Valentine’s Day is a time for celebration of love in all its forms – no matter your relationship status. It’s a time for appreciating the more intimate moments in life, and that we all have such capacity to love, even in dire times. It’s also a wonderful excuse to sit down with some lovely board games, and stomp through adventures with your friends or significant other.
There’s plenty of romantic, love-themed board games roaming the market, as well as a smorgasbord of games designed to be played by couples or in intimate groups, with each testing your bonds, strengthening your commitment, or just letting you enjoy spending time together.
This Valentine’s Day, if you’re looking for a great activity for a quieter evening, here’s a few excellent board games to consider.
Our Top Picks
Splendor Duel
- Check out Splendor Duel.
Splendor Duel is a two-player variant on classic Splendor gameplay. Essentially, it involves players competing to collect the most jewels, by making strategic card-picking choices. From a shared board, players will “purchase” an array of items, while working to hit particular goals: either gathering 20 points, 10 points of one colour, or 10 crowns. Rounds continue until a player nabs the right gems for these goals.
With its simplistic set-up, this game is easy to pick up and play, making it great for couples of all experiences levels. While it may lack the romance of some other games on this list, its mix of casual strategy and fun gameplay (not to mention the jewels involved) makes it a fantastic option for Valentine’s Day.
Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth
- Check out Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth.
Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth isn’t a game for every couple, but if you’re into Lord of the Rings or high fantasy, it’s a fantastic competitive game with strong theming, and very neat gameplay. In rounds, as either the Fellowship or Sauron, players will work to achieve particular victory conditions. As the Fellowship, you’ll need to reach Mount Doom and and destroy the One Ring. As Sauron, you’ll need to send the Nazgûl to catch Sam and Frodo, and reclaim the One Ring. You may also win by other methods, including raising an army of supporters, or conquering Middle-earth.
No matter which path you pursue, what results is a fun two-player cat-and-mouse chase across Mordor, as players attempt to make strategic moves across the board, gathering special items to help them advance. With multiple ways to play, you can also dive into Duel for Middle-earth many times, fighting to see who comes out on top.
Fog of Love
- Check out Fog of Love.
Let’s start with a more traditional love-themed board game: Fog of Love. This game is designed for two people – typically, a couple – who each create two unique characters, going on the journey of falling in love. It’s essentially a tabletop roleplaying game, with players working through a variety of scenarios, surmounting various challenges to their imagined relationship, and finally finding happiness (or otherwise).
Beyond having a unique concept, Fog of Love is also great for newer board game players. It has lighter mechanics than most story-based board games, it’s very easy to understand, and it’s also got a quick setup, meaning you can jump in and get started with zero drama. Consider checking this one out for a cute time this Valentine’s Day.
Flamecraft
- Check out Flamecraft.
On a cosier note, Flamecraft is a wonderful game to play with a partner. In this strategy-based management game, you are a Flamekeeper – a keeper of dragons – working to keep production in your local village growing. Each dragon in your care has a specialty, and they’ll need to be deployed in specific businesses to maximise productivity, and ensure special goods can be delivered village-wide.
You can play the game with more than two players, but Flamecraft is best experienced in more intimate circumstances, with two players working closely to become the most reputable Flamekeeper, all while enjoying the lovely, warm vibes of village living.
Stuffed Fables
- Check out Stuffed Fables.
Stuffed Fables is a delightful game to play in a pair, and while it can be a little bit creepy, it’s certainly got Valentine’s Day potential. Like smash hit two-player video game It Takes Two, this board game sees you entering a new world as a tiny creature, working with other players to conquer evil in a toy-like world. The game progresses in chapters, with a storybook defining your journey, including combat encounters and discoveries, as you work to save the world.
Not only is the game a novel callback to childhood, with a story that takes cues from The Velveteen Rabbit and similar stuffed animal tales, it’s also got really sharp mechanics, and a freedom of choice that makes each playthrough feel different. It’s a wonderful little game, and perfect to play through alongside a partner.
Azul: Master Chocolatier
- Check out Azul: Master Chocolatier.
What’s better than getting a box of chocolates for Valentine’s Day? Playing with a box of chocolates. In Azul: Master Chocolatier, that’s exactly what you’ll be doing – building out decorative patterns using tiny, chocolate-like pieces, and competing to get the highest combination scores. The entire Azul series is great, but the Master Chocolatier variant feels particularly good for Valentine’s Day, and it also makes for a lovely little gift.
The basic concept of Azul doesn’t change much between variants – so if you’re familiar with the base game, you’ll know what to do here. Essentially, the game plays out in multiple rounds, with players using individual turns to grab chocolate pieces and arrange them along a score board. It’s simple, very fun, easy to learn, and perfect for a cosy game night.
