We independently review everything we recommend. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Learn more The board games genre has long been dominated by rivalry with players trying to win against each other. Now, a new trend is emerging with more cooperative board games providing players with the chance to interact and collaborate to win against challenging automated opponents.
Today, we bring you the list of the best cooperative board games fit for friends and families, and help you fill your day with fun and worthwhile tabletop experience. These games provide you with fresh challenges every time you experience them, guaranteeing replayability and strategic choices with every playthrough. Want to take the antagonism out of your game night? Our list of the best cooperative board games achieves just that
List of Best Cooperative Board Games
- Aeon’s End
- Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island
- Dead of Winter
- Hanabi
- Pandemic Legacy
- Descent: The Legends of the Dark
- Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective
- Unfathomable
- Mysterium
- Gloomhaven
- Marvel Champions
- Exit
- Spirit Island
- Paleo
- Castle Panic
- Forbidden Island
- Zombicide
- The Grizzled
- The Crew: Mission Deep
- Nemesis
1. Aeon’s End
- Designers: Jenny Iglesias, Nick Little (I), Kevin Riley
- Players: 1-4 players
- Play Time: 60 minutes
- Age: 14+
- Complexity: Medium
Aeon’s End is one of the best cooperative board games ever made, providing a challenging and entertaining experience for players using a variety of interesting and innovative mechanics. Essentially a deckbuilding game, players attempt to save the forgotten underground city of Gravehold from a powerful enemy of The Nameless by obtaining powerful spells and artifacts throughout the game. Aeon’s End uses an innovative variable turn order system, which not only adds unpredictability and excitement to the game but also a layer of strategy and planning that board game enthusiasts don’t get to experience very often. The decks are also never shuffled, so players will need to carefully think and synergize how they play and how they will order the cards in their decks. Furthermore, any new cards added to any deck may disrupt its existing synergy, which can lead to the party’s downfall. Complex, innovative, and extremely fun to play, Aeon’s End is bound to give you countless hours of entertainment.
2. Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island
- Designers: Joanna Kijanka, Ignacy Trzewiczek
- Players: 1-4 players
- Play Time: 60-120 minutes
- Age: 14+
- Complexity: Medium-Heavy
Heavily inspired by Daniel Defoe’s critically acclaimed novel Robinson Crusoe, Adventures on the Cursed Island is a cooperative board game where players take on the roles of shipwreck survivors forced to survive in a harsh landscape. Much like Robinson Crusoe, they will have to build shelters, find, and cultivate food, build weapons to fight back dangerous beasts and survive the intense tropical storms. The has an intense solo experience, but what makes it one of the best cooperative board games is the teamwork experience it offers players. Each one will get to take one of four unique roles – cook, carpenter, explorer, or soldier – which will have to combine their abilities to be as effective a unit as possible. After all, on a deserted island, no one stands a chance of being on his own. The game further forces cooperation with its inherent difficulty, with some players referring to it as brutal and unforgiving. Each victory feels hard-earned, and each turn is difficult and grueling, but there comes the satisfaction.
3. Dead of Winter
- Designers: Jonathan Gilmour, Isaac Vega
- Players: 2-5 players
- Play Time: 60-120 minutes
- Age: 13+
- Complexity: Medium
Zombie games play very differently on a tabletop setting, providing a rather unique experience that closely resembles their movie counterparts. Dead of Winter puts players in a frigid winter-bound barely functioning colony, besieged from all sides by the hordes of the undead. What makes the game one of the best cooperative board games out there, especially in the zombie genre, is how its setting, story, and mechanics force players to work together to overcome a common goal. Dead of Winter’s characters is extremely immersive and well-written, making it almost a story-driven experience that is certain to fancy every tabletop enthusiast. To further stress this, each player has their personal secret objective that they must complete to win, but they must be careful not to compromise the common goal. Therefore, the game has many endings – some will have all players winning, others all players losing, and some winning and some losing. Regardless, the fun is guaranteed.
