[psychomansam]

While injured and getting fat, this is taking lots of my time. Just me?

[Will Hunt]

Really enjoying discovering this genre of entertainment recently.

I enjoy Pandemic but it's a bit high brow and dull if not everybody has played before.

Settlers of Catan is good. Going to get the Seafarers expansion next.

MUNCHKIN! Hilarious to play at parties. Just a piss take of dungeons and dragons. The winner is always the last person to get completely fucked over by everyone else.

Cosmic Encounter is incredible but not in print at the moment? Couldn't find a copy for anything less than 40 quid which I can't really justify. The rules of the game couldn't be simpler but are modified by a huge selection of alien races which each player randomly selects at the start of the game. Each race 'breaks' the rules of the game in some way. Thus each game requires slightly different strategy as each race is forced to deal with the others in different ways.

Played Dixit at a NYE party tonight which is a very well thought out, but very simple game. Nice, trippy artwork too.

[psychomansam]

Really enjoying discovering this genre of entertainment recently.

I enjoy Pandemic but it's a bit high brow and dull if not everybody has played before.

Settlers of Catan is good. Going to get the Seafarers expansion next.

MUNCHKIN! Hilarious to play at parties. Just a piss take of dungeons and dragons. The winner is always the last person to get completely fucked over by everyone else.

Cosmic Encounter is incredible but not in print at the moment? Couldn't find a copy for anything less than 40 quid which I can't really justify. The rules of the game couldn't be simpler but are modified by a huge selection of alien races which each player randomly selects at the start of the game. Each race 'breaks' the rules of the game in some way. Thus each game requires slightly different strategy as each race is forced to deal with the others in different ways.

Played Dixit at a NYE party tonight which is a very well thought out, but very simple game. Nice, trippy artwork too.

Cosmic encounter is excellent. I think its in print, just expensive. If you like these games, try king of new York. For party gaming a lot of people are into ultimate werewolf type stuff too, or something like spyfall. Not really my bag as I'm shite at lying.

Go download the star realms app...

[r-man]

I quite enjoyed Settlers of Catan. Was recently intrigued by a mate's blogpost - would like to play some of these... http://www.timclarepoet.co.uk/?p=2746

[Sidehaas]

I play quite a few board games with my wife.

Carcassonne is good at similar level of complexity to settlers of catan.

Would second pandemic, particularly as a 2 player it's really good.

At the quicker to pick up end, Ticket to Ride is really fun, much better than the traditional monopoly cluedo etc. Recommend the Europe edition.

Last Night on Earth is also fun but has less replayability (my wife loves it - it has lots of zombie theming.)

At the more complex end, I really enjoy Agricola, although we have suffered from not having more people to play with. It's not something you can teach to non regular board gamers in an evening, you really need a keen group.
At the more complex end and for 2 people is Android Netrunner. This is really good but it's a collectible card game as opposed to a one off board game, so for extra replayability (not that the starting aet is bad - it isn't) you'll want to buy the expansion data packs.

Boardgamegeek.com is a great source of info.

[Mike Tyson]

I'll second the Carcassone shout, had my first game tonight, excellent fun for all ages.

[Three Nine]

I played a few games of Carcassonne: Hunters & Gatherers this Christmas and enjoyed it, and I generally hate boardgames

[tomtom]

We played 'DEMOCRACY' before Xmas. Was kind of good fun (one person plays a dictator and the rest budding democracies in a slightly weird monopoly/risk cross over. Was pretty good (I was dictator) until early  one 'chance' type card meant it was impossible for me to succeed which rendered the game pretty much pointless.

I've payed a lot of solitaire too

[36chambers]

I used to be a huge fan of Catan, but after playing it nonstop over christmas a few years ago, I now can't stand it. Too luck based for my liking and I get pissed off never getting my numbers rolled. 

Carcassonne is a recent favourite of mine, particularly with the Inns & Cathedrals expansion pack. It's simple and plays well with first timers.

For more heavy duty games; Caylus, Terra Mystica and 7 Wonders are all good.

These and Carcassonne were played on rotation at my parents over this christmas. TM is pretty epic, and gets better and better the more I play it, but the crux is finding enough people who know the microbeta well enough to ensure a good game. Otherwise it can feel tedious. But I suppose that's common for many board games.   

[Will Hunt]

Does anybody know any good games that work well with two people? The games I have at the moment tend to work best with 3 or more which isn't much use when it's just me and the wife. We bought a Settlers card game (Struggle or something like that) and its OK but is quite formulaic and now the winner is basically just decided on luck.

The Leeds game shop has got a sale on today so going to have a mooch over there. Was thinking about the Seafarers expansion for Catan as I agree with Nathaniel when he says the base game can be a little too basic and luck dependent after a while. I find the expansions make things more involved but haven't played Seafarers yet - any good?

