Here are 10 games that we see played all the time on date nights. We threw in 2 extras as well. We never recommended these though, they are pretty well known and there are so many more games to play that we want to share with you. So, if you’re interested in these, then just ask. Pro-tip, don’t bother looking for them, we all know exactly where on the shelf they are. We can find them all for you in about 2 seconds and save you those precious seconds to spend with your date!
• Battleship
Cafe Library Location B3
“You sunk my battleship”! I’m sure everyone has fond memories of playing this game once or twice as a child. Perhaps you have a fold-up travel size edition. This game tends to be very popular on date nights. It is a quick and easy starter. You and your date will most likely already know the rules and if not, it’s very fast to learn. It also doesn’t require a ton of active thinking to play, leaving lots of time to chat and get to know each other. Fun fact, before the plastic version came about, people used to play this game with just pencil and paper. You can still play that way today, but it’s much more fun with the boats and pegs.
• Guess Who
Cafe Library Location A4
We can’t tell you how many times tables of 2 request Guess Who? For your Guess Who pleasure we have the classic, as well as Disney available for play. Games don’t come with a much quicker set up than this. Fold out the characters, draw a card and start guessing.
• Jenga
Cafe Library Location C5
Holding huge popularity for about 40 years, thank you Jenga for all the fun! Who doesn’t love the anticipation of everything tumbling over followed by oohs, or just laughter! Don’t worry about the noise, we all expect Jenga to tumble to the floor multiple times a day around here.
• Dirty Minds
Cafe Library Location G4
This game doesn’t have the greatest ratings amongst game enthusiasts but, this game’s popularity on date nights is undeniable. Definitely consider giving it a go. The gameplay is quite opposite of the title. None of the answers in this game are actually dirty but the clues definitely lead a suggestive mind down that path. You may just burst out laughing from a clue or two.
• Connect 4
Cafe Library Location A0, A4
The blue frame with the yellow and red discs is recognizable anywhere. Tip to win, you can look up some math solutions to win every time on google. Tip for a good date, maybe don’t do that, haha. A great game to start off your two-player night of gameplay.
• Spot it!
Cafe Library Location H5
There are several different game variants but basically, any two cards in the deck have one and only one matching symbol from a collection of symbols on each. Be the first to spot it and win! The most common way we see played is to deal out all the cards but one, which you’ll place faceup. Flip over your decks at the same time, if you spot a match between your top card and the discard pile shout it out and then place your card on the discard pile. First to get rid of all their cards, wins.
• Sorry!
Cafe Library Location A3
Get your pawns home first and win. This was probably my favourite game as a kid. I loved saying, ‘Sorry!’ and knocking my sibling’s pieces back to their home, muhahahah (my evil laugh). It’s still much loved by all. So easy to play, basically draw a card and do what it says. Fun fact, there’s an adult rule variant for more complexity. In the adult rules, players start with a hand of 5 cards. On your turn, play a card and draw a card. Additionally, you get to start with one pawn out of your home for no apparent reason but we’ll take it!
• Scrabble
Cafe Library Location D2
You’d think an author or a teacher invented this game but fun fact, it was an architect. Try not to give up easy double or triple word scores and master those 2 letter words to win & impress.
• The Game of Life
Cafe Library Location B2
This game is older than you ever thought, a variant of this game dates back to 1860. Maybe your great, or great-great-grandparents met playing the same game :). Anyway, we all know ‘The Game of Life’, your choice job or college, spin, move, get a job, family, buy a house, get all the money, retire and win. We’ve gone through about a dozen or more copies since opening. This game is seriously popular.
• Boggle
Cafe Library Location E1
Speed word search. Don’t forget your ‘s’s, ‘ed’s and ‘er’s etcetera to max out your points.
• Mastermind
Cafe Library Location D4, D5
Fancy yourself a code breaker? If you haven’t played, in this game one player selects a colour code of pegs and the other player guesses. For each guess, the guesser is told how many they got right and needs to use this record of information to figure out the code. This game seriously should have made the shortlist of games for Netflix’s Squid Game – forget marbles :).
• Battle of the Sexes
Cafe Library Location G1
This game’s title is probably what catches people’s eye giving it a lot of attention from dates. The board and rules are unfortunately confusing to most. At its core, it’s just a trivia game. Each card has 3 questions, get one right, move one space and hear the next question on the card. You can only move 3 spaces in a turn. If you complete a card, then your opponent gets to go. Your goal is to get your pawn across the board first. The cards are stereotypically divided into male and female-oriented questions and you’ll have to answer an equal amount of both to win. There’s a long version too but, most don’t bother.
