To add in a little more detail about making the list, I’m saying that these games are best with two players, so two player games still do count. But I’m talking about games that could play up to a high number, but for some reason, time between turns, randomness of the game, I think that they work best with two players and would recommend trying them there first or that they’ll be most enjoyable at that player count.

Let’s see the list…

10 – Sword & Sorcery
This dungeon crawl game I’ve only played at two players, but I can’t really see playing it with more. Now, even at two players we’re controlling more characters, two each, but that hasn’t caused the game to bog down. I feel like, with more players, we’d end up spending more time in discussion for this cooperative game and planning to then have fairly random results on the dice. The game needs to be snappier with how you get through it, and with only two people at the table, even though I might not be taking my turn, I can always be the one rolling for monsters, and if there aren’t monsters, turns go incredibly fast. With more people, there’s just be more downtime for players, even if playing with the same number of characters. Sword & Sorcery, though, is a very fun ameritrash style dungeon crawl game where you’re chucking dice and leveling up to get through a fairly generic fantasy story with a few choices in it.

9 – Star Wars: Imperial Assault
I’ve done with solo and two players, and I prefer two players in this game, for the reason that, using the app, you need to do house keeping, and that house keeping can be a bit of a bear, but, if you are splitting the duties between two people it makes it easier. Plus, the minimum number of characters you can play with is two, so even solo you’re controlling two characters. This is the Star Wars dungeon crawl game taking place as Vader is chasing the rebels from their first base eventually leading to Hoth and beyond. You are not playing the main characters, Vader shows up as a side character whom you can’t beat, but that’s fine, the game is a lot of fun, and it feels a bit like a Rogue One type of game, but, for me, more enjoyable.

8 – Five Tribes
Now, I enjoy Five Tribes at all player counts, two through four, but I think it works best at two for one main reason. When determining play order for each round, it is done by bidding. Normally, each person has one play order marker, but in two players, each player has two. That means that you can set it up where you go twice in a row. Five Tribes is really a point salad type of game where everything you do is going to give you points, with an Mancala mechanism thrown in there where you’re moving meeples and then get to keep the matching colors of meeples to do something. So if you can see two really good moves, playing two players, allows you to bid for them and set up two good turns for yourself. Otherwise, you’ll probably only get one of them, which might mess up strategy.

7 – Skulk Hollow
First of the two player only games, Skulk Hollow is a ton of a fun as one player plays the foxen kingdom and the other an old guardian that has awoken on the lands. Each side has their own goal, the foxen trying to take down the guardian, but the guardian might have other things to consider like killing the foxen leader or maybe killing a certain number of the foxen kingdom, placing out a number of tentacles, or something along those lines, it varies as to which guardian you play. This gives the game a lot of replayability, because not only do you have the different guardians, but different leaders for the foxen kingdom. So playing the two sides gives a different game feel and playing the different leaders or guardians against each other can change things up as well. The card play is very slick in the game, and the whole thing just works well and looks really cool on the table.

6 – Hats
This was one of the first games when I thought of the list. Hats is a game that plays more than two, but definitely one that I think works better at two. At four, it’s just more random, and I’m not sure that I’ve played it at the three player count. In this game you have a hand of cards that you are playing down onto a table at the Madd Hatter’s tea party. Where you play a card gets you the previous card that was there, and you’re trying to set it up for getting the most points. At four players, the scoring is just more random. You can card count so potentially set up a scoring to help you, but with that exception of one scoring, you’ll just need luck on your side. But at two players, there’s more strategy to the play. You can go digging for cards and try and set-up what looks like poor scoring for yourself to only swap it at the end of the game to get even better scoring. It becomes much more of a strategic experience at the two player count and is a more interesting game that way.

