love

fog of love review

Time: 60 min

Cost: High

Fog of love is a rom-com in a board game. You and your partner have quirks that make you the ‘quirky’ protagonist of your rom com and secret goals to keep the ‘will they wont they’ tension alive. Fog of love is one of the more complicated board games to play on this list but is defiantly a great game to play with your partner. Being designed for two players certainly gives it the edge over some others on this list.

Full Review coming soon.

8 Stuffed Fables

stuffed fables review

Time: 45 – 60 min per session

Cost: High

This game also suffers from the ‘cuteness’ like Takenoko, but take it from me, it’s a fantastic game! My partner and I started playing this and could not put it away. In stuffed fables you play through a campaign as a little girl’s stuffed animals protecting her from the evil that is under her bed. You can play as one character each or (and what I strongly suggest) play as two characters each for a total for 4 stuffies. My partner and I gave each stuffie a unique voice and personality and that really added to the overall experience of playing the game. Definitely check this game out if you and your partner are really into role playing games.

Full Review coming soon.

9 Lord of Waterdeep

lords of waterdeep review

Time: 60 min

Cost: High

Lords of Waterdeep is a great resource management game where you play as a lord of Waterdeep who is trying to complete as many quests of a certain type as they can. The two player game of this is great and the board is certainly less claustrophobic than a 4-5 player game. This was one of the first big board games my partner and I played together and I can certainly attest to its fun game play and fun game mechanics.

Full review coming soon.

10 Love Letter

love letter review

Time: 30 min

Cost: Low

I personally adore Love Letter. While you can play it with two players it is admittedly better with at least three. In saying that it’s still a great little game to play with your partner at home or on trips where you want a little game to pass the time. It also comes in a cute velvet bag so it’s easy to put in your pocket and take with you.

Read the Full Review of Love Letter

Kingdomino Review

kingdomino review

Basic Information for Kingdomino

kingdomino review

Number of Players: 2-4

Age: 8+

Time: 15 minutes

Price: Medium

Introduction to Kingdomino

Kingdomino is a tile placing game where players are trying to build the land around their castle using the domino tiles. It’s a great small fun game that is really easy to learn and uses a good amount of strategy. This is a great game to play with older kids as I feel the game is fairly balanced between kids and adults playing together. I really enjoy the art style and the overall and also won game of the year in 2017.

How to Play Kingdomino

Each player has a castle and a king that matches their castle colors (2 player games have 2 kings). To set up you shuffle the domino tiles and place 4 face down in the center and the rest are face down in the box. You order the tiles from lowest to highest and flip them over. Players decide who goes first and they will play their king on one of the 4 domino options and continue in a circle for this first round. Players then take out another 4 domino tiles and place them face down, again ordered from lowest to highest. Player then flip these tiles, and the player that placed their king on the lowest value tile gets to go first for the next tile choosing. The next lowest value player then choses and so on.

kingdomino game review

Players are trying to build a 5 x 5 grid using the dominos. They are no allowed to breach the 5 x 5 land limit so sometime a player will have one less domino on their final board and there was no place to put it. You must match at least one color to the same color (except for the starting castle tile) and build out your kingdom following the basic domino rules. Once half the total tiles are used players should have a 5 x 5 grid (or almost a full 5 x 5 grid). Points are counted with the amount of crowns there are in one connected color group. For example, I have a large forest of 5 tiles that has two crowns. 5 x 2 is 10 so I receive 10 points for that forest. I have a single forest tile that is not connect to that forest and has no crown, it does not earn any points. The player with the most points wins.

Notes on Kingdomino

Like sushi go or other point based games you can play to see who has the most points are the end of 3 games. Kingdomino is also a great couple’s game to play. Me and my partner will usually play this if neither of us a feel like playing a biggest game like Gloomhaven or Pandemic. It’s a great little game and I highly recommend it.

Back to Best Board Games for Boys

Back to Best Board Games for Girls