4. Hanabi
- Designer: Antoine Bauza
- Players: 2-5 players
- Play Time: 25 minutes
- Age: 8+
- Complexity: Light
While Hanabi may not be the most complex cooperative board game out there, it still has a lot to offer in terms of gameplay and fun (which is all that matters really). One of the most lighthearted games on this list, it takes its name from the Japanese word for “fireworks”. Hanabi will have players make the perfect firework display by placing colorful numbered cards in a specific order on the tabletop. While this might sound extremely easy, the challenge comes from the fact that the cards are only visible to the other players, and not you. One of the best cooperative board games in the limited communication card game genre, Hanabi forces players to articulate clear instructions and information in the best way possible to complete their goal before the time tokens run out. Each piece of information given removes one-time tokens, but players can regain time tokens by discarding a card. However, discarding also yields great risk, due to the discarding player not knowing his actual hand, a key card may be discarded.
5. Pandemic Legacy
- Designers: Rob Daviau, Matt Leacock
- Players: 2-4 players
- Play Time: 60 minutes
- Age: 13+
- Complexity: Medium
The title of this board game feels especially close to home due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Not that it’s a bad thing, as it will undoubtedly give your playthroughs a lot more immersion. Pandemic Legacy is widely regarded as one of the best cooperative board games ever made due to its gameplay dynamics, heavy themes, and how it mimics the behavior of an actual virus in a tabletop setting. It features an overarching story arc that can take 12-24 sessions to finish, depending on the decisions the players are making. Pandemic Legacy will put you in the shoes of disease-fighting specialists who must travel the world and try to stop deadly plagues before they get out of hand. Over the course of the game, new rules and mechanics will be introduced, which sometimes can affect gameplay drastically. As the viruses evolve and change the rules, players must adapt and find more creative solutions to win.
6. Descent: The Legends of the Dark
- Designers: Kara Centell-Dunk, Nathan I. Hajek
- Players: 1-4 players
- Play Time: 120-180 minutes
- Age: 14+
- Complexity: Medium
Being one of the more recent titles on this list, Descent: The Legends of the Dark combines the gameplay complexity and innovations of modern board games with the classical feel of older classic dungeon-crawlers, making it an extremely satisfying experience and a breath of fresh air. Players will have to cooperate to survive the diverse variety of enemies the game offers – from demonically-empowered barbarians to horrifying undead creatures, and much, much more. Descent: The Legends of the Dark plays with a fully integrated companion app that is free for download, and does an amazing job of enhancing gameplay, which is mainly done by providing a new array of enemies and complex status effects and triggers. Don’t worry – they are all managed by the app. As players venture further, they will get to upgrade their gear, craft and sell items and treasures and so much more. Despite being relatively new, Descent: The Legends of the Dark makes a strong case for being one of the best cooperative board games on the market.
7. Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective
- Designers: Raymond Edwards, Suzanne Goldberg, Gary Grady
- Players: 1-8 players
- Play Time: 60-120 minutes
- Age: 13+
- Complexity: Medium
Fans of the cooperative game genre with detective elements will be very pleased with Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective. The game puts players in the roles of members of Baker Street Regulars – essentially unofficial Sherlock Holmes helpers that aid him in resolving cases. Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective relies on heavy elements of storytelling, logical deduction, and player cooperation for the Baker Street Regulars to resolve the ten cases the game offers. All of them are independent of one another and have different lengths, so each playthrough will go a different route, ensuring replayability and diversity. Players are also expected to heavily communicate with each other to resolve any of the cases, which is what makes Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective one of the best cooperative board games and hidden gems of the genre. The game does not rely on complex gameplay mechanics and rules, but rather focuses on mental challenges, stimulating the players’ thought process.
