“My wife asks me for it every day, when do you get it? What could this panicked man be talking about? Of a game. More precisely Tokaido Duo. “We have customers who come to us asking for it every day but it was out of stock. It’s good, he’s back. » The success of Tokaido Duo is symptomatic of a larger trend in the gaming world: the triumph games for two.
Another indication of this trend, Black District is one of three nominated for the As d’or, awarded to the Cannes International Games Festival. And it’s a two-player game. “There were many other two-player games among the shortlisted, says Cynthia Reberac, general curator of the festival. Before, there were already two-person games, but in stores and at festivals, it was considered a bit of a handicap to ONLY be able to be played with two people. Since the lockdown it has become a selling item. The publishers put “two-person game” stickers, there are dedicated spaces in the store…”
Couples who discover the game for two
“Frankly, being nominated for the As d’or, we did not believe it at all, confides Mathias Guillaud, co-founder of Spiral Editions, publisher of Black District. 2022 has been a crazy year for two-player games and we are very proud to be in this selection, especially in the All Public category. »
The young editor (Black District is their first game) but “old” player has seen the rise of two-player games in recent years. “I was a game seller fifteen years ago, and the department for two-player games already existed. There was Mr Jack, Catan two… People asked us about it, it was always identified. But the colossal success of 7 Wonders Duel changed things. From there, we knew that there was a big potential market. Then there was the lockdown…”
During and after confinement, the board game sector experienced a boom, and particularly two-player games. “59% of people who discovered board games during confinement continued to play and buy games, explains Cynthia Reberac. However, people have been confined to couples a lot. So, among the new players, there are a lot of couples of players…”
A playful classic
However, Mathias Guillaud denies having tried to ride a trend with Black District. “We especially fell in love with this game. It took us a long time to choose our first game. We weren’t going to embark on a huge, very expensive game with lots of figurines, we wanted a game that was easy to produce. But it’s true that as a player, we like two-player games…”
And this idea is confirmed among the communities of “big” players. Two-player games are often the best games. For what ? To answer this question, the best thing is still to turn to the pope of the two-player game, Bruno Cathala, author of 7 Wonders Duel but also many other two-player games with colossal successes, including Duel Splendorreleased in 2022, which is a two-player variation of a classic board game.
Viral contamination
“I don’t just do that, but I’ve always created games for two, I have an appetite and an ease for that, says Bruno Cathala. I imagine it’s a question of neural connections. I am a child of classic games for two: chess, the game of go, othello…” The author also noted that the reception given to two-player games has changed in recent years.
“Twenty years ago the publishers said to me: ‘Your two-player game is nice, but it won’t sell.’ We are in a hobby that works on the principle of viral contamination. We will buy a game because someone told us about it or made us play it. However, with a game for two, you infect fewer people, he will stay in the circle of the couple. »
In addition to confinement, Bruno Cathala believes that it is the very nature of games for two that makes their current success. “To adapt Splendor in duel mode, I had the idea of this tray on which the gems to be collected would be installed. I wanted it to generate tension, with the stage which will gradually empty…”
You lose, I win
Just like the classics of our childhood – the naval battle, Power 4 Or Who is this ? -, today’s two-player games are tense games. “A two-player game is more aggressive, these are always confrontational games, rejoices Bruno Cathala. There are players who don’t like when it fights. Because together, we attack each other, we steal cards, we destroy resources… We have playful motivations that are unbearable for some. »
Conversely, two, we have only one opponent. And we avoid endless debates like “Why are you attacking me and not her”, alliances of circumstance around a table, “all against one”… In any case, Bruno Cathala is sure, “c it’s easier for me to make good games with two people. But what is a good game?
“First, the rule must be simple and unambiguous, but there are permanent dilemmas, and we must never be locked into a system. And above all, at the end of a good game, when you have won, you feel that you have been smarter. And when you lose, you tell yourself that the other one was just a little luckier…”
Big games are best played in twos
Mathias Guillaud sees a final argument in favor of two-player games. “There are a lot of very good games designed for tables of four or more players but which work very well, and sometimes even better, with two players. For example, Rail adventurersor Wingspan… For those big games, sometimes waiting for your turn is boring. And with more than three, we play a little each in his corner. While with two, we play faster and we can try to annoy the opponent, there is only one person to kill! »
Thus, born in the intimacy of couples in confinement, the triumph of games for two could soon be the source of many divorces…