What are the best couples board games?

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Jul 9, 2020

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12 Games Considered

Best couples board games	Price	# Players	Play Time
-- Pandemic	$39.99	2 to 4	45 Minutes
-- Carcassonne	$34.99	2-5	30 - 45 Minutes
-- Ticket to Ride	$31.15	2 to 5	30-60 Minutes
-- Hanabi	$10.35	2-5	25 minutes
-- 7 Wonders Duel	$24.86	2	30 minutes

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score 2 · Answer 1

Pandemic

Top Pro

Co-op game

Because everyone is on the same team, it's easy to play with just 2 players. See More

Top Con

Steep learning curve

With the specialty cards and rules for when disease spread, it's best to read the instructions carefully and maybe watch a game on Youtube first. See More

Specs

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score 4 · Answer 2

Carcassonne

Top Pro

Can play in 30 to 40 minutes

You can play a good game in half an hour to 40 minutes. (The first game will take you twice as long as you learn it, of course). See More

Top Con

May be a little light for hardcore boardgame players

The game itself is not very deep in design or play, which may be a turn off for the more hardcore of boardgame players though can be good for newcomers. See More

Specs

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Top Pro

Detailed with polish

The board game pieces are highly detailed with the starting piece being a separate color so it is easy to find. There is definitely some forethought put into the polish of this game that makes much of it intuitive and a pleasure to look at. See More

Top Pro

Easy to learn for beginners

The rules are pretty basic for Carcassonne, with first time players being able to grasp its concepts quite quickly. See More

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score 6 · Answer 3

Ticket to Ride

Top Pro

Easy to learn

The core mechanics of the game are pretty simple to learn in under 15 minutes. Meaning more time can be spent playing the game rather than reading instructions. It also means it is great for newcomers to the game or those unfamiliar with boardgames in general. See More

Top Con

Expensive

The game generally retails for $50, which is quite high for a cardboard board game. See More

Specs

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Top Pro

No direct conflict

There is no direct conflict between players, which makes it a good game for beginners but also players who do not like the cut throat tactics of games like Monopoly. It also makes for a good game for couples to play as there will be no arguments or moves that may slight another player. See More

Top Pro

Plenty of expansions

Ticket to Ride offers numerous expansions such extra maps to play on like Asia or Africa which can extend the gameplay as well as change it up to keep things fresh. See More

Top Pro

High detail design

From the large board map to the high quality illustrations, Ticket to Ride has a definite quality to its detail. This makes for a game that is great to show off to new players as well as great for ones collection. See More

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score 4 · Answer 4

Hanabi

Top Pro

A wonderful exercise in teamwork as you have to rely entirely on clues from other players

Why did the other player give that specific clue? Should you play, discard, or give a clue in return? If you give them a clue, how will they interpret it? It is these meaningful and occasionally tense decisions that make Hanabi an absolutely excellent game for couples who like to work together to solve problems. See More

Top Con

Similar looking colors on cards

The game has five possible colors, but since they aren't very bright and the background is the same, it might be difficult to tell them apart in poor lighting. There are only a few cards of each type and a limited number of clues you can receive, so misinterpreting what other players tell you can lead to huge misplays. See More

Specs

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Top Pro

Easy to learn

Hanabi is a truly simple and very accessible game to people of all ages. Players stack cards of one color to finish five firework displays consisting of five cards each. Players are dealt five cards that they hold outwards to other players. On your turn you can perform one of three actions – give a clue, discard a card, or play a card. By flipping one of the eight clue tokens you can point out something about another player’s hand, for example, “these cards are yellow”, “these are twos”, etc. Discarding a card restores a clue token, but you must be careful with what you discard because there is a limited number of cards of each type, you might discard a card that doesn’t let you complete the firework. If you play a card that doesn’t fit any of the current piles, then that is an illegal play, the card is discarded and one of the lightning tokens is turned over. As soon as all three lightning tokens are turned, the game is over. The game can also end when the draw pile is empty or if you successfully stack all the fireworks. See More