[Sidehaas]

Does anybody know any good games that work well with two people? The games I have at the moment tend to work best with 3 or more which isn't much use when it's just me and the wife. We bought a Settlers card game (Struggle or something like that) and its OK but is quite formulaic and now the winner is basically just decided on luck.

The Leeds game shop has got a sale on today so going to have a mooch over there. Was thinking about the Seafarers expansion for Catan as I agree with Nathaniel when he says the base game can be a little too basic and luck dependent after a while. I find the expansions make things more involved but haven't played Seafarers yet - any good?

Netrunner or Pandemic in my experience. Ticket to Ride with the Switzerland or Europ1912/Big Cities expsnsions.

[Doug]

We primarily play Settlers with Seafarers expansion and keep it fresh by playing the different board set ups and randomising the resource tiles and numbers. We also have Traders & Barbarians expansion which we use with Seafarers at least half the time. They both expand the ways you can get victory points, risks and ways you can use your cards and therefore the potential game play strategies you can employ.

If the number of points to victory is high enough then strategic play will overcome dice luck with time. It's common for some people to race ahead then slow up in the mid to end game only to be caught up and having a closely fought finish. I'll admit that in a very close finish then luck can mean one player wins just before someone else, but I've never come close second and thought that I hadn't cocked up a couple of crucial decisions.

Settlers and Ticket to Ride are also available as apps, which van be a cheaper way to try out the full game.

[36chambers]

Does anybody know any good games that work well with two people?

Although I haven't played it, Twilight Struggle was, until very recently, the highest ranking game at boardgamegeek.com (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/12333/twilight-struggle). It's exclusively a two player game.

Carcassonne is also great as a two player. 

Just browse the highest ranking games when deciding upon you next one. That's how I pick mine and I haven't bought a bad one yet. (Apart from maybe Catan...) http://boardgamegeek.com/browse/boardgame?sort=rank&sortdir=asc

[andy_e]

Just discovered through rereading the rules that we've actually won pandemic in the past despite having thought we've never won it before.

[psychomansam]

Does anybody know any good games that work well with two people? The games I have at the moment tend to work best with 3 or more which isn't much use when it's just me and the wife. We bought a Settlers card game (Struggle or something like that) and its OK but is quite formulaic and now the winner is basically just decided on luck.

The Leeds game shop has got a sale on today so going to have a mooch over there. Was thinking about the Seafarers expansion for Catan as I agree with Nathaniel when he says the base game can be a little too basic and luck dependent after a while. I find the expansions make things more involved but haven't played Seafarers yet - any good?

Eclipse is fun with 2 players and even more fun with 6. Expect ~3 or ~7 hours respectively. So not one for after work.

My current favourite shorter game is Roll for the Galaxy. Brilliant with 2 players, or more. Expect 25-55 mins. But this is only once you've learnt to play. Good luck with that - f*cking awesome, but not one for beginners. (This game is based on Race for The Galaxy - a card game which is similar but a bit more painfully strategic and less fun (I love it as well). Also very tough to learn. Search the name along with "keldons AI" to download it for PC/IOS for free)

For a smaller investment, consider Star Realms. It's a deckbuilding card game. £12? Almost always played as a 2 player game (but can be bloody hilarious as 2v2 if you get a chance). And if you like that, or perhaps instead, buy Dominion, the grand-daddy of deck-builders. These are both easy to learn and pretty swift.

Waggle Dance is a nice intro to worker placement (the same genre as Agricola, which is one for accountants). If you do decide to play heavier worker placement, f*ck Agricola, buy Brewcrafters and build a bloody brewery son!

5 tribes is great with 2 players (or more). Quite a unique game but a great mix of fun and strategy and not too long.

Quite a lot of people like the Castles of Mad King Ludwig. Strange game, but enjoyable if not as 'fun' as some.

Galaxy Trucker - pure stupidity and very different. Works with 2 once in a while, but fun to introduce to other light gamers too.

Tiny Epic Galaxies / Eight minute empire (latest edition) - these are two of the nice quick 'filler' games out there for playing in a break or before/after a larger game. Quick, small, cheapish games but good fun.

Now find a third player and play Cosmic Encounter, King of New York (/Tokyo) and 7 Wonders.

--
FYI, here's my list of the games I played in 2015, apart from the ones I've forgotten:
504
7 wonders
8 minute empire
Aladdin's Dragons
Among the Stars
Archipelago
Ascension(e)
battle line
biblios
Black Fleet
Blokus
brewcrafters
carcassonne
Castles of Mad King Ludwig
Cash n Guns
catan
Colt Express
Concept
cosmic encounter
Coup
dead of winter
Doctor Lucky
Dominion
the duke
Eclipse
Eight Minute Empire: Legends
eminent domain
Epic
five tribes
Forbidden Island (&desert)
for sale
Galaxy Trucker
Game of Thrones
Gates of Loyang
go sushi
Gravwell
Guillotine
Hanabi
imperial assault
jaipur
Jamaica
King of New York
Last Will
Libertalia
Lords of Vegas
lost cities
Love Letter
machi koro
Mafia de Cuba
Memoir '44
Neuroshima Hex!
New Dawn
race for the galaxy
Resistance, The
risk – paranoia
roll for the galaxy
San Juan
sherriff of nottingham
Small World
Smash  Up
Splendor
Spyfall
star realms
Stellar Conflict
summoner wars
Sushi Go
Terra Mystica
Ticket to Ride
Tigris & Euphrates
T.I.M.E. Stories
Tiny Epic Galaxies
Tragedy Looper
ultimate werewolf
x-wing miniatures
zombicide

