The best cooperative board games
The best cooperative board games
Everyone likes a little healthy competition and most of the board games out there offer a healthy dose of good stuff. Sometimes there is nothing better than pulling out a strategic combination that leaves other players in the dust and offers the winner endless opportunities to brag about rights and rematch. But forget all that. Today we are looking for the best community board games.
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Board games are not always related to competition
But sometimes competition can be a bit stressful. Sometimes there will be a player in the group who hates the competition. The best way to calm the crowd is to have fun (and participate) in a cooperative board game . Cooperative board games are a type of board game in which players participate in solving a problem using group work and a strategy to overcome the board itself.
Sometimes board games can be collaborative
We have some friends who really don’t like board games. (Yes, I hate to reveal this to you, but such people do exist.) Cooperative board games , however, were the perfect olive branch to bring these freaks into a circle. I am proud that my group against the board game really got into the cooperative board game to the point that one day we could actually try out a competitive game. They may be the ultimate transition game .
There are even more tons, and here are some of our favorite co-op board games. If you are new to the genre or gambling in general, this is a great place to start.
1. Pandemic
Have you ever watched the movie Eruption (should) where there is a super virus that starts destroying the entire population of the Earth and no one can stop it except Morgan Freeman?
Well, you too can be Morgan Freeman in Pandemic! Or more specifically, you and your friends can come together to stop the violent diseases raging around the world.
The Pandemic is an absolute modern classic and probably one of the best cooperative board games. They all take on a specialized role and fight together for disease outbreaks and if you don’t cooperate, you will lose. The game is challenging and you will have to use all your abilities and actively participate to win. If any player starts wandering and working on his own, then the world easily becomes a sick desert.
Cooperative elements
At each step, more and more cities become infected, and if the infection worsens, it begins to spread to neighboring cities. The degree of infection is indicated by color-coded cubes placed in places, and during the game there will be a pandemic in which a random place immediately rises to a complete infection, and the infectious deck is renewed and reset. This means that you are always in danger of being flooded by disease.
There are several ways to lose a game and only one way to win, so you need to make sure all your players are on the same side.
The powers that your players have are extremely different and each is useful. Some are certainly stronger than others, but they are all useful.
- STRATEGY GAME: Players must participate in their ...
- GAME COOPERATIVE: Only by working in groups will you keep ...
- ACT TOGETHER AND SAVE HUMANITY: Four diseases threaten ...
The final thoughts
As a joint game, I don’t think you can really beat the Pandemic. He confronts you with an impersonal, tireless enemy who never stops. I played a lot of games and every win was on the line. At the end of the tour, it’s so tense and nervous to draw maps, because you never know when an epidemic map will appear and ruin all your carefully laid out plans.
This tension really connects the group and not only forces you to work together, but really makes you want to support the other players. At the end of the game, Pandemic really is nothing like winning with a photo goal.
If you’re a pandemic for the first time, check out our in-depth review of the original game before you get started!
Extensions and other versions
If you are bored of the original and you are too scared to tear up the cards (in Legacy ) there are many other versions! A bunch of other Pandemic games use a similar system with a variety of themes, including Pandemic: Iberia, Pandemic: On the Edge , Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu , and Pandemic: Medicine ( Cube version of Pandemic). Go to our best pandemic extensions post to get a low rate.
2. Gloomhaven
Bridge Dungeons & Dragons players have the same complaints. It’s too hard to put it all together! Who brings the beer? When will we order pizza? And ... Who will be the next Master Dungeon?
All of this can be very crazy. Gloomhaven is probably closest to playing the classic Dungeons & Dragons game without actually playing Dungeons & Dragons. For whatever reason, it’s more socially acceptable to play a board game than dress up as a wizard and pretend to shoot fireballs at your friends. #mystruggle
Gloomhaven is a board game of dungeon-crawling that puts each player in the shoes of a classic adventure hero and pushes him into the world to fight monsters and bandits. The most interesting aspect to me is that the characters are also at a higher level!
The longer you play the main action of the game, the stronger your characters will become. You can receive loot to complete missions and gain skills as you ascend.
Cooperative elements
It has all the classic elements of a role-playing game and it's so much easier to get everyone to play.
Gloomhaven has a central campaign that will hire you for a number of gaming sessions. And if that wasn’t enough, they built a rather ingenious randomizer using two rounds of cards. One deck will show you what enemies, traps and treasures you will encounter in the room. The second deck will show you which tile in the room you want to use and where to place it all. It’s an easy way to keep things fresh and it works so well.