Eldritch Horror
- Check out Eldritch Horror.
For couples with more eclectic taste, Eldritch Horror is another great board game to play on Valentine’s Day. In this horror-themed adventure, you take on the role of a detective working to thwart the plans of ancient monsters trying to take over your town. Every player has an active role in this quest, using turns to investigate their surrounds, gather special items, and eventually stop the mysterious Ancient Ones.
Like other games on this list, Eldritch Horror can be played with multiple players (or solo) but there’s something much more compelling about its two-player mode, which sees two clever detectives fighting against dark forces in an intimate and frantic race to the end of the world.
Unlock! Mystery Adventures
- Check out Unlock! Mystery Adventures.
Unlock! Mystery Adventures (and the entire Unlock! series) is fantastic for playing in a couple. These card decks contain tiny mysteries and puzzles, with clever thinking required to solve their secrets. As you unravel each Unlock! story, you’ll be presented with a range of conundrums – items to combine, locations to explore, people to interrogate, and visual illusions to parse.
With each card flip, there’s a new puzzle presented, and it’s up to you to work out how to progress. The traditional version of the game requires an app and a timer to solve each mystery, but you can also play in non-timed mode, and spend a spooky afternoon working your way through a haunted house, ocean dive, treasure dig, or another strange scenario. The feeling of completing each adventure successfully really does make you feel like a genius.
Wavelength
Wavelength is a lovely little game for couples, with gameplay skewed around intimacy and knowledge of the mind. In each round of gameplay, you’ll work to “read” your partner’s mind in a game of psychic battleship. The ultimate goal is to discover where a bullseye on a dial is – but to get there, you’ll need to solve word associations, figure out what your opponent is thinking, and interpret a number of clues.
With Wavelength‘s lighter approach to puzzling, it’s a game that feels perfect for newcomers and board game veterans, with just the right amount of challenge. Typically, Wavelength would be played in larger teams of 4+ players so clues can be discussed, but it can be just as much fun in a pair.
Love Letter
- Check out Love Letter.
For another more clearly love-themed board game this Valentine’s Day, you can’t go wrong with the fun, simple Love Letter. In this game, you are competing with other players to become the confidant of a princess and carry out her errands. In each turn, players will use special abilities to earn favour with the princess, eventually gathering enough favour to become her chosen one.
Gameplay in Love Letter is very simple, but there is a mix of strategy and luck that comes into play with your favour acquisition. To win, you’ll need to pay attention to each of the game’s main characters and their special abilities, and thwart your opponents with clever moves. Rounds of the game are very fast, and it makes for a great, quick activity.
Codenames: Duet
- Check out Codenames: Duet.
Codenames: Duet is a spin on classic Codenames designed for two players only. In the game, you’re working with a partner to identify “special agents” in a card field by solving word association clues and without activating the special assassin hiding in these clues. The goal, as a pair, is to discover all 15 of your agents without finding the assassin.
Duet is a very neat spin on Codenames, and a game that’s endlessly replayable. Every time you lay out the card field, you’ll find new key words to form your clues, and new ways to deliver your message to your partner. While games can end in disaster, they’re great fun until you get there.
Unmatched Adventures: Tales to Amaze
- Check out Unmatched Adventures: Tales to Amaze.
Unmatched Adventures: Tales to Amaze is a new variant on Unmatched that tasks players with tackling an array of enemies (Mothman and minions, or Martian Invader and minions) in story-based battles. You and your partner (and/or more players) will choose a hero from the Unmatched series (either from this set or other Unmatched board games) and then set off on a mission to save the world by defeating enemies with strange and uncanny powers.
The Unmatched games are all pretty fabulous, but Tales to Amaze takes the game system one step further by introducing story events and purpose to each battle, ramping up the stakes and allowing you to spend more time plotting your moves. Playing in a pair, you can work together to take down the game’s main villains in blockbuster fashion.
If you’re looking for more board game adventures to explore, check out our other guides:
- The best board games to play solo
- The best board games to play in co-op with friends
- The best board games to play at a party
- The best cozy board games for relaxing afternoons
- The best mystery board games for tabletop detectives
- The best board games for beginner players
- The best puzzle-based board games
- The best spooky board games to play on Halloween
- The 8 best dungeon crawler board games for adventurers
- The best story-based adventure board games
- 23 big upcoming board games releasing in 2025
GamesHub has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content. GamesHub may earn a small percentage of commission for products purchased via affiliate links.
