Friday Faves #33-2 Person Game Gift Guide and Free Printable

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Two of my grandchildren playing Spot-it! They love it and have a number of versions.

     When you love to play games, but sometimes there isn't a large crowd to play with, what do you play!  A while back I wrote about the big crowd games that our family loves on this post.  But, we don't have a large crowd around everyday.  Sometimes we only have two of us around, but we still want to play a game. Newlyweds and oldlyweds, like my husband and I, need things to play, too! Sometimes there are only 2 kids.  Or just a parent and child.  

     Games make great gifts, so for a wedding gift it is nice to give a couple something that is just as fun for the 2 of them as it is to play with their friends.  For kids, it is great to have games that they can play with each other with little supervision, or mom having to constantly give instruction.  And for families it is fun to get games that are fun for both parent and child.

What games do you love that are fun even with just 2 of you playing!

Here are some of our Friday Faves! 
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Games for 2 Kids That Require Little Supervision:

1. Alicia loves to play the game Guess Who with her husband.  Kids love guessing games and this one is classic.  But, it also has some updated versions, like this Marvel Hero Edition! 
   

     2.  Battleship, who doesn't love it?  This game is also fun for parent and child! The original edition 
          great, but look at this awesome Star Wars version! You know that your Star Wars Buff of any               age would love this game! 

    3. A great game that helps kids learn to think and observe is Connect 4. 
        an adult might not hate too much. 

Parent and Child Games:

      1.  Jenga  is a game that can be enjoyed by young and old.  Most of the time, my young grandchildren are better at it than I am. Who doesn't love a good tumbling of the blocks!  

     2.  Lindsey loves problem solving games, so she chose Mastermind! Lindsey grew up with the original (what they now call "retro" version), but I am surprised at how many versions there of this game that uses STEM principles and helps kids learn deductive reasoning.  There is even one for younger players.  Look at these! They are all clickable. 

     3.  Another game my kids always had fun with when they played in pairs is Mancala. Madalynn always enjoyed this game. This game is played around the world and is also called "the sowing game", or "count and capture." It does take strategy and there are some tricks that kids can learn as they play.

Games for Couples:
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1. My husband and I have a long running competition playing the game of Backgammon almost every evening! It is really a fun game and not just the funny triangles on the back of the checker board.  It originated in Persia and has been played for a really long time.  As we can attest, it is challenging and addictive with just the right elements of strategy and luck.  We have a Backgammon set similar to this one which we received as a gift years ago.  It was obviously a great gift because we still use it all of the time!

       2. Alicia and Adrian love to play games together, and they introduced me to Dominion, which is             just as much fun with 2 players as it is with 4. It is a game all about building your kingdom and            getting more money that your competitor.  It is different each time you play and you can even              set up your own scenarios.  There are also many expansion packs! I love this game!

     3. Carcassone is another kingdom building game that is fun with just 2, but also more players.                    There are a lot of versions and expansion packs to keep this game fresh! 

       4.  Another game that I love so much that I also play it online is Ticket to Ride.  This game                           changes with more players.  Playing with 2 is a different kind of challenge and a lot of fun.                     There are many versions and expansions for this railway building game that cover the history 
            of the railroad from the beginning, in the US and throughout many countries. It is a ton of fun.

       Most of the games on this list we received as gifts ourselves at one time or another, and we have enjoyed them all immensely.  It is great to get together and play with our noses out of our phones or tablets and just enjoy each other's company! Let us know what games you enjoy playing with just two! 

     If you do want to give a game as a gift, we have created this free subscriber printable that would be a cute thing to hang in a game or rec room. It will remind your loved ones to take a break and have some fun every once and awhile. To get the printable without the watermark subscribe to our emails and you'll receive access to our subscriber printables all for free! Just enter your email below to gain access!

*If you have more than 2,here is a great idea for a game night with friends!