- For 1-4 players
- 60-120 minutes of play
- The cooperative plays a tactical battle inspired by the euro
The final thoughts
The game comes at a pretty hefty price tag, but when you look at what’s under the window, you can clearly see that it’s worth it. For example, four players going through the main action need about 150 hours. This does not include random games, but at the same time drastically underestimates how long the game will last.
So to see our game we appreciate, let’s turn to ..... MATH . (* shortness of breath * )
150 hours total multiplied by the number of players.
150 x 4 = 600 total hours of entertainment
140/600 USD divide the cost of the game per hour of entertainment
by 0.23 USD per hour of entertainment per person
Skip the first step to see how much a general game hour for 4 players costs. $ 140/150 = $ 0.93 per game.
I really don’t know a better price-value ratio of entertainment, but again, that’s how I base my huge collection of board games.
3. Flashpoint: Fire Rescue
And Flaming , each player will take on the role of a firefighter responding to a house fire. Your job is to save everything inside the house before the house burns to the ground or loses its structural integrity and collapses.
In your first game, you will play a generic firefighter to learn the rules, but there are additional rules and special cards that give each player a specific role, such as fire, hazmat expert, doctor, or even general player. .
Everyone is much better at certain actions in the game. A hazmat specialist can remove a hazmat from the game immediately, a doctor can heal wounded survivors, allowing them to get out of the building faster, and a fire captain can move other players, putting his teammates in a better position.
Cooperative elements
This is one of the games on this list that is a completely cooperative board game. There is no incentive to work against other players and all the reasons to merge against the board. If players make their own without talking and planning, you may find yourself with too many lost victims or damage to the house, resulting in the loss of the entire party.
Kendra and I are both former firefighters, so this game has a bit of nostalgia attached to both. We've played this quite a few times and we think it's a fantastic game. Fires randomly spread with cubes at the end of each turn and can become quite tense as the fires begin to approach our favorite survivors (kittens and puppies).
- 2 to 6 players
- 30 minutes of play
- No game is ever the same - with two rules and 3 ...
The final thoughts
The negative thing I can say about this game is that we’ve gotten to the point where we all have our favorite experts, and it always seems like we need to have Deck Gun expert to win. In my opinion, this is really too strong an ability. We get over this by playing games where we randomly pick an expert and keep him until the end of the game.
4. Edition at the House on the Hill
If you’ve read our article on Halloween or the post of horror board games , then you already know how much we love Betrayal. We also have a full review here if you want to dive in. In it, players will take on the role of one of the Scooby-Doo-esque characters who opt for a creepy house on a hill. Players will then roam the house and search the rooms to find weapons or increase their skills in preparation for Chase, where one player can then become a traitor and start attacking other players.
So having a traitor in the game doesn’t necessarily sound like a collaborative game, but other players will still be on the same team and players are usually much more willing to help each other when the scarecrow is revealed. Usually, players in the introductory stages of the game, when someone could become a traitor, will keep all their items and abilities to themselves and wait for them to make sure of relationships before helping someone else.
Cooperative elements
For a game marketed as a “betrayal,” there is a surprising amount of collaboration. If you are looking for a strictly cooperative game without aggressive actions towards other players, you will have a bad time.
The issue is one of my favorites, but it may look a bit one-sided, depending on the script you get. You will start the game with a common story that all the players will laugh and talk about for a long time. After the Haunt roll fails, all bets are ruled out. For traitors, one person (or more) will be revealed and the elements of participation in the game will change.
- Tile after tile, terror after terror, build your mansion with scary houses ...
- With 50 blood clotting scenarios, every trip to the house on ...
- Players must work together to survive the nightmare.
The final thoughts
There are many scenarios you will encounter in the issue. Some will place one player against the others, some will split the group in half, and some will have a group that will fight for survival against the board. So if you’re looking for a truly collaborative game, you may want to keep looking.
“Betrayal” is the name of the game and it is inevitable that you will face one or more other players in the game after a failed startup.
5. Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game
Dead of Winter: Crossroads takes you to a world that has just experienced the zombie Apocalypse . The fun is already in full swing and you can’t do much about it. Your goal is to survive in any way. The last remnant of the survivors is hiding in a small town and you and your friends need to keep everyone alive for as long as possible. You will also need to bravely fight in the city at sub-zero temperatures to find supplies.
