The Best Cooperative Board Games to Play as a Team

Sometimes it’s fun to match wits in a board game with other players in competitive matches. But many of the best board games go the other way and embrace the spirit of cooperation. Co-op board games come in a wide variety of themes, with varying levels of complexity so you can find one for players of all ages. Below, we’ve selected our favorites on the market. For more game night ideas, check out our other roundups, including the best board games for kids and the best two-player board games.

TLDR: The Best Co-op Board Games

Sky Team: Prepare for Landing

Sky Team: Prepare for Landing

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2-player only title until 2024, when Sky Team scooped the gong. Its secret is giving two players the thrill of a fistful of dice to roll and the challenge of an instrument board that requires all sorts of different values and combos to satisfy as they try to land a plane, but then limiting communication, making for an incredibly tense time as you try not to accidentally step on each other’s toes. Add in a slew of different scenarios of increasing challenge in different conditions at different airports and you’ve got the ultimate two-player cooperative experience.

Slay the Spire: The Board Game

Slay the Spire: The Board Game

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deck-building formula and port it to tabletop. And, as we explained in our Slay the Spire: The Board Game review that’s exactly what this does, and it’s just as insanely additictive as you remember except now you have the added joy of getting to play it alongside friends which, as it turns out, is the big step-up that the game never knew it needed, allowing you to celebrate your triumphs, plot your strategies and bemoan your luck to enrich every tower run.

The Fellowship of The Ring: Trick-Taking Game

The Fellowship of The Ring: Trick-Taking Game

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Fellowship of the Ring: Trick Taking Game review. As a bonus, the production is absolutely lovely, especially at such a reasonable price point.

Nemesis: Lockdown

Nemesis: Lockdown

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Nemesis board game expansions for more information about the game.

Sleeping Gods

Sleeping Gods

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Marvel Champions: The Card Game

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Frosthaven

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Gloomhaven a fantasy adventure game is technically accurate, but a bit reductive. It tells the story of mercenaries chasing different goals in a changing world, and the legacy they leave behind. Gloomhaven takes the legacy system from Pandemic Legacy and weaves it into an epic fantasy campaign that takes place over generations. Each hero comes with a personal goal that, when completed, sends the hero into retirement and unlocks new classes and story elements. Upon retiring a hero, you will take control of another, which results in an impressive sense of time progression. The game includes several sealed boxes that are only opened upon reaching certain milestones, which makes Gloomhaven a game with a grand scale that is unmatched in the board game medium.

This epic game is out of print, but now has a sequel, Frosthaven, with an all-new narrative and fresh subsystems which see you expending and guarding the titular town.

Paleo

Paleo

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Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 (Blue Version)

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Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 (Red Version)

Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 (Red Version)

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core rules of Pandemic and stretches them into a campaign-length adventure played out over several sessions as you race to cure disease and prevent epidemics. This version introduces permanence as a mechanic, as the rules force you to rip up cards, sticker the board and alter the physical components in other ways as things (inevitably) don’t go your way. The only potential drawback is that you must play with the same players each session, but because the game is so good everyone will be eager to jump back in.

Robinson Crusoe – Collector’s Edition

Robinson Crusoe – Collector’s Edition

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Robinson Crusoe board game expansions for more info.

Just One

Just One

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The Crew: Mission Deep Sea

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best family board games list as well.

Return to Dark Tower

Return to Dark Tower

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Arkham Horror: The Card Game

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Arkham Horror: The Card Game to the table. In this cooperative card game, players take on the role of detectives who are investigating various supernatural occurrences within HP Lovecraft’s world of cosmic horror. It’s a scenario-based experience with each mission at the mercy of an arcane Mythos, a set of conditions that must be met lest the investigators succumb to insanity.

Arkham Horror features customizable decks that are built around each investigator’s special abilities, and most scenarios can play out over a handful of sessions, lending a feeling of progression to the game. As you investigate new location cards, gather clues, and fight monsters, your detective will amass weaknesses that can hinder future games which, thematically, illustrate the mental toll of dealing with arcane horrors. It’s a great horror board game you can play with loved ones.

Spirit Island

Spirit Island

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substantially more complex than other games of this style (Pandemic, Forbidden Island, etc.), making it an ideal choice for those seeking a meatier co-op experience.

For more ideas, check out our roundups of the best board games for adults and the best trivia board games.

Matt Thrower is a contributing freelancer for IGN, specializing in tabletop games. You can reach him on BlueSky at @mattthr.bsky.social.