Two Great Two-Player Games

I don't know if any of you have run into the same dilemma that Josh and I have: most of our favorite board games become absolute drudgery to play with only two players (which poses a significant problem for us since most of our friends live on another continent). Thankfully, Josh and I have discovered two great two-player games that have kept us entertained on many an evening when either the weather, our budget or our sleeping boy has kept us confined to the dining room table.


Solution 1: Lost Cities
This easy-to-learn-easy-to-play game has been a favorite of ours for 3 years now. On average, I would say we pull this game out at least 4-5 times a month. The great thing about this game is you can play as many rounds as you want so if 15-minutes is all you have, you can still play, but if you want to kill an two hours, you can get some good competition going. We like this game so much that two Christmases ago, we gave it to just about every game-loving couple we know (and based on their feedback, it is as popular with them as it is with us)

Solution 2: Catan Card Game
Despite the similar name, this game is completely different than Settlers of Catan (which is one of those favorite-group-games-turned-two-player-drudgery). Josh bought me Catan Card Game for my birthday a few weeks ago, so it is a recent discover but it's already a favorite. Unlike Lost Cities, this game requires at least 90 minutes. However, the time will fly by because this game is full of strategy, competition and good old fashioned sabotage.

So, here is the deal. . . for about 50 bucks you can take your date out on ONE fast food dinner & a mediocre movie date-- OR-- you can buy these two awesome games and have an UNLIMITED fun. =) For those math lovers out there, the answer is obvious: 1 < ∞

If you have any you have any other favorite two-player board/card games, let me know. I imagine we'll be spending even more evenings at home once Kid#2 arrives.