Dead of Winter is a joint game that deals with the hidden mechanics of traitors. In addition to collaborating with other players for survival, the game adds the possibility that one of your customers could become a traitor at any time. Their goal would change from rescuing the group to sacrificing everyone else to make sure they survived alone. And if that doesn’t make you paranoid enough, there’s also the possibility that the traitor isn’t there and they’re all actually on the same team.
Cooperative elements
When it comes to joint games, Dead of Winter can be quite aggressive. You won’t find your survivors holding hands and singing “Kumbaya”. They are more likely to scream for help when their limbs end or when the zombie bite they got while trying to find food slowly necrotizes. Even though it's a collaboration, you should probably help them ... unless you're a traitor.
- SURVIVAL GAME: Dead of Winter Crossroads game is an experience ...
- STRATEGY: Players often have to make difficult decisions ...
- COOPERATIVE GAME: While the survivors are all engaged in their ...
The final thoughts
I love zombies very much. Ever since my brother and I watched Night of the Living Dead , I've been addicted. Luckily for me, zombies have become insanely popular, especially in board games. There’s a zombie board game for almost every scenario and theme you could think of.
Looking for more about this game? Check out our Full Dead of Winter Review!
6. Descent: Traveling in the Dark
It seems like we’re dealing with fantasy and finding topics by topic in this article is pretty hard, but there’s a reason for it. The fantasy revolves around gathering a group of adventurers and confronting a monstrous threat.
Bilbo and the dwarves, Frodo and family…. Well, maybe it’s just a Tolkien thing, but the point remains the same. Creating a team of adventurers to tackle the endeavor is a very shared experience.
And Descent: Journeys in the Dark , the fun will be made up of a multitude of typical adventure types; Dwarves, elves, boring people, vile boys, fucking dolls, glowing cephalopods, you understand. To top it all off, however, you can upgrade your characters from game to game and increase their abilities by cleaning the dungeons (I love leveling mechanics).
Cooperative elements
The installation of the board is quite fantastic. It’s like looking at a prison plan and it’s full of hidden gates, traps and monsters. All the models and pieces look amazing and you will get many options. There is even a huge dragon miniature that pushes the definition of “ miniature ” a bit.
Still, there’s a catch, if you’re looking for a fully collaborative game ... you might be disappointed. He always has to be a bad person, otherwise that’s not really a big challenge. One player must take on the role of the Great Evil Boy (this is the real term) and take control of the dungeon and all the monsters. Their job is to prevent the adventurers from stealing all their loot, and, I know, kill them. Kill them dead.
- This is a board game in which one player takes on the role ...
- During each game, the heroes embark on missions and go to ...
- With double-sided modular pieces of boards, countless heroes and ...
The final thoughts
The second edition of Descent is the one you will most likely find. Currently, you will only find the first edition at a used or specialty retailer, which I think is good. The first edition was an incredibly in-depth game that was huge in scope, but with complexity comes confusion.
The rules and mechanics followed everything and going through could be really hard. Fortunately, the second edition has simplified a lot of the rules and mechanics, and the games can actually end in an hour or two.
The descent just reminds me of the first edition of Dungeons & Dragons. It’s a classic dungeon crawl done right and really reminds me of playing Dungeons & Dragons. Usually Dungeon Master tries to kill the players anyway, so if a player takes on the role of an evil superior to try to kill everyone, I find it nostalgic.
7. Arkham Horror
And Arkham horror , the actors take on the role of a classic investigator who studies the unusual disturbances happening in the city of Arkham. It’s a constant battle against portals opening up and eerily spewing eldritch monsters into the city. On top of all that, there is an older god who threatens to awaken after eons of snooze that, if not accepted, will bring destruction to all of humanity.
This is a high stakes game. Therefore, all players will work together against the board. Each player has a special ability that makes them more useful in certain tasks. And believe me, you will have to play to the best of your ability and work together to ensure victory.
Cooperative elements
Arkham Horror is a very collaborative game where I found myself planning and strategizing with other players. This very often involves trading in weapons and helping others in the game.
There is a hidden system of winning points in the game (mentioned only briefly at the end of the rules), which states that the player with the most points is the “first citizen of Arkham”, but most players won’t even notice or pay attention to it. The core of the game is cooperation and it really seems as if everyone has the best interest of the group in mind when playing.
There is no blow and if the players do not participate, it can be very difficult to win. Given that, I don’t think I played Arkham Horror when I was just playing the base game. However, when you start adding extensions, the problem (and fun) increases exponentially. The first extension I played was Dunwich Horror, which adds so much more depth to the game.