8. Unfathomable
- Designers: Tony Fanchi, Corey Konieczka
- Players: 3-6 players
- Play Time: 120-240 minutes
- Age: 14+
- Complexity: Medium
Fans of Lovecraftian horror aesthetics and games will fall in love with Unfathomable – a game with serious Shadow Over Innsmouth vibes that will make your skin crawl. Set in the year 1913 aboard the steamship SS Atlantica, Unfathomable offers a semi-cooperative experience to its players. On one hand, Human players will have to do whatever they possibly can to keep the ship afloat, while the traitorous Hybrids will sabotage their efforts and do their best to send them to the Deep Ones as hors d’oeuvres. Unfathomable has a very long play time – a single game can take anywhere from 2-4 hours, depending on the size and adequacy of each party. The game is suitable for 3-6 players, and the more players there are, the more Hybrids will be included in the game. What makes Unfathomable one of the best cooperative board games is the duality of the cooperating parties. There will be constant sabotages, non-stop second guessing which one is which, and paranoia will start to set in. All of these things make up for a remarkably awesome experience.
9. Mysterium
- Designers: Oleksandr Nevskiy, Oleg Sidorenko
- Players: 2-7 players
- Play Time: 42 minutes
- Age: 10+
- Complexity: Medium Light
A cooperative deduction game for 2-7 players, Mysterium offers a timed paranormal mystery-solving experience with an interesting twist. The game is set in a medieval mansion that was at one point a site of a horrible crime, where the then-owner was wrongfully convicted and sent to prison, where he died. Now, his ghost torments the new inhabitants of the mansion until the truth has been revealed. The majority of the players will take on the roles of skilled paranormal investigators (with quite the detective skills), with one taking on the role of the vengeful ghost of the former owner. The player tasked with this role will offer the investigators clues which will come in the form of dreams each turn. Each clue will aid the investigators in revealing the true wrongdoer and clearing the name of the former owner. Players need to discover who did the deed, where it was done, and what the weapon was. Only when all of these factors are revealed will the group win the game. The game offers simple, yet satisfying gameplay, making it one of the best cooperative board games ever.
10. Gloomhaven
- Designer: Isaac Childres
- Players: 1-4 players
- Play Time: 60-120 minutes
- Age: 14+
- Complexity: Medium/Heavy
Highly regarded as one of the most critically successful board games ever made, Gloomhaven is renowned for its memorable and easily recognizable classes, dangerous and satisfying dungeons, and the most immersive world ever made, easily comparable (and in some ways – surpassing) Dungeons and Dragons. That is where the comparisons end, however, as Gloomhaven’s most infamous mechanic has to do with its innovative combat system – rather than throwing dice for attack modifiers, players instead draw cards from a special deck. The cards tell you whether or not the attack is a success, and whether or not you receive any helpful or harmful damage modifiers. Players will find themselves buried with content, with Gloomhaven’s 17 classes and 95 scenarios. With those two factors thrown into the mix, replayability is all but guaranteed – each class brings something new to the table, each player’s choice matters and each quest is memorable. One could lose days playing Gloomhaven and find that it still won’t be enough. It’s no wonder why it made so many best cooperative board games lists.
11. Marvel Champions
- Designer: Isaac Childres
- Players: 1-4 players
- Play Time: 45-90 minutes
- Age: 14+
- Complexity: Medium
Comic book fans will find absolute pleasure in playing Marvel Champions: The Card Game. The game is centered on the comic books rather than the movies, so players can expect to see their favorite superheroes and villains in their classic and recognizable art style. What puts Marvel Champions on many best cooperative board game lists is how the game forces player cooperation to defeat a powerful villain from the Marvel universe. If you happen to feel like embracing your villainous side – Marvel Champions has you covered, as one of the players gets to be the villain. Heroic players will get to experience what it’s like to be a part of a superhero team, having to choose from a variety of upgrade cards to power up their arsenal and take down the powerful foe. That’s not to say the villain doesn’t have access to upgrades – on the contrary! The villain player also has a special deck, which can either be powered up or powered down by the players depending on whether or not they want an easier or more difficult experience. Either way, there’s a lot of fun to be had!
12. Exit
- Designers: Inka Brand, Markus Brand
- Players: 1-6 players
- Play Time: 45-150 minutes
- Age: 12+
- Complexity: Medium
Fans of escape rooms will feel right at home playing Exit, as the game is often referred to as an “escape room in a box” – a specific niche of cooperative board games focusing on team cooperation to escape a dangerous scenario. Players are forced to use teamwork, creativity, and critical thinking to solve puzzles and riddles, crack codes, collect various quest objectives and clues, and perform certain tasks in order to earn their freedom. Anyone who has ever experienced an escape room can definitely relate to the experience, and this exact close correlation has earned the Exit series into the best cooperative board games list. Usually, there is a lot of writing involved, so players better bring a pen and paper to write their discoveries down – this is more of a suggestion than a must, but it does help in solving the riddles, trust me.
