Two-player games on one device
Two people and one screen is the most common situation there is, and it is the one most game sites handle worst - they assume two devices, two accounts, and a lobby full of strangers.
Everything here works with one device on a table between you. Most of them also play against the computer at three difficulty levels if you are on your own, and several let a friend join from their own phone with a code if you are not in the same room.
If you are after something a child can win, the difficulty settings are real - the easy computer plays loosely rather than simply moving slower.
- 1. Chess1-2 playersFull rules including castling, en passant and promotion, with the move generator verified against known perft counts. Five board themes.
- 2. Checkers2 playersForced captures and multi-jumps, the way it is actually played rather than the way it is often coded.
- 3. Connect Four1-2 playersFour in a row against an alpha-beta computer, or pass the phone.
- 4. Dominoes2-4 playersThe full double-six set with draw rules - if nothing fits you keep drawing, which is what makes it a game.
- 5. Chinese Checkers2-6 playersHop marbles across a six-pointed star. The jump chains are the whole appeal and they work properly here.
- 6. Backgammon1-2 playersDoubling cube, bar and bearing off, and the must-use-both-dice rule that most implementations quietly skip.
- 7. Reversi1-2 playersOthello under its older name. Flip the discs, and watch a winning position turn over in two moves.
- 8. Dots & Boxes1-2 playersDeceptively deep - the computer understands chains, which is the entire game above the age of about ten.
- 9. Air Hockey1-2 playersTwo fingers on one screen, tracked separately, so you genuinely both play at the same time.
- 10. Gomoku1-2 playersFive in a row on a full board. Easy to learn and brutal once somebody spots a double threat.
- 11. Tic Tac Toe1-2 playersUnbeatable on hard, which is the point - it is the shortest possible lesson in a solved game.
- 12. Hnefatafl1-2 playersThe Viking game. The two sides have completely different aims, which makes it unlike anything modern.
Questions
Do we need two devices?
No. Every game here works on one screen with two people taking turns. Several also let a second person join from their own phone if you would rather.
Can I play on my own?
Yes - most of these have a computer opponent with three difficulty settings.
Is anything installed?
No. They run in the browser on a phone, tablet or computer.
Which is best with a young child?
Connect Four, dominoes, Chinese Checkers or noughts and crosses. Set the computer to easy - it plays loosely rather than just slowly.
Which is the deepest?
Chess and backgammon, then dots and boxes, which is far harder than it looks once you understand chains.