Top Con

Requires commitment

Hanabi could be considered an exercise in memory, teamwork, and communication, so this isn’t the game to play if you’re in a distraction full environment or if you want to casually socialize with your buddies. Furthermore, it’s important to limit your table talk because someone might accidentally say too much in a clue or pass off some important information in a remark here or there. Showing frustration or excitement about a play that someone’s about to do is also bad because it might impact the player’s action. See More

Top Pro

Hanabi's small size makes it easy to transport and/or play anywhere

Consisting of just 60 cards, 8 clue tokens, and 4 fuse tokens, the entire game can fit in a box about the size of a deck of cards, making it easy to throw in a pocket or purse and have on hand anytime. See More

Top Pro

No quarterbacking issues

The game successfully evades the popular issue of many cooperative games where a player ends up taking over the game and telling others what to do. In Hanabi this is pretty much impossible because there is no way to see your own cards, so everyone is forced to work together. See More

Top Pro

Replayable

The game encourages replayability because it’s one of those games that you get better at the more you play. Players will always be trying to beat their high-scores. To make the game harder or easier you can easily remove or add clue tokens or lightning tokens (extra lives). The game also has an included “expansion” – the rainbow-colored cards. These add two more possible variations to the gameplay. You can play them as the sixth color and just add 5 more points to the maximum, or you can make the game a bit more difficult by having players give clues about the rainbow card as if it was one of the five default colors. See More

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score 5 · Answer 5

7 Wonders Duel

Top Pro

Highly interactive gameplay keeps both players engaged

Often, when one player takes a card from the central layout it reveals multiple cards beneath it that open up new options for their opponent. This encourages players to pay attention on their opponents turn. Furthermore, players need to be aware of their opponents position on the military track since maxing that out immediately ends the game in a victory for the player to fill it up. See More

Top Con

Base gameplay can get repetitive over many plays

The base game doesn't offer a huge amount of variability between plays so it could potentially get repetitive. Fortunately there is an expansion available that adds much more depth and replayability. See More

Specs

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Top Pro

Great for couples

7 Wonders Duel is specifically designed for 2 players so it is perfect for a couple looking for a fun game to play with each other. See More

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score 3 · Answer 6

Santorini

Top Pro

Easy to understand yet deep gameplay

The basic premise of Santorini is simple; players use their workers to move around the map, build towers, and attempt to be the first to ascend to the 3rd level of one of these towers. However, much like its more serious counterpart, Chess, Santorini has an astounding amount of depth as players move to block and trap one another all while positioning for that one winning move. Adding in the God Powers further opens up the options for interesting gameplay and in-depth strategy as players make use of one of these unique cards to give their workers special powers like building twice, moving opponents, or even removing buildings. See More

Specs

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Top Pro

A ton of replayability

The base game of Santorini will almost always play out differently as players try different techniques and strategies for besting their opponent - different starting points, different routes, trying to build up yourself or trying to disturb the opponent. However, the game gets really interesting with the introduction of God Power cards. Adding in the 30 God Powers from the base set adds a whole new layer of variable conditions for each game and allow for a huge variety of potential combinations. Each God Card adds some sort of different rule to the game, and you must follow this instruction for the whole game. Otherwise, you lose. Some God Cards give you specialized win conditions, some allow the removing of opposing workers, and others make you specifically alternate your movement patterns. For example, the Apollo card allows a player to swap positions with the opponent. If that isn't enough, the Golden Fleece expansion adds another 15 God Cards, 10 Hero Cards, and an entirely new variant to the game. See More

Top Pro

Excellent component quality

From the raised, three-dimensional board to the high quality building blocks, all of the components in Santorini are top-notch. The tarot sized cards are beautifully illustrated and contain easy to recognize iconography, the main game board is made up of 3 parts that raise it up off the table and give it an excellent sense of scale, and the building pieces are fantastically modeled so that they stack together easily and look great as the city is built from the ground up! See More

