Your favorite two-player games for non-gamers

[Benzinbruder]

Hi everybody,

tomorrow night some friends will come over to (hopefully) be awestruck when seeing the mighty cabinet that is now standing in the living room.

Since some of them, although not generally untalented when given the chance to play, can be attributed to be "non-gamers", I wanted to ask you guys if you have any suggestions for suitable MAME games to play.

There's hopefully going to be some Metal Slug, some Bubble Bobble and some SHMUP to be played tomorrow, but I am open for any genre. As long as it's fun, well made and suited for the "casual gamer", bring it on!

[mgb]

My son and I always enjoy Neo Bomberman.
Fighters are always a safe bet also.

[Malenko]

Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo
puzzle uo poko
puzzloop.
any of the bombermans


My fiance DESTROYS ME in Puzzloop.

[stu33]

Joust.

[Vigo]

Trog. I have a dedicated 4 player cab and everyone from hardcore gamers to grandmas seem to enjoy playing it. It is pretty much a multiplayer pacman, and with colorful and very entertaining claymation graphics..

[Benzinbruder]

Awesome guys, that's already at least 5 games I have never tried before!
Thanks for the input! 

[HaRuMaN]

Uo Poko for sure

Super Puzzle Fighter 2X

[keilmillerjr]

If you have a trackball, bowling will be a fun party game.

I am horrible at playing video games, and don't have time to play them. I do love arcade games obviously. My favorite games are contra, metal slug, galaga, pacman. Games with minimal buttons. I suck so bad at xbox, playstation, etc. Too many buttons and too many people with nothing better to do than to sit at home all day unemployed in grandmas basement and play video games.

[shponglefan]

Bust-a-move (Puzzle Bobble)

[Cynicaster]

In my experience, the best way of getting "non-gamers" engaged for more than 5-10 minutes is to play simple multi-player trackball games like Golden Tee, Shuuz, Shuffleshot, and World Class Bowling. 

If you want to play with joysticks and buttons, just pick some fun late 80's or early 90's multi-player "insert coin to continue" type games, like brainless beat 'em ups (Simpsons, X-Men, Final Fight) or shooters (1943, Raiden).  Trog is a fantastic choice as well, as already mentioned.  With games like these, it doesn't really matter how badly a player sucks, because they can just keep on hitting the credit button. 

Unfortunately, I find that digging too far back into the 80's heyday titles is a good way to quickly stifle interest unless you're OK sticking with really overdone stuff like Pac-Man and Galaga (yawn).  Reason being, games from that era are mostly single-player, no continues, and hard as nails, which might be off-putting for the faint at heart.  For a good laugh, hook your friend up with a credit on Super Zaxxon and set your stopwatch to see how long the game lasts. 

 

     

[DeLuSioNal29]

Tetris (Atari version - tetrisa.zip) is a hit with non-gamers in my arcade.  Everyone loves Tetris and the head to head gameplay makes it even more fun.

DeLuSioNaL29

[thomas_surles]

You could also challenge them to beat your high scores in some single player/alternate multiplayer games like Pac man and galaga...
Its I big thing at my house. But gauntlet and golden axe would be my picks since you already mentioned metal slug.
Don't forget about contra though.

[Louis Tully]

.

[bandit721]

If you have a trackball, bowling will be a fun party game.

+1

Capcom Bowling is always a hit with my non-gamer friends.  Any of the older games with limited controls are always popular as well:  Pac-man, Galaga, Galaxian, Space Invaders...some more obscure ones like Thief (featured in the current High Score Comp) or NATO Defense are simple to pick up and funny to listen to.

[dgame]

EDIT: Try some cooperative games.

Gauntlet (2 Players, rev 6) - gauntlet2p

Tank Force (US, 2 Player) - tankfrce

[harveybirdman]

B Rap Boys, especially if the audience were teenagers in the early nineties.

[knave]

Bust-a-move (Puzzle Bobble)

Seconded, Non gamers and gamers alike love it.

[eds1275]

SHoot the Bull is another great trackball game. For years I passed over it because of the dull graphics but the Blackout game rules are so simple it makes for a good game and friendly competition.

[Vigo]

Trog. I have a dedicated 4 player cab and everyone from hardcore gamers to grandmas seem to enjoy playing it. It is pretty much a multiplayer pacman, and with colorful and very entertaining claymation graphics..

You beat me to it.  That game is loved by all. It's a blast. I've got plans to make a Trog cab for a family member. They're planning on moving away in a couple years so I've got a while still to get it done. It's a great game.

  If you need anything...Cab Measurements, etc. Let me know. I'll do what I can to help.

[Benzinbruder]

Hi guys,

just wanted to thank you for all the input!

Puzzle Bobble was indeed a favorite! I also think that simple one-player games were fun too, especially the likes of Donkey Kong and Bubble Bobble.
Sadly, I had big trouble with Bomberman, because my U360 for player two somehow didn't work correctly as a 4-way stick. I will have to figure this out for the next time, as this was a much requested game.

Unfortunately, I have no trackball, so all those games had to be left out. We did some "beat the highscore" challenges though, and that was good fun too. I also love the idea of "how long can you last with 1 credit". Gonna try this next time as well!
I am also thinking of challenging my guests with a Olympic-style game. I am thinking of some button mashing who-sprints-faster kind of game. That should work for and infuriate everybody...