If you’re tired of competitive games where players are pitted against each other, cooperative games offer a refreshing alternative. These games challenge players to work together, relying on teamwork, communication, and strategy to overcome obstacles. Whether you’re playing with friends or family, cooperative games can create memorable, tension-filled moments that are both fun and rewarding. Here’s a list of the best cooperative games to play in 2024, perfect for any game night.
1. Pandemic
Players: 2-4 (up to 5 with expansions)
Playtime: 45 minutes
Best For: Fans of strategy, problem-solving
A modern classic, Pandemic throws players into the roles of medical experts racing against the clock to stop deadly diseases from spreading across the globe. Players must work together to develop cures, treat outbreaks, and manage limited resources before the world falls into chaos.
The game is intense and fast-paced, with players needing to coordinate every move to keep the diseases under control. The cooperative nature means every victory feels shared, making Pandemic a great game for friends and families alike.
Why It’s a Top Cooperative Game:
- Intense, high-stakes gameplay keeps players engaged.
- Encourages deep strategic planning and communication.
Pandemic
In Pandemic, several virulent diseases have broken out simultaneously all over the world! The players are disease-fighting specialists whose mission is to treat disease hotspots while researching cures for each of four plagues before they get out of hand.
2. Gloomhaven
Players: 1-4
Playtime: 90-150 minutes (per scenario)
Best For: Fans of tactical combat, long-term campaigns
Gloomhaven is an epic cooperative game that blends tactical combat with RPG elements. Players take on the role of mercenaries venturing into dangerous dungeons, completing quests, and leveling up their characters. Each scenario is part of an overarching campaign, meaning your decisions have long-lasting consequences.
The game’s deep strategy, intricate combat system, and evolving world make it one of the most immersive cooperative experiences available. With a massive number of scenarios and branching paths, Gloomhaven offers endless replayability.
Why It’s a Top Cooperative Game:
- Deep, engaging tactical combat with rich storytelling.
- Long-term campaign creates a sense of progression.
Gloomhaven
Gloomhaven is a game of Euro-inspired tactical combat in a persistent world of shifting motives. Players will take on the role of a wandering adventurer with their own special set of skills and their own reasons for traveling to this dark corner of the world. Players must work together out of necessity to clear out menacing dungeons and forgotten ruins. In the process, they will enhance their abilities with experience and loot, discover new locations to explore and plunder, and expand an ever-branching story fueled by the decisions they make.
3. Spirit Island
Players: 1-4
Playtime: 90-120 minutes
Best For: Fans of complex strategy, thematic games
In Spirit Island, players are spirits defending their island from colonizing invaders. Each spirit has unique abilities, and players must coordinate their efforts to drive the invaders off the island while managing the island’s health and their own power levels.
The game’s cooperative mechanics require tight teamwork, as every spirit plays differently. It’s a heavy strategy game with a steep learning curve, but for groups that love deep, challenging gameplay, Spirit Island is a masterpiece of cooperative design.
Why It’s a Top Cooperative Game:
- Asymmetry between spirits keeps the game fresh.
- Requires complex strategic planning and teamwork.
Spirit Island
In the most distant reaches of the world, magic still exists, embodied by spirits of the land, of the sky, and of every natural thing. As the great powers of Europe stretch their colonial empires further and further, they will inevitably lay claim to a place where spirits still hold power - and when they do, the land itself will fight back alongside the islanders who live there.
4. The Crew: Quest for Planet Nine
Players: 2-5
Playtime: 20 minutes per mission
Best For: Trick-taking fans, quick games
The Crew is a cooperative trick-taking game with a unique twist—players are astronauts on a mission to uncover the mysterious ninth planet. The game is structured around 50 increasingly difficult missions, each with specific objectives that players must complete together. However, communication is limited, so players need to carefully interpret each other's actions.
Despite its simple mechanics, The Crew provides deep strategic play. The escalating difficulty and puzzle-like nature of each mission keep players coming back for more.
Why It’s a Top Cooperative Game:
- Quick, engaging missions make it perfect for short game sessions.
- Clever use of limited communication for increased challenge.
The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine
In the co-operative trick-taking game The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine, the players set out as astronauts on an uncertain space adventure. What are the rumors regarding the unknown planet about? The eventful journey through space extends over 50 exciting missions. But this game can only be defeated by meeting common individual tasks of each player. In order to meet the varied challenges communication is essential in the team. But this is more difficult than expected in space.
5. Forbidden Island
Players: 2-4
Playtime: 30 minutes
Best For: Families, casual gamers
In Forbidden Island, players must work together to collect treasures and escape an island that’s sinking beneath their feet. Each turn, parts of the island sink further into the water, and players must race against time to complete their objectives before they’re trapped.
The game’s simple rules and fast playtime make it an excellent choice for families or those looking for a lighter cooperative experience. Despite its simplicity, Forbidden Island offers plenty of tense, strategic decisions.
Why It’s a Top Cooperative Game:
- Easy to learn, perfect for families or newcomers to cooperative games.
- High replayability with randomized setups and escalating difficulty.
Forbidden Island
Forbidden Island is a visually stunning cooperative board game. Instead of winning by competing with other players like most games, everyone must work together to win the game. Players take turns moving their pawns around the 'island', which is built by arranging the many beautifully screen-printed tiles before play begins. As the game progresses, more and more island tiles sink, becoming unavailable, and the pace increases. Players use strategies to keep the island from sinking, while trying to collect treasures and items.
