Our favorite two-player board games, 2019 edition

If you're anything like us, Valentine's Day brings to mind iconic images of candlelit dinners, boxes of chocolate, roses, and, of course, board games.
'What tabletop games are best for couples?' is a question we get all the time here at Ars Cardboard, and today we're answering (again) by reprising our 2016 two-player guide with fresh new picks for 2019. Of course, you don't have to be romantically linked to your gaming partner to enjoy these titles; our recommendations are perfect for any time your group is running behind and you only have one other person to push some cubes with. Or maybe you don't have a group—all you need to play these games is one other willing (or kinda-sorta willing) partner.
The games below are new-player-friendly card and board games (sorry, we're not tackling miniatures or wargames today) that can be played in an hour or less. While most board games accommodate two players—many quite well—we've found that the best two-player experiences are often those built from the ground up for duos. So we're sticking with two-player-only games for this list (including one that has recently added support for other player counts).
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