I’m looking for games which are for exactly 2 or 3 players. My wife, daughter and I played Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries yesterday, and it was so cool that the game was truly balanced around that exact number of players. Some combination of 2 or 3 tends to be who sits down at our table, and games that are best for 4 or 5 tend to not really work wonderfully with 2 or 3. Any suggestions? :)
Azul is better with 2-3 players than at 4.
Others that play well with 2 & 3 players: Dominion Race for the Galaxy Castles of Burgundy
I have Dominion and RftG. I may just have to get back into them. Thank you.
Just remember to take out cathedral :)
Exactly 2-3 is a hard call, I think you already have pretty much the best pick with Nordic Countries.
The others that come to mind are on the heavier side and come with some caveats. Mottainai is one of my favorites and a single deck plays 2 or 3 but it can be difficult to get started with especially if everybody is going in cold. Fields of Arle with the Tea & Trade expansion (required for 3) plays 2-3 but it’s very difficult to find right now, rumor is that the the next print might come at the end of this year. Haggis is fun and not too hard but the custom deck that is required for 3 seems to be out of print.
There are a lot more choices if we open it up to games with a wider player count that play very well at both 2 and 3.
Edit: looks like there is new edition of Haggis in the works!
Oh crap yeah, Haggis! I got that years ago because I wanted something kind of like Tichu, but playable with less than 4 people. Time to go dig it out.
Check out Scout too, feels a bit like a streamlined Haggis with the neat twist of the double-sided cards. The two-player variant works well too.
Some friends of mine keep recommending Viticulture, and they’ve played it regularly as a date-night game with just the two of them. I haven’t ever gotten around to playing it, though, so I don’t know if it’s any good. It’s got a pretty respectable 8.0 on boardgamegeek, though.
If you’re looking for something light Coloretto is one of my favorites, and it’s good with 3, and there’s a good 2-player variant (though you may need to find it online, it isn’t in my old printed rules).
Cubirds is another game that works great 2-player but goes multiplayer.
Both of these are on boardgamearena.com if you want to try before you buy.
Are you specifically looking for games that do both, or are you also interested in 2-player game recommendations?
Mostly looking for something that is developed specifically for 2 or 3 players (both). It’s a weird ask, I realize :) Thanks for the suggestions, I’ll check out Colorette and Cubirds.
My wife and I love playing The Search for Planet X, it’s a logic + deduction game that feels a bit like clue but without the dice rolling randomness. Playing with 2 feels really good, but playing with 4 the game drags quite a bit. My guess is 3 would be ok.
Another game I’ve found to be good for any group size is The Quacks of Quedlinburg, a push-your-luck game where the main body of the game is played in parallel, so there’s not a lot of waiting for people to take their turns.
Some standard deck card games we like with 2 is German Whist (deck building + trick taking) and Scopa (card capture with some interesting scoring rules).
Thank you for the suggestions! I’ll check out The Quacks of Quedlinburg :)
While it is not specifically a 2-3 player game (up to 4), I think it plays by far the best at lower player counts: Aeon’s End. A cooperative deck builder game. You all play mages fighting against a boss. Between the different bosses, different mages, and different market cards you can use in each game, it has really high replayability. It also has difficulty mechanics if you want an extra challenge. And what’s also special about it is that is has a variable turn order (it uses a turn order deck, so you never really know who’s next), and you don’t shuffle your deck, which allows for really tactical deckbuilding if you’re into that.
I’ve played a lot of Wingspan and Agricola, and I think both work better as 2 or 3 player. I feel like most medium-heavy games where you have to wait for your turn are going to be better with 2-3 players so they don’t get too slow. I love Wingspan, but I played my first 4-player game last week and it was honestly a bit painful.