5 – Star Wars Rebellion
Technically it can be a four player game, but Star Wars Rebellion is really a two player game where one side plays the Empire and the other the Rebels. At four players, you just split the two sides up and it’s still just two people playing the Empire and then two playing the Rebels. Keep the decision making more focused and Star Wars Rebellion is great. It’s a good cat and mouse game as the Empire tries to hunt down the Rebel’s secret base and the Rebels are trying to do missions and survive long enough to turn the tide against the Empire. You can have Darth Vader face off against Obi-Wan as in the movies, but maybe Darth Vader will run across Chewbacca or Han Solo or Wedge Antilles, you never know. There’s good strategic play, but then also a lot of fun space battles and land battles on planets surfaces that you can partake in as well which are good dice chucking.

4 – The Dresden Files Cooperative Card Game
I’ve played The Dresden Files with, I believe, all of it’s player counts, and I think that I like two players the best. Mainly because it’s a faster back and forth turn taking game instead of waiting for things to get passed around between more people. You do have the interesting thing of playing two characters with their decks shuffled together, which can create some interesting situations, but overall, I feel like it works pretty well. In this game you’re playing through the Dresden Files books, and you’re trying to defeat villains and solve cases. But you have limited resources to do that, so you’re balancing keeping those resources up by discarding cards, but also knowing that you won’t likely draw any or at least many more cards, so what you have in your starting hand you’ll have for the game. The game play is smart, and I like that you’re playing through a book at a time. A very enjoyable game for fans of the series, and an interesting puzzle for those who haven’t read them.

3 – Dice Throne
Dice Throne can technically be played as teams or King of the Hill style where you go after the person who has the most life, but I like it best at two players. There are a couple of reasons for this dice chucking combat game that make it work better at that count. First, there is less downtime. Either it’s my turn and I’m playing cards and rolling dice, or it’s my opponents turn and I’m likely rolling my dice on defense. With higher player counts, it’s going to potentially put you in a situation where you don’t roll anything for a couple of turns. The other thing is that the game is just faster overall. With the higher player counts, again more turns, but to go with that, more health to get through, so you could, theoretically, have someone eliminated and then sit there watching for a bit. But at two players, once you get the other person’s health down to zero, game over and you can reset and play again.

2 – Hanamikoji
Two player only game where you are trying to win the favor of Geisha. It’s a unique theme as you are playing down cards to give them gifts, but what makes it most interesting in the card play in the game. Each player, per round, is given four actions that they can do once in a round, you can play a card secretly or discard two cards secretly, and those a fairly normal sorts of actions. But the other two are very interesting. You can play down three cards face up, your opponent gets to pick one of those gifts and put it on their side to win a Geisha’s favor and you get the other two, and then the last action is that you can put down two sets of two cards in front of you where your opponent again picks which one they want and you get the others. It offers some really brain burning decisions, and often times you need to force your opponent to decide your strategy by the cards you put down when they are choosing from them. Rounds are very fast, and the game is just a lot of fun.

1 – Marvel Champions
Now, I can’t say that I’ve played this at higher player counts than two, but I have played it at one player. From what I’ve heard with four players, the game can be a little bit slow between turns as you’re waiting for everyone else to go. But at one and two players this game is a lot of fun. In two, you can think about strategy more so, and develop interesting combos or strategies that work well together as compared to solo game play. Now, both I enjoy a lot, but teaming Captain America up with Thor taking down the Green Goblin was a blast, or you can do She Hulk and Spider-Man versus Ultron. You have a ton of different options and playing at two players it allows you to do a team up that maybe you wouldn’t normally see in the comics or maybe one that you really love from the comics that you can now play in game. Marvel Champions is just a really good card game that lets you feel like a super hero.

This list, I was worried, was going to be hard, but there are some games that are just two players that I really love and others that I really do think work much better at two players. Maybe later this week or the start of next week I’ll do a six plus player list for when things start to normalize again and we can do board game nights. I know that I have one of the big two player games missing from my list, it’s on my shelf, but I haven’t done 7 Wonders Duel yet. I’ll need to get it to the table, and there are a lot of other games that are enjoyable to very good at two players, but I just prefer them with more.

