I don't think so. There's just too much that could go wrong in that situation. If it were me, they would be close enough to touch noses, nothing else. If the tie outs even cross once, they could strangle to death trying to pull away from each other.
Both dogs should only be tied out on harnesses, never collars. I agree though that tangling up could get them hurt, but its more likely to catch a leg, fairly unlikely to strangle either dog if they're on harnesses. Obviously they should be supervised while on a tie-out.
I wouldn't encourage them to play while on a fixed tie-out; you can tie them out at a distance enough that they can't get tangled so they can just hang out outside or you can have them wear drag lines if their recall is strong and you aren't too close to a road.
You could consider using farm fencing to create a play area. 4 ft tall, 50 ft length roll of sturdy cattle woven wire fencing is about $25-30 at Lowes/HD/farm stores. Use the metal stakes made for it to set off 25 ft length sides. 2 rolls, 8 stakes (4 corners, 4 middle posts) should cost about $100-120. When you have the money for a regular full fence, it is easy to take down and either stored (good for separating a garden area for example) or sold on craigslist.
I was wondering if there is any way to tie out the 2 dogs for a few hours at a time and have them close enough to play without being tangled?