- SUSTAINABLE GAME OF SPACE HORROR: Dark shadow grows in the city ...
- SCARY STRATEGY GAME: Players take on the role of Arkham ...
- COOPERATIVE MYSTERIOUS GAME: Players work as a team to collect clues, ...
The final thoughts
As a standalone game, Arkham Horror is fantastic. It really deserves its place among the best horror games and certainly also collaborative games. Cards, artwork and play are very appealing, and the theme connects everything to a common goal. There are several seniors ( monster boss ) and investigators (actors), so you don’t really see everything in one play.
The only real downside is that due to such a large volume of installation, it requires an extremely large playing area and takes some time to get everything ready to play. Personally, we justify this because after we set up a game in the morning, we usually sit around it and play the games back until late in the evening.
Extensions and other versions
There is a huge extension to Arkham Horror and the whole world that you can explore in Lovecraft myths. If you love the original, extensions will fascinate and challenge your group in the years to come.
8. Eldritch Thunderstorm
There are some claims regarding Eldritch Horror vs. Arkham Horror. but both are great games that excel in their fields.
Eldritch horror is very similar to Arkham in acting style. In both, you will face an older god or an ancient one, close portals and kill monsters. Eldritch Horror, however, changes the scope of the game, which the committee takes into account. In Eldritch Horror, you will travel around the world on a global map and try to stop the older gods around the world instead of in a single city.
Both are inspired by HP Lovecraft and rely heavily on his background and story records. Each of them will scratch any occult itch you have.
Cooperative elements
The elements of the co-op are almost the same as in Arkham Horror. Your team of investigators must save the world before the monsters take over and devour the world. They are both very similar, but they play a little differently.
The easiest way to decide which one you want to play (or which one you want to play first ):
- Arkham Horror goes better role-playing and storytelling together.
- Eldritch Horror is better than a board game.
This may seem ambiguous, but there are differences. The instructions for using Arkham Horror are huge, and when you add extensions, it’s only bigger. It’s much easier to play if you have a player who already knows the rules, and after a few games he’s pretty intuitive. Eldritch Horror, on the other hand, is much easier to play and feels like a more technically sophisticated board game that can make it easier to get casual players to the table.
- SUSTAINABLE GAME OF TERROR AND ADVENTURE: Ancient evil upsets ...
- SCARY STRATEGY GAME: Defeat terrible monsters, travel to other worlds ...
- COOPERATIVE MYSTERY GAME: Brave investigators come together to ...
The final thoughts
It’s all about personal preferences and personally it’s my Arkham, but that doesn’t mean one is better than the other, it’s just a little different. We talk a lot about Lovecraft games because we love them. See our full Eldritch Horror review here .
Extensions and other versions
Like his cousin Arkham Horror, Eldritch Horror has a number of extensions that keep the game fresh and exciting, with new monsters, new challenges and new characters.
9. Mechs Vs. Minions
Mechs vs. Minions is extremely unique as it was designed and published by a video game company. Riot Games, the creator of League of Legends, decided to play board games and got completely caught up. The game exceeded production value.
This massive box is full of miniatures and not a shabby mass-produced GI Joe. Each hero minion has been pre-painted and all the minions are lightly colored so they are not just a generic plastic design.
In addition, the box is on top and has several trays full of miniatures, each with its own place. If you’ve been horrified at boxing organization in games like Arkham Horror, you’ll totally fall in love with what’s inside Mechs vs. Minions.
V Mechs vs. Minions you and your friends will take control of your own bellows of doom. Each scenario will have some random objectives: area control , remove or drop a bomb, or simply kill everything in your path.
Remember that box full of miniatures I just vomited about? Well, you will use them. There are 100 miniatures of minions in the box, and there are only 4 miniatures of heroes. I don't think I have to count on this one.
There are a lot of servants, but that’s all they really get. You can hit them and you can kill them, but a lot will happen to you.
Cooperative elements
Players will work together to achieve their goals with an ingenious movement and attack system. Each robot has a control panel, and players will have their own deck of cards. Each card will have some action (attack, movement, healing, etc.) and the players will arrange the cards on their board. When turns are made, you can perform the action at the end of the board.
This is very similar to computer logic and basically uses Mechs vs. Minions programming as a mechanic in which you move the attack. Pretty themed for robots, if you ask me.
