Skulk Hollow by Pencil First Games is a two-player, asymmetric game where one player is the might forest guardian and the other are the foxen warriors and you both are battling for control over the realm.

Each player has a small deck of action cards, each with two choices on them. The player may pick one of those choices and act on their turn (though some of those choices give you bonus actions). Little by little, you chip away at the other players defenses and try to find a balance between an all out attack and not leaving yourself open for hits.

The board is small and putting yourself in range to attack (or be attacked) doesn’t take long. Each Guardian has their own unique meeple that moves across the board along with a separate game board that shows a close up of the creature, showing the spots the Foxen can attack.

The Foxen meeples move around the map and, if they are so inclined, can jump from the map to the Guardian’s board to attack up close – something that rogues and warriors enjoy far more than the archers.

Each Guardian has a unique set of abilities and the Foxen have different leaders to pick from, both of which will change up the difficulty and strategy of the game. Grak, the bear-like Guardian, is all about smashing things and wins the game by destroying the Foxen leader. But Apoda, the insect-like Guardian, can crawl around the board and use his tentacles to cause problems and escape with valuable resources that can lead to the Foxen’s doom.

This game plays great face to face, but I also found a mod on Tabletop Simulator that worked really well for those long-distance game nights. Since the game is made for two players, there is not problem with scaling down rules or challenges, it just works. It’s also nice to have a two-player game that isn’t just a deck of cards or chess-like setup. This game feels like a great fantasy epic happening in front of you.

I’m excited to play this one again! I’ve only played as the Foxen so far, but my victories are about 50/50.

What are you favorite two-player board games? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for reading!