About this collection
Rather than the traditional game experience where you compete against other players to win, cooperative games encourage players to work together as a group. In many cases, how well you work as a team will determine whether you win or lose. Many cooperative games can also be played with just one player which can be a great way to learn the game and/or boost your skills before you play with a full group.
The list below is a handpicked collection of recommended cooperative games. There is something for everyone! To avoid being too extensive, we didn't include games that are semi-cooperative or "one vs. many."
Finding the games you'll enjoy the most in this list
While exploring these games, keep in mind how much time you're looking to devote to a game as well as what kind of gamer you are. The games below show the types of gamers that would most likely enjoy them and are grouped by how long they can take to play. Also note that in many cases the longer a game takes to play the longer it can initially take to learn how to play.
Game Exploration
All of the games in this list are explorable! This makes it even more fun and rewarding to learn about each game.
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Collection Quick Links:
- Around 30 Minutes to Play >
- Around 45 Minutes to Play >
- Between 60 and 90 Minutes to Play >
- Between 1 and 2 Hours to Play >
- 2+ Hours to Play >
Around 30 Minutes to Play
Forbidden Island
Players: 2-4 | Publisher: Gamewright
Recommended for Gamer Types:
Join a team of fearless adventurers on a do-or-die mission to capture four sacred treasures from the ruins of this perilous paradise. Your team will have to work together and make some pulse-pounding maneuvers, as the island will sink beneath every step!
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Hanabi
Players: 2-4 | Publisher: Abacusspiele, Cocktail Games
Recommended for Gamer Types:
All the players work together to create a beautiful firework display. But every player has to hold his cards back to front: you cannot see your own cards!
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Space Alert
Players: 2-5 | Publisher: Czech Games Edition, Rio Grande Games
Recommended for Gamer Types:
Space Alert is a team survival game. Players take on the role of a crew of space explorers sent out through hyperspace to survey a dangerous sector of the Galaxy.
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Space Hulk: Death Angel
Players: 1-6 | Publisher: Fantasy Flight Games
Recommended for Gamer Types:
Set in the grim Warhammer 40,000 universe, Death Angel pits a squad of Blood Angel Space Marines against a growing alien horde. It will take strategic teamwork to make it out alive.
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Around 45 Minutes to Play
Flash Point: Fire Rescue
Players: 1-6 | Publisher: Indie Boards & Cards
Recommended for Gamer Types:
Play as a firefighting team working together to rescue the victims trapped inside a burning building before the fire gets out of control or the building collapses.
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Hooyah: Navy Seals Card Game
Players: 1-4 | Publisher: U.S. Game Systems
Recommended for Gamer Types:
Players take on the roles of Navy Seals, each with their own specialization, and work together to gather provisions to complete up to five Operations (Ops) in preparation for one final mission.
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Pandemic
Players: 2-4 | Publisher: Z-Man Games
Recommended for Gamer Types:
Four diseases have broken out in the world and it is up to a team of specialists in various fields to find cures for these diseases before mankind is wiped out.
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Sentinels of the Multiverse
Players: 2-5 | Publisher: Greater Than Games
Recommended for Gamer Types:
Players control heroes who must work together to protect the entire Multiverse by defeating the dastardly villains and surviving the dangerous environments in which the battles take place.
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Between 60 and 90 Minutes to Play
Mice and Mystics
Players: 1-4 | Publisher: Plaid Hat Games
Recommended for Gamer Types:
Embark on adventures as a team of mice set to save an imperiled kingdom. Mice and Mystics features a rich storyline that the players help create as they play the game.
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Castle Panic
Players: 1-6 | Publisher: Fireside Games
Recommended for Gamer Types:
Players must work together to defend their castle, in the center of the board, from monsters that attack out of the forest, at the edges of the board.
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Ghost Stories
Players: 1-4 | Publisher: Asmodee
Recommended for Gamer Types:
In Ghost Stories, the players work together as the Taoist priests attempting to turn back the tide of evil and save the doomed village.
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The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game
Players: 1-2 (1-4 with 2 copies of the core set) | Publisher: Fantasy Flight Games
Recommended for Gamer Types:
Select heroes, gather allies, acquire artifacts, and coordinate your efforts to face Middle-earth’s most dangerous fiends completing the quests before you and claiming victory!
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Between 1 and 2 Hours to Play
Zombicide
Players: 1-6 | Publisher: Cool Mini Or Not, Guillotine Games
Recommended for Gamer Types:
Players take the role of survivors, each with unique abilities, and harness both their skills and the power of teamwork against the hordes of unthinking undead!
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A Touch of Evil
Players: 2-8 | Publisher: Flying Frog Productions
Recommended for Gamer Types:
Each player takes on the role of a unique monster-hunting Hero, racing against time to stop the forces of darkness from claiming another foothold in the world of man.
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Elder Sign
Players: 1-8 | Publisher: Fantasy Flight Games
Recommended for Gamer Types:
Players take the roles of investigators racing against time to stave off the imminent return of the Ancient One.
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Gears of War: The Board Game
Players: 1-4 | Publisher: Fantasy Flight Games
Recommended for Gamer Types:
Players take on the roles of COG soldiers cooperating to destroy the Locust horde, and must work together to complete missions against an ingeniously challenging and varied game system.
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Defenders of the Realm
Players: 1-4 | Publisher: Eagle Games
Recommended for Gamer Types:
You and your allies must embark on a journey to defend the countryside, repair the tainted lands, and defeat the four creature factions before one of them enters the city.
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2+ Hours to Play
Arkham Horror
Players: 1-8 | Publisher: Fantasy Flight Games
Recommended for Gamer Types:
Players can select from 16 unique playable investigator characters, each with unique abilities, and will square off against the diabolical servants of 8 Ancient Ones, including Ithaqua, Hastur, and the terrible Cthulhu!
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