These two player board games provide the ultimate battleground for determining the best board gamer around.

Want a new board game to start but only have one friend over to play? We get it, it can be hard to schedule time when all of your friends are free at the same time. Just ask any of your D&D playing friends. But these two-player board games are perfect for those low-key game nights when not everyone is around.

Cascadia

Easy to learn and play, Cascadia takes you on a journey through the Pacific Northwest to complete the most harmonious ecosystem. Players earn points by fulfilling their wildlife goals and creating habitat corridors with gameplay that works out as spatial puzzles. Cascadia manages to be exciting and competitive while remaining family-friendly and relaxing. After all, it’s hard to get too worked up while seeing how many elk you can get to graze in the habitat you’re setting up just for them.

Patchwork

I figure it’s best to get the two most thematically different games out of the way first. In Patchwork, players are competing to design the most aesthetically pleasing quilt. Each player has their own personal board and will fill it with patches and buttons in order to score points. The player who can best fit everything together will be the ultimate quilt designer, and their opponent will be reduced to shambles in humiliation! Quilt making is serious business.

Hive

Of the two player board games on this list, Hive is easily the most abstract strategy. If you like games like Chess or Go, Hive will be right up your alley. In Hive, players place tiles while attempting to surround their opponent’s queen bee. I’m sure the bee theme was added on after the design and mostly just chosen to make the hexagonal tiles make more sense. Regardless, Hive is a fantastic strategy game that resonates with many people who play it.

Raccoon Tycoon

One of the raccoons has to be the most sophisticated tycoon in the forest, and it may as well be you. Players compete for resources and try to outmaneuver each others’ tactics, but as the game progresses, it will be harder and harder to figure out what everyone else has going on. Raccoon Tycoon is easy to learn and play, but as you play more your strategy and skill will increase, making it only more fun the more you play.

Jaipur

Jaipur is a fast playing economics game with a bit of luck and strategy. Players are buying and selling goods at the market. They have to find a balance of which goods to buy and when, as well as when to sell their goods. As the market gets saturated with the various goods, their prices decreases, so sell early! But, selling in bulk can bring in big profits, so sell late! It’s a game where no one strategy is best, and being able to adjust on the fly is the best way to win.

Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth

It might be the newest game on this list, but it’s already reaching the same ranks of greatness on two-player board games lists. Duel for Middle-earth is more than a reprint of 7 Wonders Duel. Like in 7 Wonders, players take turns drafting cards to build up their re