Battle Line

Two commanders, nine flags, one shifting front line. Reiner Knizia's Battle Line hands each player a hand of troop cards and asks a deceptively hard question every turn: where do you commit, and where do you bluff? Games run about half an hour, pack down to a card box, and reward the kind of tight, tactical thinking that keeps pulling people back for a rematch. It's one of Knizia's most durable two-player designs and a long-standing fixture of best-two-player lists.

• Players: 2
• Play time: 30 min
• Ages: 12+
• Publisher: GMT Games
• Year: 2000