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Games for couples: was that the United States or my husband, whom I loved until then?
Photo: DER SPIEGEL
"Star Wars Rebellion": I empire, you nothing!
Our first round of "Star Wars Rebellion" was a few years ago and I can still call up the feelings that the game was associated with, so intense was the gaming experience.
I rarely do that, though, because they weren't nice feelings.
Even so, the game is rightly considered to be one of the best complex two-person games on the market.
It takes several hours to figure out the rules, and then the hard work goes on for hours: one is the empire, the other is the rebels - anyone who knows the "Star Wars" films knows what it's about. I was the empire and wallowed in my power at first: I had lots of great spaceships, and because the rebels were too weak and too disoriented in the first game, I was able to build two Death Stars in peace, harharharhar!
But then somehow everything toppled over and it became terrible. I passed out as I watched planet after planet begin to sympathize with the rebels, and I got really angry: what right? What did I do to them? I began to develop a real understanding for Darth Vader, the arch villain of the films: If the rebels come to you like that, then you HAVE to take action! The game is very thematic, you complete missions and move leaders you know from the movies - but things can turn out very differently than there, so the fate of the galaxy can be rewritten.
The aim of the game by Corey Konieczka is to find the secret base of the rebels and to destroy their alliance - seen from the imperial side.
The rebels want to garner enough sympathy to instigate a galaxy-wide revolt, but shy away from open combat and can cunningly hide themselves in one of 31 systems.
In the end, my huge force didn't help me, and I was defeated with pinpricks.
From my own husband.
I still get upset when I remember it.
The only thing that helps is: try again.
And then there is the cap, but right!
Pro:
Lots and lots of spaceship miniatures (153!)
Cons:
Too many belong to the opponent.
For two to four people (ideally in pairs), aged 14 and over, a game can easily take four hours.
"Balance of Terror": I superpower, you nothing!
It can hardly be tougher than in the Cold War: the world held its breath when the two superpowers, the USA and the Soviet Union, tugged in power between the end of World War II and 1989.
And that's exactly how this game is structured, which plays on a large world map and ends when one - whoops!
- either accidentally triggers a nuclear war or the tug-of-war for power wins.
"Balance of Terror" lives from its great historical accuracy, its tactical versatility and the intense theme. You play cards that either use your own agenda or slide your opponent between his plans, and you divide the world among yourself, including coup attempts, hostile takeovers and military actions. For each card, whether "Reagan bombs Libya", "Iran's hostage crisis" or "U-2 incident", there is a detailed historical classification in the rulebook. The authors clearly state that the game "basically accepts the entire internal logic of the Cold War as true - including those parts that were demonstrably false." and all other countries are only accessories in the epic confrontation between the superpowers.You can't make a game out of it without simplification.
Those who are too gentle and refrain from military action will be punished at the end of the round.
That sounds martial, but - no, no buts.
It's martial.
And whoever has to watch impotently how the enemy pulls on his side country by country, soon gets really angry and can no longer correctly distinguish: Was that the USA or my husband who was loved up until then?
Those who fight their way through will be rewarded with a great themed evening and google historical topics enthusiastically for the rest of the evening.
The authors Jason Matthews and Ananda Gupta have in-depth knowledge and have worked on the game for several years.
The award-winning long seller is published in German by the small German publisher UGG, which specializes in historical conflict simulation games.
Pro:
Historical depth
Cons:
The oppressive feeling that all of this is somehow too real for a game
For two people, aged 13 and over, two to three hours.
"Hydropower": Hey, that was my water!
This game is not a purely two-person game (although you can play it with two people), but you can spoil it with several people at the same time - the winner wins the game, but certainly no new friends.
And existing relationships have to be really stable if you don't hold it against each other for how you dig each other's waters here, whether others are still playing or not.
Tommaso Battistas and Simone Luciani's "Wasserkraft" is brutal, a game mechanics masterpiece with virtuoso interlocking possibilities of action.
