Playing tabletop games can be a really fun way to spend time with friends. There are so many different tabletop games that come in all kinds of different formats and themes from in-depth, strategic board games to silly card games, there’s a game for just about everyone’s taste out there. But, a lot of them require quite a few different people in order to really make the game run smoothly and be fun.
Although this is fine for people that have six or seven friends that want to get together and start a campaign in a new tabletop game, not everyone can get so many people together for a game night. Luckily, there are also a lot of games out there that are good for groups of anywhere from 2 to 5 people and some that you can even play by yourself, if you’re not looking for competition.
To see 10 tabletop games that are great for small groups, keep reading!
Updated March 16th, 2020: Tabletop games are super popular and their popularity seems to be growing all the time. They’re a super fun way to spend time with friends and family, get away from our phones for a while, and just enjoy ourselves. There are a lot of tabletop games out there that are definitely a ton of fun, a lot of them require quite a few players to really be enjoyable. Since not everyone can always get a big group of people together for a game night, we’ve come back to this post to add five more games that are great for only a few players.
15 Love Letter Premium
Love Letter Premium is an enhanced version of the original Love Letter tabletop game. The game added a few more cards to allow up to 8 players to enjoy the game, but it can be played with as few as 2 for people that have smaller groups.
In this game, each player is trying desperately to get their love letter to the Princess of Tempest and win over her affections. Unfortunately, so is everyone else. This game has a lot of strategy and deception and players have to try to figure out how to advance themselves while also stopping the other players and get their letter to Princess Annette first.
14 Agricola
Agricola is a game that can be played with anywhere from 1 to 5 players, but it’s best with around 3 to 4. This game is a strategy and agriculture-based game in which the player lives on a farm with their spouse. Each move, the player can do one thing and assign one task to their spouse.
This game takes a lot of thinking about how to best manage the farm in order to be successful. Players have to think about what tasks they should take on as well as what tasks they should assign to their spouse in a way that will help their farm to make a profit without falling behind on other tasks.
13 Incan Gold
Incan Gold is a game that can be played with anywhere from 3 to 8 players. Although this game is a ton of fun with a huge group of people, it can also be fun for just a few friends to get together and play a game of.
In this game, players go on the adventure of a lifetime through the jungle and into dangerous mine shafts in order to find treasure and gems. But, while finding all of those goodies may sound like a great time, it’s not without its danger. The players can run into a variety of different dangerous hazards at any time that can cause them to drop everything they’ve found in order to try to escape to safety.
12 Wits & Wagers
Wits & Wagers is a super fun tabletop game that can be played with anywhere from 3 to 7 players - or even more, for people that have divided the players up into teams rather than everyone playing against one another.
In this game, trivia questions are asked and each team or player writes down their guess as to the answer. Then, all the answers are placed on the betting mat and the other players get to see everyone’s answers. Players then get to bet on the answer they think is closest, whether it’s their own or someone else’s.
11 Dixit: Odyssey
Dixit: Odyssey is a game that can be played with anywhere from 3 to 12 players. Although it’s definitely a good game to play with a large group, it can also be fun with a smaller one because the unique gameplay is engaging enough to keep even a few people entertained.
In this game, players take turns being the Storyteller. The Storyteller picks one of the beautifully illustrated cards out of their hand and then comes up with a single sentence to describe that card. Then, each player picks a card out of their hand that they feel fits the sentence and gives it to the Storyteller. Each player then has to try to figure out which of those cards was the one that the Storyteller was originally holding.
10 Viticulture
Viticulture is a tabletop game that’s great for groups of up to 6 people, but can be played with as few as 2 if you’re struggling to get a big group of friends together to play a game with. This game is one that’s great for people that like to be strategic and like the economic focus of games.
In Viticulture, players live in a rustic area of Italy, back in the past before modern times. The players are farmers that recently inherited vineyards and now have to try to help them to grow. Players can choose where they want their workers to focus, how much money to put into each aspect of their farm, and how to best grow to the best winery in the country.