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score 3 · Answer 7

Patchwork

Top Pro

No randomness after intial setup

Once the tiles are laid out at the start of the game they never change their order so all of the games information is available to all players for the entirety of the game. See More

Top Con

Takes up a decent amount of space

At the start of the game you form a ring with all of the pieces available in the game and that ring takes up a decent amount of space for a quick, 2-player game. See More

Specs

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Top Pro

It's theme is very accesible

The quilting theme of Patchwork is simple enough to convince almost anyone to sit down and play it. See More

Top Pro

Short play time

Games of Patchwork usually take less than 30 minutes so the game doesn't drag on. See More

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score 4 · Answer 8

Scrabble

Top Pro

Best for small groups

Scrabble can be played with two to four players making for a good choice of game when only few people are around. See More

Top Con

Depending on the edition quality can be quite cheap

Many of the cheaper editions of the game have poor quality including uncentered boards as well as cheap wood letter pieces. See More

Specs

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Top Pro

Offers different editions

There are many different editions of Scrabble including collectors editions with the whole board made out of wood to sets that have a rotating plastic board. See More

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score 1 · Answer 9

Le Havre: The Inland Port

Top Pro

Short play time makes it easy to play this game when you feel like it

Most plays will take less than 30min so it is easy to squeeze in a quick game while dinner is in the oven, at the end of the night before bed, or maybe a quick game before breakfast. See More

Specs

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Top Pro

The building dials provide an interesting risk-reward decision to the game

When a player purchases a building tile they place it in the first space of the building dial where it has 0 uses. Each turn the dial moves one increment around, slowly increasing the number of uses each building provides from 0, to 2, 3, 4, and finally to 4 + 1gold. This encourages players to wait longer to activate each building, however, there is the risk that their opponent may use it before them since using a building returns it to the 0 use section of the dial. Additionally, if a building isn't used in the 4+ section, it is removed from the game the next time the dial rotates, which can cost players points at the end of the game. All of this leads to interesting and meaningful decisions about when to activate different buildings in order to maximize their benefit to the player. See More

Top Pro

Has a quality app on both Android and iOS

The Inland Port app is available for around $5 on both Android and iOS and makes for an excellent opportunity to either try the game before buying the costlier physical version or to learn the game after you already own the physical copy. See More

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score 1 · Answer 10

Arkham Horror: The Card Game

Top Pro

The storylines provided by the game are interesting and draw players into the game

Each scenario features an overarching storyline that encourages players to keep playing as they slowly uncover more and more details about the mystery that is unfolding. Each mission in a scenario is designed to reveal more and more information about the dangers players are facing while giving clues as to the nature of the mystery they are trying to solve. See More

Specs

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Top Pro

Multiple expansions and add-ons will continue to help the game grow and evolve over time

Fantasy Flight has already announced and released several add-on packs that include new storylines, characters, monsters, and equipment, further broadening the depth and replayability of this game. See More

Top Pro

Cooperative gameplay is great for couples that don't want to compete against eachother

Arkham Horror TCG is fully cooperative as players work together to defeat the forces of evil. This is great for couples that aren't looking to compete with one another and instead would prefer to experience a unique and interesting story as they fight as a team. See More

Top Pro

The limited time to complete each mission gives players a sense of urgency

During each Scenario players will need to complete a number of individual missions, each taking up 1 game, in order to finish the scenario. During setup for each mission they are instructed in creating an Act deck of goals to complete as well as an Agenda deck that is used as a countdown timer for the forces of evil. In order to complete the mission players will need to race to finish the tasks given by the Act deck before Agenda deck finishes counting down. This mechanic really helps make the game feel like a struggle to thwart the forces of evil before humanity is overrun. See More

Top Pro

High replayability due to multiple decision points and possible endings to both individual missions and the overall scenario