What are some of your favorite two player games? Are there some games with higher player counts that are just better at two players for you?

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Synopsis: The Dresden Files are a series that follow around Harry Dresden as he deals with many crazy supernatural things in Chicago. There is a big overarching story that I won’t go too much into because that would be spoilers. But he works with the police to solve these crimes and mysteries. It also helps to know that Harry is a Wizard.

Let’s meet the main characters:

Harry Dresden – The aforementioned wizard, Harry is a tall man who diffuses his own stress with his own special brand of humor, which normally just gets him into more trouble. He’s not a built person, but is lanky and has good functional strength.

Karrin Murphy – Small spitfire of a police officer. She’s had to be patient as she has worked her way up in the Chicago PD, but she has made her way up. She’s athletic and doesn’t put up his Harry’s crap or anyone’s crap, but is still a very caring person.

Susan Rodriguez – A reporter who is pretty and also investigates the paranormal or supernatural. She’s onto the fact that Harry might actually be what he says and hounds him for information.

Bob – A talking skull that is a wealth of knowledge that is in Harry’s possession. Also a quite pervy spirit who inhabits the skull.

Michael Carpenter – A large strong man with a large family. He is a man of faith who is very even keeled but not afraid to step into a situation, help Harry out and make a difference when evil is threatening Chicago or anywhere in the world.

Waldo Butters – A small coroner who knows some about the supernatural. He also really loves polka and can’t stand injury, though has no problem working on a corpse.

“Gentleman” Johnny Marconne – A mobster who runs basically all the organized crime in Chicago. He helps out Harry at times and gets in Harry’s way at other times, depending on what is most useful for him.

Ebenezar McCoy – Harry’s mentor, teacher, and friend. Took Harry in when his first teacher went evil. He’s an old wizard with a ton of power and very respected. Also part of the White Council which oversees the wizarding community.

There are really a plethora more characters who could make sense to talk about and cast, but this is limited spoilers as well and does focus on a lot of reoccurring characters throughout the series.

So who would I want to play them?

Harry Dresden – Tom Ellis
Tom Ellis, who plays Lucifer in Lucifer, is sufficiently tall. He also has that long frame, that comes with height, but isn’t too built. He’s very polished looking as Lucifer, but if his hair was a bit longer and messier and, like Harry, had a beat up look about him most of the time, I think that he’d make a good Harry Dresden.

Karen Murphy – Maggie Lawson
I really only know Maggie Lawson from watching Psych. But in that show she’s very much a character who has to put up with Shawn’s crap as a fake psychic detective. The only thing I wonder about is if she can be as grouchy as Murphy is sometimes. But Lawson can definitely play a character who is caring.

Susan Rodriguez – Melissa Fumero
We’ve seen her in a comedy in Brooklyn 99, and while Susan isn’t the most comedic role, I think that Fumero would have the acting chops to pull it off. What I think works really well with her is that she’s an intense character in Brooklyn 99 who is always needing to do the best, I think that Susan possesses a lot of those similar qualities.

Bob – Paul Bettany
He’s the first person I thought off. He does a good job as J.A.R.V.I.S. and Vision in the Marvel movies, but I think it’s more his Knight’s Tale Chaucer that he could channel into Bob, this spirit who has been around for so long but also has this surprisingly pervy human side.

Michael Carpenter – Adam Copeland
You’re more apt to know him as Edge from WWE. So clearly you have someone who is going to have a larger build. Edge, though, just has a very friendly looking face and with a few beard hairs turning grey, he would make a really believable family man who is also strong and tough.

Waldo Butters – Elijah Woods
Frodo as an eccentric coroner? That doesn’t make a ton of sense, but the actor who was in Dirk Gentley’s Holistic Detective Agency, that makes perfect sense. Woods has shown that he’s up for those odd roles and has done a very good job with them. I think he’d make a lot of sense continue in those odd roles as the worried and polka loving Waldo Butters.

