2-player games for learning English

[PrinceVince]

I'm looking for good 2-player games on Tabletop simulator that would be good for learning English. Good games would include lots of interaction between the players. The range of language required to play the game would need to be applicable outside of playing the game. For example, trading between players with real-world items (not just the fictional content of the game). Games with long periods of strategizing without interacting are not good. Games with lots of obscure vocabulary are not good. Collaborative gameplay would probably be better but some competitive games may work well too. Gameplay should be less than 1 hour. The rules should learnable within 1 playthrough. I don't play a lot of games, but one game I have played that I imagine would work well is Munchkin. Unfortanately this game doesn't work well with 2 players, and it often takes more than 1 hour to finish.

[SaltyO]

Hello and welcome. Games are certainly a great way to learn many things. For simple English, social games, without a lot of "abstract" stuff in them, I will make some recommendations:

First off, Tabletop hosted by Wil Wheaton on Youtube is a very good entry place for people who are highly intimidated by the hobby. He also tends to play easier, "gateway games" without a lot of complex concepts. https://youtu.be/8d9TwIigGC4

Some games:

Sheriff of Nottingham:
A bluffing game, not a lot of complex words, pretty simple.

Codenames:
This is a rather obvious one, the words one has to deal with are not complicated, but finding ways to match them might be hard for people learning the language. It's quite easy (children play it), you can judge for yourself.

Citadels:
This one might be a stretch, but it's very interactive. There are some rules to remember, but the cards themselves are very simple. I wanted to include a game that wasn't completely for kiddies.

Mysterium:
This game is almost entirely imagistic. You play a psychic trying to solve a murder by analyzing the images on the cards. Everyone is on the same team, which takes some pressure off.
Lots of interaction.

Guildhall:
This is like the card game "bridge" but with more stuff to do and a medieval theme. All the cards are portrayed visually, but there is a lot of player back and forth as one steals guild members from the others. It is a "set collection" game.

Lastly, go on Boardgamegeek and search for games by the mechanic you are looking for:
https://boardgamegeek.com/browse/boardgamemechanic
Choose a mechanism like "co-operative" or "social." You can then sort the lists of those games by weight. Lower weight games may be much easier for non-English speakers to get into.

Hope that helps.

[Bojan]

Actually, Paperback would be good game to learn English. I'm not sure it's in the workshop though.

EDIT: Supprised, they are, Paperback and hardback, both of them are in the workshop, I wonder how did I missed them.

[PrinceVince]

Omg, I lost access to my account but just coming back on Steam now. I'm re-exploring using games for learning languages. I was just looking around on steam for some games to play with my friends tonight in Spanish.

[SaltyO]

looks like i already replied. my recommendations should work ok :)