13. Spirit Island
- Designer: R. Eric Reuss
- Players: 2-4 players
- Play Time: 90-120 minutes
- Age: 13+
- Complexity: Medium/Heavy
We’ve seen a lot of colonizer-style board games throughout the eyes in all kinds of genres. Spirit Island offers a different type of cooperative experience – players take on the roles of guardian spirits that must protect their sacred lands from invaders. Each guardian spirit has an elemental power and offers a unique role in the defense against the invaders. Since the game plays in an island setting, the enemies come in a predictable fashion from the seas beyond. They will act like any colonizing nation – first, they explore a part of the island, then they deforest it and start building settlements, driving out the natives in the process. The natives are obviously not happy and will assist the guardian spirits in their efforts. As the game progresses, however, the invaders will grow ever more powerful, so the guardian spirits will need to find more potent powers to drive them off. The game’s scenario is a true breath of fresh air, which is why the game is considered to be among the best cooperative board games.
14. Paleo
- Designer: R. Eric Reuss
- Players: 2-4 players
- Play Time: 90-120 minutes
- Age: 13+
- Complexity: Medium/Heavy
Dubbed the 2020 leader for best cooperative board games for families, Paleo offers a different type of adventure for its players. Set in the Stone Age, you get to play as a tribal leader looking to preserve his tribe in these trying times for mankind. In order to do this, players need to explore, hunt and forage for food, develop new technologies, and complete difficult missions. The game is driven by an action card system, and initially, players will find tougher missions impossible to complete, but as their tribes grow in size and strength, obtaining the all-so-important victory points necessary to win the game gets much easier. There’s a long way to go, however, as the Hazard cards are very tough to deal with, and will often leave one of your villagers injured at the very least. This is especially devastating in the early game, as you only start off with two people in your tribe. If any of them die, you get a skull token. If you get five – you lose the game. Players need to constantly communicate with each other to get valuable resources and receive the best outcomes possible.
15. Castle Panic
- Designer: Justin De Witt
- Players: 1-6 players
- Play Time: 60 minutes
- Age: 10+
- Complexity: Light/Medium
The first game of the Panic game series, Castle Panic is a cult classic and is among the older titles in our best family cooperative board games list. As the name suggests, players need to defend their castle from enemies that attack them from all sides. The game puts a “must” on cooperation – the enemies are notoriously difficult to play against, and while the game does offer a solo experience, the chances of winning on your own are very, very slim. Some of you might appreciate the difficult solo experience, but that’s not what the core game focuses on. Usually, players can defeat attacking enemies in 1-3 hits, but there are also special enemies (think of them as mini-bosses) that require more effort to take down – it’s always a good idea to work together to take them down as fast as possible. Whenever a player defeats a monster, they get a monster slayer token. They don’t serve a purpose other than being a badge of honor, but they still provide a small layer of individual challenge to the common goal of successfully defending the castle.
16. Forbidden Island
- Designer: Matt Leacock
- Players: 2-4 players
- Play Time: 30 minutes
- Age: 10+
- Complexity: Light/Medium
In another blast from the past, Forbidden Island is a cooperative board game in which players try to keep a magical island afloat for as long as possible while collecting valuable treasures and items as fast as possible. Each player chooses a special character with a unique ability, which adds further strategic options, and a different game experience with each playthrough if you wish to try them all. What makes Forbidden Island stand out from all the rest and earns it a place among the best cooperative board games out there is the quality of the meeples and board pieces you get in the box – they are beautifully designed and crafted, vibrant and colorful. They are very much worth noting, as they truly add to the game experience. As the island sinks, some of the board pieces have to be strategically sacrificed – and let’s be honest, players will be much more motivated to save a beautiful game piece rather than an ugly one.
