Hobbies And Interests
Board Games
Most two-player board games involve the players trying to capture or overwhelm the opponent's pieces. Checkers and chess may be the most well-known of these games; checkers is the simpler game, with equal pieces that all move diagonally, while chess involves multiple pieces with different moves and the object being to capture the other player's king piece. "Stratego" is a two-player board game version of "capture the flag," where players lay armies on the board to protect their flag and try to take that of the opponent. Dice games like "Yahtzee!" are also easily played by two players.
Card Games
Many card games can be played by two players but work best when there are more. There are, however, card games specifically designed for two. "War" is a simple game where the entire deck is divided between two people and the object is to capture all of the other person's cards by simultaneously laying down cards of greater value. "Santase," also known as "66," is a trick-based card game specifically for two players that only uses the cards 10 through Ace; in this game, the 10 is higher than every card but the Ace. Five-card Cribbage is a two-player variation of the game where the players play cards to try and total a value of 31 to score points; this game involves keeping score, which can be done on paper or with a cribbage board.
Sports
Basketball may be originally designed as a five-on-five game, but specific one-on-one versions of the game have been developed. Horse is one of the more popular examples, where one player tries to make a creative shot and the other must then duplicate it. Tennis remains one of the bigger two-person sports, even though doubles play is also possible. Golf can easily be played by two people, and two-player versions of games like volleyball, racquetball and other sports are frequently played.
Video Games
Many of the first game consoles, particularly in the 1980s and 90s, were limited to two players maximum, so game designers made plenty of two-player video games. These vary from games that alternate play between the two players, like Super Mario Bros. and Pac-Man, to simultaneous play where the players work together, like Double Dragon, to competitive play where the players battle each other. These latter fighting games, from the original "Street Fighter" and "Mortal Kombat" to "SoulCalibur," have become among the most popular games due to their catering to the competitive spirit.