You remember when we suddenly couldn’t move for solo RPGs? Well, quietly, that’s now happened with what I’m going to call here “Duet Games” – that’s games for two players, or sometimes (less frequently) one player and one GM. In fairness, the Player/GM split is frequently eroded by the form, so let’s just say two players. There’s a lot of them out there – check out this list of those on itch (from MintRabbit, the best TTRPG librarian).

I’ve tried over the past few months to get some of these to the table, and I’ve got some games below with capsule (still play-informed) reviews for you – but also some general advice. Just like when solo RPGs came along, and there was a general confusion over how to actually play them from some quarters, I think getting a duet game to the table needs a slightly different approach to a group TTRPG.

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So, here are my top tips for running and playing duet games – you’ll find my capsule reviews later:

Choose Carefully

You want to be sure who you play it with is someone you’re close enough, with similar enough gaming tastes, to have a good time. Duet games can be pretty intense, so I’d be super selective of the game too – only pick ones that you’re both fired up for, and be prepared to stop if you’re not feeling it.

The lower requirements of these games make them ideal to play over a coffee, or a beer, if you’re meeting up face to face; if you’re feeling shy, I’ve never had anything but positive feedback from playing games in cafes and pubs, so go on a quiet day and get your game on.

Stop & Ponder

With no downtime, duet games can ask a lot of you – prompts come thick and fast. Pausing and thinking is fine (maybe with a slurp of coffee), as is asking the other player for help – or suggesting an idea. This is literally collaborative play, whatever the rules say, so don’t be afraid to put your heads together and work together at it.

It Might Be Quick

For me, the ideal length for a duet game is about an hour; it’s an intense experience, and you’ll want to decompress afterwards and discuss what happened. You can take breaks when you want, too – and feel free to pause and carry on. Like solo games, it’s fine to play in 20 minute blocks.

So, here are my recommendations for duet TTRPGs – I’m not sure if these are the best in show, they’re just what I’ve managed to get to the table over the last few months; I’ve included a top tip for each of them, too:

HUNT(er/ed) – short game where you play the final, decisive hunt between a hunter and a monster. We played vampire hunters both times, once in Victorian London, once in the modern day. A dice mechanic unlike anything I’ve seen before and some great prompts that drive a brilliant story.

Top Tip: how fast you roll the dice serves nicely as a potential story pacing mechanic; if this doesn’t work, and the game begins to outstay its welcome, you can always use a “next roll wins” approach – we did the second time.

A Modern Prometheus – Firebrands hack for 2 players where you play the creator and the creation of a Dr Frankenstein-style inventor. Take turns choosing minigames, some of which feel a bit fiddly, but all drive towards a satisfying conclusion. A good way to try out Firebrands games if you’re curious as they can be hard to sell to a group.

Top Tip: Have a proper read through the games first – some are more suited to the start of the game, before tension has escalated – we didn’t do this and sort of ran out.

Page Turners – soon-to-be released Hillfolk one-on-one game. Provides loads more guidance than Hillfolk – I wrote more about it for Pelgrane here. 

Top Tip: In the intermissions between books, have a think together about what scenes you could see in the next act – this was you’ll have some idea of what’s coming and can stay on approximately the same page (turner).

Lovecraftesque – Black Armada’s improvisatory cosmic horror game works great with two players; you sacrifice a little of the flavour provided by three or more players, but the structure gives a reliably satisfying story every time.

Top Tip: If you can, play this face to face with the boxed set and cards – the second edition has made this so much smoother to play! For 2 players I’d also suggest the slightly tighter confines of one of the published playsets.

Fight With Spirit – sports drama card-based RPG from Storybrewers. Great system that drives drama and action, and actually lets you play through the sports competitions. Not strictly a duet game, but its two-player guidance in the main rules work great; we did tennis, mixed doubles.

Top Tip: If you want to minimise the chance of player/player romance, making your two PCs siblings gives just as much drama without as much potential ick.

Have you tried out duet TTRPGs? What were your thoughts? Are there any you’d recommend? Let me know in the comments.