17. Zombicide
- Designers: Raphaël Guiton, Jean-Baptiste Lullien, Nicolas Raoult
- Players: 1-6 players
- Play Time: 60 minutes
- Age: 14+
- Complexity: Light/Medium
Another zombie-themed game on the list, Zombicide seemingly follows the go-to genre narrative – players take on the roles of survivors looking to live through the zombie apocalypse or survive for as long as possible. Survivors must take on different missions and defeat the undead horrors the game mercilessly throws at them. Combat mechanics are very easy to understand, and are played via six-sided dice rolls. Hardcore tabletop gamers may be unimpressed with the simplicity of the game’s mechanics, but the reason Zombicide has remained one of the best cooperative board games through the years (with tons of expansions and versions) is exactly that. To elaborate further, the fact the mechanics are simple and easy to understand means the game is very easy to understand, which consequently makes it extremely playable and suitable for almost any audience. Its popularity is undeniable, and the fact that there are still expansions for it speaks volumes about its success.
18. The Grizzled
- Designers: Fabien Riffaud, Juan Rodriguez
- Players: 2-5 players
- Play Time: 30 minutes
- Age: 14+
- Complexity: Light/Medium
In The Grizzled, players must band together to survive the brutality of World War I – they will either win together or lose together. Unlike most games of that setting, players don’t need to fight an enemy, but rather just survive the fighting all around them until the Peace Card is signed. In order to reach this objective, however, players must get through all the challenger cards laid on top of it – a total of 25 Trial cards. That number might not seem all that impressive, but there are additionally 34 Trials cards placed on the Monument card. In each round, the Team Leader (rotating player) decides the round intensity – naturally, you want to draw more cards, but Trials aren’t easy, and if any player has any cards left at the end of the round, the morale of the entire party goes down. This is represented by placing the combined number of cards left in the hands of players from the Monument pile to the Peace Card pile. Tactical decision-making, calculated risks, and cooperation are the key to victory, and these factors put The Grizzled on the list of best cooperative board games.
19. The Crew: Mission Deep Sea
- Designer: Thomas Sing
- Players: 2-5 players
- Play Time: 20 minutes
- Age: 10+
- Complexity: Medium Light
The Crew: Mission Deep Sea will face players with their subconscious fear of deep waters while having to work together to find the lost continent of Mu. The game uses a trick-taking game system to play, with players having to undertake missions of various difficulties. There are a total of 96 tasks in the game, which provides an insane variety of challenges. Add to that the different combinations of how these tasks can come up and you have thousands of possibilities at your fingertips, which puts The Crew: Mission Deep Sea among the best cooperative board games of the trick-taking genre. Each playthrough feels unique and interesting. Furthermore, the underwater environment heavily limits communication between players, but it also makes it the most valuable aspect of the game. Players will have to read the cards right, much like in a poker game. While this may seem complicated and lengthy at first, a game of The Crew: Mission Deep Sea takes about 20 minutes, allowing for multiple sessions in a single sitting.
20. Nemesis
- Designer: Adam Kwapiński
- Players: 1-5 players
- Play Time: 90-180 minutes
- Age: 12+
- Complexity: Medium
Heavily inspired by the 1979 science-fiction horror film Alien, Awaken Realms’ Nemesis emulates the feeling of the popular franchise almost 1:1. This feat alone earns it a place among the best cooperative board games ever, as anyone who has remotely heard of Alien will know the absolute necessity of cooperation and teamwork if you want to survive in such an environment. But there is far more than meets the eye (apart from the obvious inspiration) – the game will have players team up and complete at least one of the two missions, and get back to Earth safely. The game is packed with intense moments and fierce combat against swarms of deadly Invaders (the name for the Aliens in the game), which guarantees a lot of fun. Player classes follow the standard science-fiction horror tropes, with the Scientist being extremely good with gadgets, but lacking the combat abilities of the Soldier. It is admittedly pretty straightforward, but it doesn’t make it any less fun. The art style is detailed and very immersive – made to impress and very eye-pleasing. Overall, Nemesis is a ton of fun and is definitely worth a try.