If you're not a fan of how competitive things can get around the table, the best cooperative board games will be a breath of fresh air. Besides emphasizing teamwork and good communication, they also have a wholesome vibe y🧜ou'd struggle to find anywhere else. 🍌You win or lose as one, and that has a habit of bringing us all together.
The trouble is, there's a lot of choice. That's why the GamesRadar+ experts and I have gotten our heads together to form this list of the best cooperative board games. If you ask us, these should be on everyone's shelf. In fact, a few of them rank amongst the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best board games overall – they stand out in a very crowded field, which helps if you're wondering 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:how to choose what you should play next. Pandemic is still head and shoulders above the rest thanks to intense gameplay that forces you to th✤ink on your feet, for example, and🌊 it's my go-to suggestion in terms of team board games.
Wondering how we settled on these recommendations? The GamesRadar+ writers and I have had hands-on experience with all of them, and I've reviewed more than a few for this site. Basically? If we wouldn't be happy spending our own money on it, it's not getting onto this roundup of the best cooperative board games. You can find out more about our process in the '澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:how we test' section later on.
Recent updates
May 6, 2025: This page has been updated with ✅a revised FAQ section that now includes an expanded upcoming co-op board games list with fresh entries (including the new D&D-themed Horrified), alongside a 'best new games in 2025' roundup.
There's a reason why Pandemic has endured for so long; it's exquisitely well-designed. Thanks to a race against time where every decision counts, teamwork, communication, and a good battle-plan is essential if you want to win. This is everything that good cooperative board games should be.
Want to take things up a notch? Throw traitors into the mix. This game pits two teams (humans trying to save their ship and villainous 'hybrids' that want to sink it) against each other, but nobody knows who's who. What follows is a gripping few hours of paranoia, deception, and comradery that ranks amongst the best.
Because the results of each session carry into the next in this excellent co-op game, your choices matter – and it's easier to have an impact with just two players.
If you know your way around co-op board games and love a bit of tactical jiggery-pokery, Dangerous Planet ticks all the boxes; its tower-defense mechanics give you plenty to juggle. It's also a genuine challenge that'll keep you coming back for more.
This excellent party game is keeping the Blockbuster name alive with a quick-fire battle of wits that everyone can enjoy regardless of whether they're a movie buff or novice.
Alongside a brilliantly silly premise (beat the undead to avoid eternal detention as a zombie), this game's emphasis on forward thinking and upgrades that follow you from session to session help it stand out from the crowd.
If you want the ultimate co-op experience, this is where 🎃you should start. Although the theme hits closer to home nowadays, Pandemic remains one of the best cooperative board games ever made thanks to how essential teamwork and strategizing are. Defeat is always a possibility, a♔nd victory hinges on your ability to communicate well.
Indeed, Pandemic has been going strong for a couple of decades now. That's not surprising when you consider how watertight its mechanics are; there's no wasted space in♊ terms of gameplay, and you can keep coming back time and again.
Buy it if:
✅ You want a gripping co-op game: Squabbling over first place can be a drag, particularly if other players are very competitive. That's why Pandemic's emphasis on teamwork is so welcome – communication and strategizing together is essential if you want to win.
✅ You're looking for a challenge: This isn't an 'easy' ga🔯me by any means, so it feels incredibly satisfying to beat. If you ꦆwant a challenge, don't miss Pandemic.
Don't buy it if:
❌ You don't like pressure: Tension is a key component of Pandemic as you struggle against the odds, so those who don't cope well with pressure may not have as much fun.
❌ You want something easy: Pandemiওc can be a challenge to win (as gratifying as that is), so it's not for anyone wanting an easy, breezy experience.
Features & design: With four deadly diseases having broken out across the globe, your job is to cure and eradicate them before civilization becomes overwhe꧑lmed. Unfortunately for us, those illnesses – represented by little cubes placed on city spaces around the board – spread faster than you can say "hazmat suit." They also grow more dangerous with each passing turn, because too many will cause a domino effect. Pandemic then turns into a race against time in which every decision counts.
