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11 great video and tabletop games for couples on Valentine's Day

Chocolate is cliche. A night at the movies isn't very intimate. Dinner? Don't you eat every day? All that stuff pales in comparison to spending Valentine's Day playing a great video or tabletop game with that special someone.

Your options are many and varied (especially if we're talking about the entire history of gaming), so here are just a few suggestions to get you started.

Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime

This wacky sci-fi adventure can be played alone, but it shines brightest when experienced with a partner. Your goal is to navigate a ship through dangerous territories and through waves of enemies in an effort to rescue your animal friends and get to safety.

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But here's the catch: Your ship has a lot of systems, but one person can only use one system at a time. Are you operating one of the gun turrets? Well then who's manning the shields? Are you and your partner both on different turrets? Then who's driving?

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Success requires a lot of communication and teamwork, so hopefully it will lead to you feeling closer to each other and not yelling at one another to move faster.

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Jaipur

Nothing says "romance" like competing to be the country's best trader. In every turn you have to make decisions about which cards to buy or sell, always keeping in mind what might make you the most profit somewhere down the line.

It's a very simple game for two people that's easy to learn and moves quickly (games take about 30 minutes).

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Fingle

The name Fingle kind of sounds dirty. Playing also kind of looks dirty, in a weird way. It's kind of like Twister, but with just your fingers. On an iPad. Oh, and the targets you're trying to hit keep moving, forcing you into bizarrely sensual hand positions with your partner and ... You know what? The trailer actually gets the point across really well.

Boss Monster

If you and your loved one are big fans of retro video games, Boss Monster might be the right choice for you. It places you in the shoes of an old-school video game boss (like something out of an NES game), and you must build a deadly dungeon with which to both attract and kill the various would-be heroes that come through town.

Snipperclips

If you have a Nintendo Switch and want something to play cooperatively loved one, Snipperclips is could be the perfect game to bring you together ... or cut you apart.

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It's an extremely clever puzzle game in which you cut each other into various different shapes to solve puzzles and accomplish tasks. You might be filling in specific outlines (like tangram puzzles) or attempting to do things like maneuver eggs safely into colored baskets.

Love Letter

Love Letter is a wonderfully simple (and short) card game in which you're trying to get your love letter to the princess before other players do. You never have more than two cards in your hand at a time, and every card has clear instructions telling you how to use them. The game is also very travel-friendly, so if you're headed somewhere other than home for the holiday, this is a good game to bring.

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It's better with four people than two, though, so it might make a good game to bust out on a double date.

Bounden

Let's say, hypothetically speaking, that you're not a great dancer. And let's say that your significant other would really like to learn some fancy dance moves of some kind so the two of you can be all sweet and lovable together.

Well... This mobile game won't exactly help you create the ballroom scene from Beauty and the Beast, but it sort of tries. You and your dance partner hold a phone between you and attempt to moving it back, forth, up, down and around every which way in order to keep a cursor on a constantly moving dotted line. Sounds simple, but it's pretty tricky. Don't play it with anybody you're not willing to get tangled up with, physically.

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Star Wars: Destiny

Trying to track down copies of Star Wars: Destiny can be a couples outing all on its own. The $14.99 starter sets (one based on The Force Awakens hero Rey, another based on the movie's villain, Kylo Ren) and associated booster packs sell out quickly whenever they land at local comic book shops.

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Once you have a couple of decks, though, Destiny is a great two-player game for Star Wars fans that involves not just cards, but dice. There's a bit of a learning curve involved, but once you get the hang of it the game has a lot of depth that you and your partner can explore together. This is an opportunity to hop into a collectible card game that's less intimidating than, say, Magic the Gathering.

While you're learning, it might be a good idea to switch decks every game or so to learn the ins-and-outs of different characters. If you like it? Start expanding! The collecting aspect of the game can be another bonding experience.

Don't Starve Together

What says "I love you" more than huddling next to a fire together so that monsters don't try to each you in the dark? This multiplayer expansion for the popular survival game Don't Starve allows you and a friend to work together to survive not only physical dangers, but threats such as starvation and insanity.

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Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective

So you fell in love watching Sherlock together and now you want to recreate that experience. There is actually a long-running series of Sherlock Holmes video games that you can play together (they're technically single-player experiences, but you can discuss puzzles together while one person holds the controller). There are also some board game options, though, with the highlight being Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective. Playable with 1-8 people, this game involves no dice and no element of chance. It's just a collection of Victorian mysteries for you to solve using your wits alone.

Patchwork

"I want to make a quilt with you," he says.

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"Well, that sounds boring," you say.

Meet in the middle: Play Patchwork, a two player game all about using shapes to create a quilt. It's a bit of Tetris-like shape management combined with some economy management (though you're collecting buttons instead of dollars) to make a game that's simple, easy to learn and relatively quick to play.

There is also a digital version of the game available on phones and tablets, but the tutorial it provides isn't wonderful. You should at least look up the printed rules before hopping in.