Unblocked 2-player games

How these 2 player games work

Everything on this page runs in a single browser tab, so both players share the same screen. Most are turn-based: one person moves, then hands over the mouse or the tablet. A few are live duels where each player gets their own keys. None of them need an internet match, an account or a download, which makes them easy to start in a classroom, a library or on a family laptop.

Nearly every board game here also has a computer opponent, so you can practice alone and come back ready for a rematch.

Race games with dice

If you want luck in the mix, start with the race games. Backgammon is the deepest of them: two dice, fifteen checkers and a lot of choices about when to run and when to block. Royal Game of Ur is one of the oldest known board games, a short race where landing on a rosette earns another throw. Senet swaps dice for throwing sticks on an Egyptian track. For younger players, Ludo and Snakes and Ladders keep the rules light, while Star Halma drops the dice entirely and rewards long chains of hops.

Pure strategy, no luck

These games are won by planning alone. Checkers and Universal Reversi are quick to learn. Four in a Row and Gomoku are both about lining up pieces, on a small upright grid and a wide open board respectively. Dots and Boxes looks like a doodle game but hides a sharp endgame. Hex cannot end in a draw, and Game of the Amazons slowly fills the board with burned squares until someone runs out of moves. Go offers three board sizes, so a 9x9 game fits a short break.

Nine Men's Morris sits between the two worlds: simple pieces, but a real fight over who forms the next mill.

Chess cousins

Two of the biggest chess relatives are here. Shogi lets you drop captured pieces back onto the board for your own side, so games rarely run out of material. Xiangqi adds a river across the middle, a palace for each general and cannons that must jump to capture.

Uneven sides

Some of the most interesting two-player games give each side different pieces and goals. In Bagh-Chal, four tigers face twenty goats. In Fox and Geese, one fox tries to break through a flock. Hnefatafl sets a king and his guards against a larger attacking army. Play twice and swap sides, because each role feels like a different game.

Games from around the world

Fanorona from Madagascar captures whole lines of pieces at once. Konane from Hawaii is made only of jumps. Surakarta from Indonesia sends pieces looping around curved tracks before they can capture. Mancala is a sowing game with seeds and bowls, Durak is a Russian card game about not being the last player holding cards, and Dominoes is the familiar tile game played end to end.

Live head-to-head duels

For something faster, The Reapers: Tournament of Destiny puts two players on one keyboard in a timing duel, and Penalty Kick Showdown alternates who shoots and who saves. Compact Conflict is a short territory war on a random map that works well with a friend taking turns.

Tips for playing on one device

Agree on house rules before you start, such as how long each turn can take. For keyboard duels, a full-size keyboard gives both players more room than a small laptop. If one player is much stronger, swap who moves first each round, or let the newer player pick the game. You can also find more turn-based games in board and card games and strategy games.

Questions