Speaking of which, the hardest choice you'll have to make from turn to turn is whether you research a cure (which eventually stops new cubes for that disease being placed) or removin♑g those infection cubes to avoid an outbreak spilling over into the next space.
There isn't much to visually distract you from your task; Pandemic is to the point in how it looks. It does so with style, though. The board and cards feel like graphics you'd get on-screen in CSI shows where someone says something very dramatic before the scene cuts to black with a music sting. Sure, the movers representing your characte🐻rs are basic by comparison (they're simple plastic pawns). But everything e♛lse is highly effective thanks to that restraint.
The only downside?🧸 Those disease cubes look all too delicious – they're like ti𓃲ny, forbidden sweets.
Gameplay: Yes, this is a press✃ure-cooker situation. But luckily, the 🦋result is a blast from start to finish. With a laser-focus on strategy and coordination, Pandemic is the definition of good teamwork. There are no awards or pats on the back for individual players; it's all for one, and one for all.
It's true that the game is difficult, and a little stressful at times. Getting unlucky with the cards you draw can, on a rare occasion, mean early defeat that 💫isn't your fault. Yet Pandemic is also engrossing in a way few other co-op board games manage to be. It keeps you on the edge of your seat at a🌸ll times. It's the game I always come back to if I'm in the mood for something team-based.
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Ratings
Criteria
Notes
Score
Game mechanics
Few cooperative board games achieve such a fine balance of tension, strategy, a🧔nd teamwork. Th༺is is how it's done.
5/5
Accessibility
While it's not a party game by any ꧙means, Pandemic isn't all that hard to understand. T🌸he challenge comes from its difficulty.
3/5
Replayability
Because infections appear at randomly-selected locations and can trigger a near-infinite number of possibilities from there, you'll rarely 🐻repeat yourself.
5/5
Setup and pack-down
It's not a massive headache to lay out, but you do have to place numerous 'disease' cubes after drawing cards to work out the world-state. The spread of cubes means ✤you'll have a lot more to put away by the end, too.
3/5
Component quality
Whether it's an aesthetic seemingly inspired by CSI thrillers or dozens of mesmerizing little cubes (AKA f🍬orbidden jellies), thi💙s game is as good-looking as it is well-made.
5/5
Expert verdict
Expert verdict
Benjamin Abbott
"Few co-op board games are able to match how closely – and how well – teamwork is tied into the experience, either. The two are inextricable, and Pandemic is all the more memorable for it." Read more: 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Pandemic review
Few co-op games have a better reputation than this one. Many games challengꦗe you with colonizing the board, but Spirit Island flips the🎃 script and demands that you defend it from invaders instead.
2. Pandemic Legacy
This works as something of an upgrade to the original Pandemic; it connects matches into a long-term campaign where your choices foll🅷ow you from session to session. If you have the time, it's the ultimate version.
3. Gloomhaven
Fantasy stories are crammed with fou✅nd-family, and Gloomhaven lets you live out that dynamic. This sprawling dungeon-crawler is the kind of game where the consequences of your actions follow you – the world changes around your party.
Play if you like: Betrayal at House on the Hill, Pa𒅌🥀ndemic, Arkham Horror
Reasons to buy
+
Engaging traitor gameplay
+
Top-notch worldbuilding
+
Brilliantly handled paranoia
Reasons to avoid
-
Lots of systems to learn
-
Takes a long time to finish
If you want to make sure everyone stays on the edge of their seat, throw traitors into the mix. Unfathomable does this to great effect, and the result is good. Monstrously good, you could say.
Sure, it's not going to be for everyone. It's quite lengthy and there are many moving parts mechanically speaking. But Unfathomable is a great cho༒ice if you have a regular board game group looking for new challenges they can keep coming back to. There's so much y🍰ou can get your teeth into here, and its hidden role systems are peerless.
Buy it if:
✅ You love deception games: If you're a fan of social deduction games like Mafia, you'll get on well with this one. Being able to fly under the radar – or sniff out traitors – is a key part of the experience.
✅ You enjoy cosmic horror: Seeing as Unfathomable takes place in Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos (which means it's tied to the Arkham Horror series), it's perfect for fans of🗹 incomprehensible terrors.