“Gentleman” Johnny Marconne – Ben Mendelsohn
You might know him as Sorrento in Ready Player One or Orson Krennic in Star Wars: Rogue One. He’s done a good job of playing those skeezy bad guys before who are slick. Marconne definitely has that feel and while I would think of Marconne being a bit younger personally, I think that Mendelsohn’s acting shows that he could deal with the role very well.

Ebenezar McCoy – Brendan Gleeson
Older, bigger, and still tough as nails. Gleeson fits that quite well I’d think. I’m not extremely familiar with Gleeson’s work, but if you’re not making McCoy quite as crazy white haired as he has been in my brain, just older and tough as nails, Gleeson fits that to a tee.

There are so many more characters to cast, and I really want to go through and figure out all of them, but that would be semi-spoiler heavy to describe who the characters are. So instead, I’ll hold off on those and maybe do another post to talk about them, just be warned there would be spoilers.

So what do you think of my casting, who would you cast in their place if you disagree?

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The highest compliment that I can probably give an anime is that it didn’t feel like an anime, it honestly feels like a very good TV show. In fact, it doesn’t even feel like it’s an animated show, now, that doesn’t mean that the artwork is so hyper-realistic that it is mistaken for real life, aka. Grand Moff Tarkin in Rogue One, but that the story is so complex and well thought out that it doesn’t seem like something for kids, it doesn’t seem like a typical anime, it seems like something you’d see on a TV show with regular actors. There is none of this confusion where it is more on the fun scale or so on the fantastical scale that you know it’s anime like I’ve run into a lot, even with more serious anime like Berserk.

Steins;Gate is a story that follows a mad scientist who accidentally invents time travel and the organization that is trying to stop him and his fellow lab members. That is the single sentence version of the plot. It crafts an interesting story as the time travel machine is developed, as they look to over come problems with it, as people they thought they could trust, they find out they can’t, and many more troubles as they first race to see how the machine works and then race to try and figure out how to stop some things that they unintentionally started or caused. The story is paced wonderfully and always leaves you wanting to watch more.

Besides the fact it doesn’t feel that much like an anime, the other thing that I loved about it was the characters. The main mad scientist, Okabe (also who calls himself Hooin Kyoma – please forgive the lack of special characters in it), is a very enjoyable character to watch. He’s over the top, talks to himself, and always believes that he’s the best thing around. But it’s not a grating, I’m better than everyone else, it’s funny a lot, makes you feel for him at other times, and you see how much of it is actually him putting on a front as he’s just an eighteen year old first year college students. All of the other lab members have their own personalities as well, and there isn’t overlap. There’s Daru, who’s character is personable, but skeevy, Mayuri who is sweet and a bit spacy, and rounding out the biggest main characters, Kurisu who has smart, slow to trust, and doesn’t put up with Okabe’s crap. Even the other characters in the show have their own personalities, and everyone seems to have been thought out well. There isn’t much overlap on traits, but they all have something that sets them apart. It’s very cool to see that depth of character development worked naturally isn’t a show.

This is an anime that I would recommend to basically anyone. While Daru does make some sexual jokes (or have jokes made about his gaming dating life), there really isn’t anything offensive in this show related to sex. However, this show does deal with dark themes, there are things that happen that are tough to watch, many times very emotional. It isn’t very gory, but there are moments that do show some gore and some violence. Everything the show deals with, though, feels like a proper part of the story and I never felt that things were handled poorly in the story. It is paced so well and everything handled so well, it’s definitely worth a quick watch, which is another nice thing, it’s not too long.

Have you seen it? If so, what are your thoughts on it?

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Pretty exciting, we have our first non-trilogy Star Wars movie coming out. We get a quick teaser and look into the world when the Death Star was being built. I know that I’m excited for this move.