Each player wants to gain as much energy as possible from a river of water for their own country: To do this, you build up rivers on the beautiful game board and install pipelines and turbine houses. Energy gives victory points, whoever has the most wins. There are extra bonuses for assignments and round successes. You need everything: working hours, money, workers, construction machinery, building sites - and unfortunately everything is in short supply.
You have to plan incredibly cleverly, otherwise the water will accumulate in front of strange walls or an evil turbine owner will guide the precious drops, for which you have paid so dearly yourself, through her system.
You have to use workers for all actions, and the others are practically always in your way;
and when it finally becomes possible to build, there will be a lack of excavators and concrete mixers.
Whoever can not only plan a number of laps wisely in advance, but also skilfully drives the others into the parade as soon as the opportunity arises, has the edge.
One advantage of the game, however, is: If you have spoiled yourself with everyone and can't find any players, you can still go on alone - the rules include a challenging solo variant.
Pro:
Sophisticated tactical options, great variance in the number of players and strategy
Cons:
If you lose, you feel stupid and, unfortunately, it is really quite your own fault.
One to four people aged 14 and over, playing for one to two hours.
"Romeo and Juliet": love should conquer
What could be more forgiving than a romantic-cooperative game in which both control the most famous lovers in literary history?
"Romeo and Juliet" by Julien Prothière and Jean-Philippe Sahut can only be won - or lost - together.
The pretty hinged box opens onto a stage with six scenes on which the love drama unfolds in three acts. Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet each have their own set of cards with places and people and have to master the trick of getting together in one place without the family quarrel destroying love, because you usually have at least one relative by your heels. If enemy Capulets and Montagues meet, hatred increases - unless the friendly brother Lorenzo can defuse the situation.
Of course, Romeo and Juliet cannot openly coordinate with each other, but there are secret clues as to where a convenient meeting place might be.
Event cards can help the lovers or complicate their situation.
Nine chapters of increasing difficulty have to be mastered - whoever has got through them feels solidly consolidated as a couple thanks to the shared sense of achievement.
Pro:
You tinker with each other and are overjoyed when you finally manage to meet each other.
Cons:
Brother Lorenzo is always there.
Two people aged 14 and over, about half an hour per chapter.
"Fog of Love": I would, would, if
It's not that easy to find out if Fog of Love is a cooperative game or if there can be a winner. In relationships it can be quite similar: "Well, I don't know how you are, I am happily married anyway." In the end, however, it is actually about both being as happy and staying together as possible.
In this two-person game we play two characters who get to know and love each other and whose relationship continues to develop. Everyone plays scene cards that confront either both or just the partner with tricky decisions: Where do you take each other on the first real date? Would you lie if the police asked where your partner was last night? What do you really want in response to the question of how your new pants look? You don't play yourself (that would be boring), but a fictional character with completely different goals and preferences than your own. Under certain circumstances, the love story unfolds in a rather surprising way - and goes into depth: at the beginning you ask yourself,How the other would behave on their first visit to Ikea together will later be a question of life.
Author Jacob Jaskov comes from the IT industry.
The game is very well thought out and offers a user-friendly and comfortable introduction - you don't have to read any rules, but can play the tutorial after the setup, which gradually teaches you the rules automatically.
Exemplary.
Unfortunately, the game, although it was only released in 2017 and showered with prizes, is no longer in the range of a German publisher.
But firstly, many stationary and some online retailers are likely to still have stocks, secondly you can find many used copies on sales platforms, and thirdly, it is easily available in English anyway.
There are also extensions;
Experienced players can try the “Trouble with the In-Laws” expansion, which brings their in-laws into the game.
Pro:
A fun relationship journey full of interesting decisions.
In love, the subjunctive are often more interesting than indicative, or less stilted: Fantasy beats reality.
Cons: While playing,
some might get the idea that there are more interesting relationship stories than their own (well, not me now, and I'm not just saying that because my husband reads all of my texts, honestly not!).
Two people aged 17 and over, one to two hours.