Two-player games have come a long way since checkers, backgammon, and Battleship, and today the best of them are just as complex and enthralling as any group game. We talked with experts, spent more than 25 hours researching, and played 34 different games to find the one-on-one games that most people will enjoy. They have high skill ceilings, so they continue to provide challenges for even experienced players. It scratches the chess itch without actually requiring you to play chess.
On each turn, players either place a new piece from their collection onto the table or move one that they placed in a previous turn. It also takes no time to set up.
This fun battling card game has a tricky movement puzzle thrown in for good measure. You select a fully assembled deck representing one of six factions, each of which has unique powers and encourages different play styles. Players get a small supply of magic that they can use to summon units onto the board; turns consist of these summonings, unit movement, and attacks. The game mechanics are extremely well balanced: The magic you use to summon units onto the field is regained only when you eliminate enemy units which can be tricky or discard cards from your hand an extremely limited resource.
Flaws but not dealbreakers: Despite feeling cramped in terms of card movement, the play grid occupies quite a large space on a table. Folks in smaller spaces, or those who like to have room for snacks and drinks on their play surface, may be annoyed by its sprawl. A big game in a small package, this is a wonderful deck builder that plays quickly and invites replays.
It grafts that basic system onto a wonderfully robust and interconnected world that rewards replays and accumulated game experience. You start out with a very small deck of generic economic and martial ships, but you can quickly build a fleet of bases and ships from four different factions. When you play cards from the same faction together, they gain extra power.