6. Mansions of Madness (Second Edition)
Players: 1-5
Playtime: 120-180 minutes
Best For: Fans of horror, story-driven games
Mansions of Madness combines Lovecraftian horror with immersive storytelling in a game where players must explore haunted mansions, solve puzzles, and face nightmarish monsters. The app-driven gameplay guides players through each scenario, dynamically changing the story based on their decisions.
The game’s cooperative mechanics require players to share information and work together to survive the madness. The mix of exploration, puzzle-solving, and horror makes Mansions of Madness a standout cooperative experience.
Why It’s a Top Cooperative Game:
- Immersive app-driven story with changing scenarios.
- Rich thematic experience with plenty of tension and mystery.
Mansions of Madness: Second Edition
Mansions of Madness: Second Edition is a fully co-operative, app-driven board game of horror and mystery for one to five players that takes place in the same universe as Eldritch Horror and Elder Sign. Let the immersive app guide you through the veiled streets of Innsmouth and the haunted corridors of Arkham's cursed mansions as you search for answers and respite. Eight brave investigators stand ready to confront four scenarios of fear and mystery, collecting weapons, tools, and information, solving complex puzzles, and fighting monsters, insanity, and death.
7. Arkham Horror: The Card Game
Players: 1-4
Playtime: 60-120 minutes
Best For: Fans of card games, narrative-driven play
Arkham Horror: The Card Game is a cooperative living card game (LCG) set in the Lovecraft mythos. Players take on the roles of investigators, building decks tailored to their characters, and work together to solve mysteries, fight eldritch creatures, and navigate a story that unfolds over multiple scenarios.
The game shines with its deep narrative elements, as the outcome of each scenario affects future ones, creating a campaign-like experience. It’s a great game for fans of deck-building and story-driven games, with endless customization possibilities.
Why It’s a Top Cooperative Game:
- Deeply immersive story with branching narratives.
- Customizable decks allow for tailored strategies.
Arkham Horror: The Card Game
Something evil stirs in Arkham, and only you can stop it. Blurring the traditional lines between role-playing and card game experiences, Arkham Horror: The Card Game is a Living Card Game of Lovecraftian mystery, monsters, and madness!
8. Aeon's End
Players: 1-4
Playtime: 60 minutes
Best For: Fans of deck-building, fantasy themes
Aeon’s End is a cooperative deck-building game where players defend their city from monstrous invaders. Unlike other deck-builders, Aeon’s End introduces unique mechanics like a player-controlled turn order and no shuffling of your deck, allowing for more strategic decisions about how and when to use your cards.
The game’s rich variety of spells, relics, and abilities, along with different bosses to fight, ensures that no two games feel the same. Aeon’s End is a must-play for groups that enjoy deck-building combined with intense cooperative action.
Why It’s a Top Cooperative Game:
- Unique deck-building mechanics for deeper strategic play.
- High replayability with varied bosses and scenarios.
Aeon's End
The survivors of a long-ago invasion have taken refuge in the forgotten underground city of Gravehold. There, the desperate remnants of society have learned that the energy of the very breaches the beings use to attack them can be repurposed through various gems, transforming the malign energies within into beneficial spells and weapons to aid their last line of defense: the breach mages.
9. Zombicide: Black Plague
Players: 1-6
Playtime: 60-180 minutes
Best For: Fans of action-packed games, zombie themes
Zombicide: Black Plague is a cooperative game where players take on the roles of survivors in a medieval fantasy world overrun by zombies. The game combines tactical combat with character progression, as players gain new abilities and items throughout the campaign.
With its fast-paced gameplay, customizable difficulty, and large variety of missions, Zombicide: Black Plague is perfect for groups that enjoy action-heavy, cooperative strategy games.
Why It’s a Top Cooperative Game:
- Fast, action-packed gameplay with tons of zombie-slaying fun.
- Customizable characters and missions for high replay value.
Zombicide: Black Plague
Description from the publisher:
Zombicide: Black Plague takes the zombie apocalypse into a fantastical medieval setting! The arcane powers of the Necromancers have unleashed a zombie invasion in the age of swords and sorcery, and it's up to your group of straggling survivors to not only stay alive during these dark times, but to take back the realm and punish those responsible for the apocalypse!
10. The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-Earth
Players: 1-5
Playtime: 60-120 minutes
Best For: Fans of adventure, Lord of the Rings fans
Journeys in Middle-Earth is an app-driven cooperative adventure game set in J.R.R. Tolkien’s iconic world. Players embark on campaigns where they explore locations, fight enemies, and make story-based decisions that affect the outcome of their adventure. The app not only handles the story progression but also randomizes elements to keep the game fresh.
For fans of The Lord of the Rings, this game provides an immersive experience that feels like stepping into Middle-earth itself. The cooperative nature allows players to strategize together as they face iconic foes and events.
Why It’s a Top Cooperative Game:
- Immersive, app-driven adventure in a beloved universe.
- Dynamic campaign with a mix of combat, exploration, and story.
The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-Earth
Embark on your own adventures in J.R.R. Tolkien's iconic world with The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-Earth, a fully co-operative, app-supported board game for one to five players! You'll battle villainous foes, make courageous choices, and strike a blow against the evil that threatens the land — all as part of a thrilling campaign that leads you across the storied hills and dales of Middle-Earth.
Final Thoughts
Cooperative games offer a chance to work with your friends rather than against them, creating shared victories and thrilling defeats. Whether you’re into deep tactical planning, immersive storytelling, or action-packed combat, there’s a cooperative game on this list to fit your group’s preferences. So, gather your team, choose your adventure, and dive into these best cooperative games of 2024 for an unforgettable experience!
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