5 Two-Player Games to Try With a Friend

Single-player high scores are fine. Beating a specific, named human being is better. These five head-to-head games are the fastest way to start (or settle) a friendly rivalry.

The shortlist

Air hockey and table-sports classics — first to seven, best trash talk wins.

Chess and checkers variants with clean, readable boards.

Tic-tac-toe power-ups — the schoolyard classic with spicy twists.

Duel-style .IO arenas — share the link, fight immediately.

Dominoes — the slow-burn grudge match for long evenings.

House rules that keep it fun

Rotate the game every three matches so nobody specialises into a runaway winner. Loser picks the next title. And when the score is tied at match point, screens off — resume tomorrow, legend says the tie is still unbroken.

Everything on this list lives in the Multiplayer tag. One link, one friend, instant grudge match.