# The 14 Best Games to Play Against a Friend on the Same Couch

> Nobody plays these alone. They need a second person in the room, not a lobby, and the friendship is optional afterwards.

*By YPB Team · Published September 22, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-14-best-games-to-play-against-a-friend-on-the-same-couch*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Super Smash Bros. Ultimate** — score 1000/1000
   Four players, one sofa, and eighty-plus characters to argue about.
2. **GoldenEye 007** — score 558/1000
   The N64 four-way deathmatch that everyone played with one eye on the neighbouring screen.
3. **Tekken 8** — score 515/1000
   The modern couch fighter with the friendliest first hour for a newcomer.
4. **Gang Beasts** — score 506/1000
   Deliberately terrible physics, which is exactly why it works in a room full of people.
5. **Mario Kart 8 Deluxe** — score 447/1000
   Split-screen racing with a blue shell built to punish whoever is winning.
6. **It Takes Two** — score 447/1000
   A co-operative adventure that cannot be played alone at all.
7. **Puyo Puyo Tetris 2** — score 447/1000
   Two puzzle games crossed into one, and the best head-to-head puzzler on a sofa.
8. **Street Fighter 6** — score 378/1000
   Modern controls let a first-timer throw a fireball within a minute of sitting down.
9. **NBA Jam** — score 378/1000
   Two-on-two basketball built entirely around a friend on the next stick.
10. **Mario Party Superstars** — score 298/1000
   A board game that ends friendships on the last turn, by design.
11. **Mortal Kombat II** — score 203/1000
   The 1993 sequel most players name as the peak of the series' two-player era.
12. **Overcooked 2** — score 203/1000
   Co-operative cooking designed so precisely to cause arguments that it became its reputation.
13. **Street Fighter II** — score 203/1000
   The game that turned a shared cabinet into a queue, and the arcade into a spectator sport.
14. **Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled** — score 0/1000
   The kart racer for people who found Mario Kart too forgiving.

Tags: games, franchises, classics, characters