(BTW, going down this particular rabbit hole means I now know plenty of people who OWN more games than that).

[Grubes]

pulled out of the games games game thread

yup want suggestions or opinions?

Family games
Hare and the tortoise - card based race game. Very simple 15-20 mins per game. I play this with my 5 year old nephew and friends who are mid 20's to late 40's
Sheriff of nottingham - a great game of lying and deceit. Especially fun if people are willing to roleplay/act a bit. better for older kids 9+.
Treasure island/desert - Cooperative game fighting against the game. Really fun.
Adventure tours - fun game very easy.
Keep an eye out for looney quest. Fantastic game. I played a demo as part of voting for games awards recently. Its like an old arcade game but as a board game

Flux (many variation) - The rules keep changing. Card game of randomness - either annoying or amazing

Not so Family
Zombiecide is great fun for co oprative miniature fighting game.
Witcher - great fun! takes hours though.
Xcom - fun but hard. each round is times and the pressure builds. Co operative against the game.

I recently got the new zombiecide (medieval based) not played it yet though.
I also got Blood rage before christmas a great game for a group of 3 - 5 not played it two player yet so can't comment.
Smallworld is great if you have a few players. very replayable as every game is different


Will if you like dixit look up mysterium. Its dixit crossed with cluedo. very good with more people. (just spotted this on r-mans mates blog)
If you are serious about games try dead of winter. Warning this is not a fun game. Its awesome but incredibly stressful.

King of tokyo is okay for 2 players not tried new york.

for two player games I recommend Pandemic as said below and forbidden island. both cooperative games against the game and very fun to play. Also look up the alien / predator verson of legendary. absolutely fantastic games again co op but very fun. The game is expensive (£50) but you do get a lot for your money.
The lord of the rings card game works as a two player as does netrunner. the core set for net runner is meant to be very good for just two of you playing the game but it has a lot of expansions.
I recently got a game off of kick starter called burgle bros and really enjoyed my first play through.

I am quite fortunate that my local game shop has a massive library so I can play loads of different games all the time. Also they run the family area at the UK games expo and have an awards so I constantly get to try new or even pre-release games.

[Palomides]

Loads of games I've never heard of up there! Will be looking at them more closely later, especially as the two I've been playing a bit recently aren't there:

Citadels - I think it's a bit like Carcasonne (which i haven't played), building a city and taking the role of different characters per turn. Not that much fun with two players, but good with three or more

The Island - EU-named version of Survive / Escape from Atlantis. Played this for the first time yesterday. Enjoyed the way that the whole situation and board change as you play, but need to try it a few more times to really get into it I think.

[Oldmanmatt]

For a family, aged from 7 to 45; 221b Baker Street works really well.
Complex enough to tax the adults and doable for the7 year olds with some guidance.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Grubes]

Ticket to Ride with the Switzerland or Europ1912/Big Cities expsnsions.

A UK version of ticket to ride came out end of last year. not played it but heard very good things from people who have.

[chris20]

For party gaming a lot of people are into ultimate werewolf type stuff too, or something like spyfall. Not really my bag as I'm shite at lying.

Another game similar to werewolves is bang, spaghetti western game where you have to work out who different characters are and kill/protect allies/enemies.  My partner prefers it over werewolves as you try to work out who people are based on how they are playing the game

[SA Chris]

https://cardsagainsthumanity.com/

Not a board game, more a card game, but fucking funny, especially if pissed. And free to print if you can be bothered. The more mixed the company the better.

[Nutty]

Does anybody know any good games that work well with two people?

http://www.shutupandsitdown.com/ claim that Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective is the best game for couples. I've not played it myself, but intend to pick it up. It's co-operatively solving mysteries, and a review is here: http://www.shutupandsitdown.com/blog/post/review-sherlock-holmes-consulting-detective/

[Grubes]

https://cardsagainsthumanity.com/

Not a board game, more a card game, but fucking funny, especially if pissed. And free to print if you can be bothered. The more mixed the company the better.

i once played with a group 10 including
2 grumpy lesbians
3 Chinese people with english as a second language
1 person from hyde

[SA Chris]

Can't get more mixed! I assume alcohol featured.

[Grubes]

I was on vodka think that should explain enough