The game is very cooperative and encourages the players involved. Because each player’s actions will be pre-programmed, a lot of planning is needed to make sure he doesn’t kick other players out of position or step into the line of fire. They’ve done it so you can’t actively hurt other players with a bad shot, but you can really confuse positions and someone attacks an empty square because you pushed them out of the way.
- cooperative board game
The final thoughts
I just can’t stress how great the production value of this game is. You get over 100 Miniature and Fantastic games for a very reasonable price. The game looks silly, but it is full of strategies and will definitely be popular for your evening games together.
10. Forbidden Island
And Forbidden Island , you will take on the role of an adventurer who plunders ... Forbidden Island! Who would have thought? Your group will try to dig up the island’s four treasures and escape with their helicopter before the island sinks underwater and is lost forever.
- 2010 Favorite game winner in Mensa
- Join a group of fearless adventurers on a "kill or die" mission ...
- 2 to 4 players
11. Forbidden Desert
And Forbidden Desert , your airship steampunk crashed in the desert and you all have to work together to get all the pieces before everything is buried under the sand and you are trapped forever!
Cooperative elements
For me, Forbidden Island and Forbidden Desert are pretty interchangeable (depending on the gameplay). A lot of people won’t agree with me, but I stand by it. The themes are different and the way the mechanics work is a bit different, but the overall gameplay is basically the same.
In both, all players will have some specialized role that will give them special abilities and everyone must work together to save each of their misfortunes (island or desert).
The group has to compete with a watch that is constantly creeping up on you. There is little water in the Forbidden Desert, the sun will constantly dehydrate and try to kill your players, and the playing field is always shrinking in both games. The island will be constantly flooded and if you are not careful, you will quickly lose entire sections of the board.
The Forbidden Desert uses a constant vortex storm that constantly threatens to bury the board in the sand, reducing your chances of finding the pieces you need to repair your ship.
- Thirst for survival
- 2 to 5 players
- Play time: 45 minutes
The final thoughts
Both games give players a precise sense of urgency and both are really fun. Special cards in each player get a role that doesn’t seem forced and is useful for every game, giving a sense of responsibility and uniqueness that is lacking in many shared board games.
Extensions and other versions
The saga continues! From the ocean to the desert and now to the sky, this last meal takes you to new heights in the Forbidden Sky.
- Climb to dizzying heights in this exciting adventure!
- He works as a team to discover the mystical platform of power that floats ...
- Connect the secret rocket cable circuit - all ...
12. TIME Stories
I think we all fantasize about traveling in the past at some point. Whether you can pick winning lottery numbers or tell yourself not to eat a gas station sushi (I honestly don’t know what I meant).
And TIME Stories , you and your group can actually travel back in time (one way or another for a while). TIME Stories is a collaborative game in which each player takes on the role of a temporary agent at TIME. Your goal is to prevent time paradoxes and protect the continuation of the correct flow of time ... so that you will not go back in time and accidentally become your grandfather and other such nonsense.
Cooperative elements
All the players run through time and try to solve a mystery or case. You will probably do very badly on the first run and you will not be able to complete the script. After all, it’s hard to just walk in and save everything from the past in one day.
Luckily you have a time machine and you can always try again, which revives the game’s chief mechanic.
The scenario does not change. Each run through the game will allow you to repeat and correct past mistakes. Items that were extremely useful are in the same place and events that were harmful can be completely avoided. This simulates the mechanics of time travel and allows you to continually improve with each course and work closer to completing the scenario.
It’s a completely unique board game concept and is one of the more innovative themes in the board game I’ve seen for some time. The game itself is a lot of fun and she had a lot of great moments in the script.
However ...
This brings with it a unique paradox of time travel. The mechanic forces you to keep coming back and repeating the same scenario over and over until you are able to solve it completely. The essence of time travel is in the perfect solution of the case and you keep going until you are right.
In a situation with board games, this is less desirable and after about five hours you have completed the script several times ... The basic game has only one script and there are several extensions, but the extensions are written by different authors, so everyone will feel completely different.
This basically destroys the repeatability of the game. Unless you have short-term amnesia, you will know all the scenarios incredibly well and if you play with new players, it will be new to them, but you will still know where everything is.
This is quite expensive for a game that can be played in one day. If you have a group of friends that everyone throws away $ 10 isn’t that bad and there are already several extensions, and each one has a full script for the game.
- GAME RESEARCH: TIME Agency protects humanity by preventing ...
- NARRATIVE ADVENTURE GAME: In this "decksploration" game each ...
- CHALLENGE COOPERATIVE GAME: Players try to achieve perfect ...
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