9 Unstable Unicorns
Unstable Unicorns is a quirky card game that can be played with up to eight players, but you can also play it with as few as two. This party game is a card game that has a variety of different illustrated unicorns on the cards. Each player starts with a single Baby Unicorn card. Throughout the game, they collect different unicorns, use the special powers that these unicorns have, and try to take out all their friends.
This game is a funny one that takes a lot of strategy, but is quick to learn and takes under an hour to complete a game of, so it’s perfect if you’re looking for something quick that doesn’t take a ton of explanation and in-depth thinking.
8 Gloomhaven
Gloomhaven is a game that can be played with at most four players, but can be played with as few as you want. In fact, if you’re looking to spend a little “me” time by yourself, you can even sit down and play it all by yourself, but it’s best played with 2-3 players.
Gloomhaven is an adventure-based tabletop game that has the player take on the role of an adventurer who has to work together with the other adventurers playing in order to use your powers to clear dungeons, explore new areas, and collect loot. The game’s unique adventure is different each time you play because the story is so dependent on choices players make about their characters, so it’s definitely worth playing over and over.
7 Bad People
We all know about darkly humorous card games like Cards Against Humanity. Although that game is definitely one that can be played with as few as three people, just about everyone is already familiar with that game and its many expansions, so it’s not one that really needs to be introduced to anyone looking for a new game. Meanwhile, Bad People is a card game in the same vein that is great for people that have a darker sense of humor, but want something a little different.
A question is placed down and then players choose one of their friends who is currently playing as the person who best fits the question that was posed. This game is hilarious and a good way to really find out what your friends think about you.
6 Pandemic
Pandemic is a board game that has players work together, rather than against each other. If your family or friend group has been torn apart by Monopoly one too many times and you can’t handle competing against each other on another game night, Pandemic is definitely the one to check out.
In this game, anywhere from 1 to 4 players can sit down and take on the role of doctors and researchers that are tasked with traveling around the world to put a stop to the deadly viruses that are breaking out and threatening humanity as we know it.
5 Descent: Journeys In The Dark
Descent: Journeys in the Dark is a game that can be played with anywhere from 2 to 5 players, but is best experienced with at least 3. This is a dice-based exploration game in which players roll the various dice in order to build up the weapons and abilities that their characters have.
One player is the overlord while the remaining players are brave heroes that set out into the world to explore dungeons, take on enemies, and go on a variety of different quests. All of this happens as they’re trying to stop the overlord from completing their own foul plan.
4 One Night Ultimate Vampire
One Night Ultimate Vampire is a game that can be played with anywhere from 3 to 10 players, meaning that a friend group of any size can really sit down and enjoy this game. And if you get really into it, the game can be combined with the publisher’s other games like One Night Ultimate Werewolf or One Night Ultimate Alien to really amp up the fun.
This game is a horror-themed party game in which vampires have descended on the small town where all the players’ characters live. Each player gets a role, including one person who is the vampire, and the players are tasked with figuring out who the vampire is.
3 Sushi Go Party!
Sushi Go Party! is a fun card game that can be played with anywhere from 2 to 8 players and is great for people of all ages. The game is recommended for players aged 8 and up, so it’s great for a family game night but is fun enough that adults will have a great time with it, too.
Players use the different cards to build a platter of sushi and get points for the combinations that they lay down. The game is quick, has really uniquely illustrated cards, and is easy to pick up and start playing.
2 Betrayal At House On The Hill
Betrayal At House on the Hill is a board game that is different every time it’s played because of the fact that the choices the players make decide the way that the game goes. The house tiles are laid down as the players explore the house and the haunting that they’re facing off against comes into play based on the way the game has been going.
In this game, 3 to 6 players explore a haunted house and encounter a variety of spirits, omens, and mysterious items. Then, one person in the house secretly betrays all the other players who are forced to try to stop them before it’s too late.
1 Catan
Catan, also known as The Settlers of Catan, is a classic tabletop game that many fans of board games are already completely familiar with. Still, it’s a classic for a reason and since it can be played with only 3 to 4 players, it definitely deserves a spot on this list.
In this game, players have to use a lot of strategy and negotiating skills in order to develop different areas of the island of Catan and gain power. Players collect and trade resources, develop their own society, and try to earn points in order to win.
