Games keen players come back to for years, for someone who already has the classics. Picked from players’ forums and Reddit, critics’ reviews and game awards.
Prices from shops in Czechia.
Keen players often have the well-known games already, so it’s worth a word with whoever they play with first.
If they mostly play with one other person, start here. Each of these is best given by that person, along with the promise of a first game.
Codenames for two on the same side: with one-word clues you steer each other to the agents and away from the assassins. A quarter of an hour a game, and the words are in Czech.
CZK 503 nejhracka.cz
Two players land a plane together, placing their dice without talking, so the fun is in reading each other. A landing takes a quarter of an hour; harder airports follow.
CZK 599 deskoland.cz
Splendor rebuilt for two by its designer: a shared board of gems, ways to take from each other and three ways to win. Half an hour, and more head-to-head than the original.
CZK 329 nadesce.cz
A half-hour duel for two, the Fellowship against Sauron, with three ways to win. For a Tolkien reader who likes to play head to head with one other person.
CZK 598 mojedeskovka.cz
A quick, fierce duel after the end of the world: guard your three camps and raid the other’s, paying for every move in scarce water. For two who like plenty of conflict.
CZK 469 10% bohemiangames.cz
Nixon’s White House tries to ride out the scandal while a newspaper links informants to the president: a tense card duel of under an hour. It needs no knowledge of the history.
CZK 879 tabletop.cz
A whole afternoon of war across Middle-earth for two, as the Fellowship carries the Ring to Mount Doom. Players dream of it for years; give it if you know they want it.
CZK 2,190 planetaher.czFor people who’d rather win or lose as one. The short ones allow very little talking; the long one fills a whole evening, with an app telling the story.
Defusing a bomb together: you work out which numbered wires the others hold while hardly talking, and each short mission adds a twist. Germany’s game of the year in 2025.
CZK 857 mironet.czwww.mironet.cz
A card game played as one team: each mission says who must win which cards, and you can hardly talk about your hand. Missions grow harder, so the small box lasts many evenings.
CZK 319 legenio.cz
Poker played as one team: without saying what they hold, everyone takes numbered chips to rank the table’s hands. Twenty tense minutes, best with four or more.
CZK 349 legenio.cz
A haunted-house mystery in Lovecraft’s world: a free app tells the story and moves the monsters while the group explores and fights. Four long scenarios, for lovers of atmosphere.
CZK 2,399 nadesce.czEasy to teach and fine for mixed company, from a family evening to friends who don’t usually play.
Fifteen minutes for three to six: you collect three cards of the same number by asking others for their lowest or highest. Half memory, half deduction, and children are often better at it.
CZK 259 planetaher.cz
Each round everyone bets exactly how many tricks they’ll take, then pirates and mermaids upset the plans. Easy to teach, good from four to eight, and there’s plenty of luck.
CZK 269 legenio.cz
Light and funny for two to four: everyone draws ingredients from a bag into a pot, pushing their luck before it boils over. Good for families and mixed groups.
CZK 839 alza.cz
Everyone draws the same shapes onto their own map at once, for goals that change each game, while monsters go onto a neighbour’s. Explained in minutes, and six play as fast as two.
CZK 396 planetaher.cz
Twenty minutes of small puzzles: each player builds a grid of nine characters from the castle and the village, and every card scores off its neighbours. Best with two or three.
CZK 439 nadesce.cz
A 1960s motor race for up to six: cards set your speed, and every corner asks whether to brake or push the engine. Quick to teach, and best with four or more.
CZK 1,359 tlamagames.com
A calm, good-looking game for one to four: build forests, rivers and mountains on your board, then settle animals there. Under an hour and easy for families, but still a puzzle.
CZK 695 legenio.cz
A small card game for two to six: you lay out a journey, then score it backwards, so the last card decides what the first is worth. Twenty minutes of real thinking.
CZK 428 mironet.cz
A card game of growing a forest: trees, then the animals and plants living in, on and under them, each scoring off the others. Quick turns, though the final count is fiddly.
CZK 649 mysidoupe.eu
An escape room in a box for one evening: a small group solves linked puzzles against the clock, and then it’s done. Played once, so it suits even a full shelf.
CZK 298 puzzle-puzzle.czFor someone with a regular group who likes heavier games. Arnak is a gentle step up; Gloomhaven asks for a group that meets every week.
Explore a jungle island by building a deck of cards and sending out archaeologists. A step up from family games, yet most people learn it in one evening. Good solo too.
CZK 1,399 hras.cz
You inherit a small Tuscan vineyard and run it through the seasons: planting, harvesting, making wine and filling orders. An hour or two for up to six, and a gentle way into longer games.
€45.33 ≈ CZK 1,104 mysidoupe.eu
Research ships dive ever deeper, taking on specialists; it can be played against each other, together or solo. Taught in ten minutes, though some feel it ends just as it gets going.
CZK 1,005 13% ludopolis.cz
Two dice a turn become castles, mines, ships and pastures as each player builds up a corner of 15th-century France. A couples’ favourite, though each mostly keeps to their own board.
CZK 1,169 svet-deskovych-her.cz
Intrigue and battles in the world of Dune: build a deck and send agents to a shared board, where every move can take a spot someone needed. Best with three or four.
CZK 1,444 planetaher.cz
Farmers and giant mechs in an alternate 1920s Eastern Europe: factions build economies, spread across the map and fight only when it pays. About two hours; less war than the art suggests.
CZK 1,628.70 sk.softcom.cz
Corporations make Mars habitable while racing for points, each with its own projects from over two hundred cards. Still a favourite ten years on; long, with little direct contact.
CZK 1,163 knihydobrovsky.cz
Space empires coming apart: the card led each turn decides what everyone can do. Sharp, tactical and full of fighting, best with three or four; it divides players.
CZK 1,326 hrydoruky.cz
A cooperative campaign: a small band of fighters works through linked scenarios of an hour or two, starting with a gentle tutorial. For a pair or group who meet often.
CZK 1,049 planetaher.cz
A long, rich game about building a modern zoo, with animals, partner zoos and conservation projects. For someone who enjoys heavy games, and at its best with two.
CZK 1,494 mironet.cz
Each player runs a space agency, landing probes and scanning the sky, until the aliens they discover change the rules for the rest of the game. Two to three hours, best with three.
CZK 1,329 hrydoruky.cz
Rival companies dam the same Alpine water: what one holds back upstream, another needs downstream. Two to three hours of sharp competition, and a weak start is hard to recover from.
CZK 1,442 mironet.czEverything you want in one place. We show you where each is cheapest and tell you when the price drops.
Board and card games for children from four to about eight, grouped by age: stacking and quick-spotting games, puzzles, games played as one team and first games of strategy. Picked from children’s game awards, parents’ forums and reviews.
Games players still suggest as a first modern board game, for families and friends who enjoy a game night. Picked from game awards, players’ forums and reviews.
Gifts for someone who scuba dives, in the sea or in lakes and quarries. Based on what divers say on forums and Reddit, on tests and on years of use.
Things riders are glad to have and rarely buy for themselves. Based on riders’ forums and Reddit, the tests of the German magazine MOTORRAD and years of use.
What birders take on every walk, and a few things they rarely buy themselves. Based on birders’ forums and Reddit, binocular tests and years of use.
Gifts chess players use for years, at the board and between games, for adults and for children. Based on players’ forums and Reddit, owners’ reviews and FIDE’s rules for tournament equipment.