At different points along each mission players will be forced to make decisions that will affect not only that mission, but the storyline overall. This means that even playing the same scenario will have different results based on the decisions made by each player. See More

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score 1 · Answer 11

Blokus

Top Pro

Delightfully tricky

Not as easy as it looks due to restriction set out on where on can place tiles. This makes for some strategy in the game trying to figure out what will be the best moved of the allowed pieces. See More

Top Con

Too easy to team up against a single player

When playing with more than three people it can be too easy to fall into this familiar multiplayer trap where many players can team up against one with that one having no real means to stop this uneven play. See More

Top Pro

Simple rules

Deceptively simple! "Each new piece played must be placed so that it touches at least one piece of the same color, with only corner-to-corner contact allowed—edges cannot touch" See More

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score 1 · Answer 12

Mint Works

Top Pro

Solo variant allows players to practice and play the game on their own

Whether you are trying to learn the rules to the game or honing your strategies while waiting for a friend at the bar, Mint Works has the ability to be played solo, including 4 different 'AI' players that focus on different tactics and strategies to give each play a different feel from the last. See More

Specs

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Top Pro

Short, yet rewarding gameplay

Each game of Mint Works typically plays out in 10-20 minutes, but that time is filled with decisions about where to best place your mints in order to gain the most points and maximize your productivity for that round, leading to very rewarding games. See More

Top Pro

Small size of the game makes it very portable

As the name suggests, Mint Works was designed to fit inside a standard mint tin, making it easy to slip into your pocket or purse for gaming on the go. See More

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12 Games Considered

My Recommendation for Pandemic

My Recommendation for Pandemic

Co-op game

Steep learning curve

My Recommendation for Carcassonne

My Recommendation for Carcassonne

Can play in 30 to 40 minutes

May be a little light for hardcore boardgame players

Detailed with polish

Easy to learn for beginners

My Recommendation for Ticket to Ride

My Recommendation for Ticket to Ride

Easy to learn

Expensive

No direct conflict

Plenty of expansions

High detail design

My Recommendation for Hanabi

My Recommendation for Hanabi

A wonderful exercise in teamwork as you have to rely entirely on clues from other players

Similar looking colors on cards

Easy to learn

Requires commitment

Hanabi's small size makes it easy to transport and/or play anywhere

No quarterbacking issues

Replayable

My Recommendation for 7 Wonders Duel

My Recommendation for 7 Wonders Duel

Highly interactive gameplay keeps both players engaged

Base gameplay can get repetitive over many plays

Great for couples

My Recommendation for Santorini

My Recommendation for Santorini

Easy to understand yet deep gameplay

A ton of replayability

Excellent component quality

My Recommendation for Patchwork

My Recommendation for Patchwork

No randomness after intial setup

Takes up a decent amount of space

It's theme is very accesible

Short play time

My Recommendation for Scrabble

My Recommendation for Scrabble

Best for small groups

Depending on the edition quality can be quite cheap

Offers different editions

My Recommendation for Le Havre: The Inland Port

My Recommendation for Le Havre: The Inland Port

Short play time makes it easy to play this game when you feel like it

The building dials provide an interesting risk-reward decision to the game

Has a quality app on both Android and iOS

My Recommendation for Arkham Horror: The Card Game

My Recommendation for Arkham Horror: The Card Game

The storylines provided by the game are interesting and draw players into the game

Multiple expansions and add-ons will continue to help the game grow and evolve over time

Cooperative gameplay is great for couples that don't want to compete against eachother

The limited time to complete each mission gives players a sense of urgency

High replayability due to multiple decision points and possible endings to both individual missions and the overall scenario

My Recommendation for Blokus

My Recommendation for Blokus

Delightfully tricky

Too easy to team up against a single player

Simple rules

My Recommendation for Mint Works

My Recommendation for Mint Works

Solo variant allows players to practice and play the game on their own

Short, yet rewarding gameplay

Small size of the game makes it very portable

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