Don't buy it if:
❌ You're short on time: This game's runtime is as monstrous as its villains, so Unfathomable may not be for you if you don't fancy spending three to four hours at the table.
❌ You want something straightforward: There's a lot to learn here, so you'll need ✃to spend time swotting up to get the most out of Unfathomable. It💟's a great co-op board game, but won't be for everyone as a result.
Features & design: The year is 1913, and some very unlucky passengers have booked onto the SS. Atlantica for a voyage across the ocean. A couple of days from port🍃, things go horribly wrong; bug-eyed sea cr🐬eatures rise from the ocean and attack, directed by eldritch behemoths. Your objective is to keep the ship afloat, survive those monsters scrambling on board, and reach safety before it's too late.
Well, that's true for most people. Although the majority of players are bog-standard humans trying to fix damaged parts of the ship or fend off these 'Deep Ones,' others are secret human-Deep One 'hybrids' hell-bent on sabotaging their efforts. They do this by scuppering 'crisis' challenge⛦s that are randomly drawn each turn. All of these have a target number and consequences should you fail to meet said number, so players must contribute numbered cards from their hand to a central pool. Because this is done anonymously, traitors can add a dud card to tank the whole effort before playing innocen꧃t. The humans can't trust anyone as a result, and thanks to teamwork being your only hope of keeping this vessel running, it's a juicy dilemma.
The v𓆉isual design 🐲is just as evocative. With moody artwork working alongside art-deco flourishes that make the board, rules, and cards seem as if they've been pulled from a 1920s shipwreck, Unfathomable knocks it out of the park so far as looks are concerned.
OK, so I was left a little cold by the horde of mono-pose Deep One models. Yet their eldritch masters make up for it in spades. These✅ enormous figures are showstoppers in their own right, and they add a sinking sense of "oh crap" whenever they emerge onto the b✨oard.
Gameplay: This is the spiritual successor to an excellent, now-out-of-print Battlestar Galactica board game from the 2000s, and even though it's set in the Arkham Horror universe these days, Unfathomable keeps hold of the same fantastic gameplay. Traitor🥂s must stay undetected while they mess with rivals, and humans have to sniff them out as they juggle monster-fighting with white-knuckle repairs. Despite resulting in a ballooning run-time, it's a worthy trade-off if you've got patience.
For one thing, it's a thrilling test of nerves and communication as you juggle an eternally-growing to-do list. Plus, there are enough crises included in the game to keep things fresh and encourage return visits. However, the best bit is how Unfathomable balances the strategic depth of 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:board games for adults with the cheeky glee of undermining your friends. Honestly, I'm 𓆉always delighted when I get to throw a spanner in the works. It's a winning mix.
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Ratings
Criteria
Notes
Score
Game mechanics
The way this game handles hidden roles and slowly mounting odds is magnificent. Its character backstories and oveౠrall mechanics are brilliantly woven together as well, making for a cohesive narrative experience.
5/5
Accessibility
It'll take you a run-through or two to properly master Unfathomable – there's a lot going on. However,🃏 the effort is worthwhile.
2/5
Replayability
This game plays out very differently depending on the characters you've chosen, who's a traitor, which events you draw, and m🍌ore, so there's always something new to see.
5/5
Setup and pack-down
Because there are so many systems🅠 at play h💮ere, Unfathomable will take a while to set up and put away.
3/5
Component quality
From the 1920s theming to exquisitely 🍸detailed models, this game is gorgeous. It feels as premium as it is, too.
5/5
Expert verdict
Expert verdict
Benjamin Abbott
"Despite being massive in scope and a little daunting, Unfathomable is worth the investment. This is a cooperative board game cut from the same cloth as Pandemic thanks to edge-of-your-seat gameplay, but is spiced up with a heady dose of deception." Read more: 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Unfathomable review
Honorable mentions
Load honorable mentions ↓
1. Nemesis
Even though it's only 'semi' cooperative, Nemesis still excels a🎃s a team-based experience. Because everyone has secret objectives (some of which help and hinder 🦩the group), it's tough to know who you can trust.
2. Mysterium
If you want a co-op board game that does things differently, try this spook🌳y outing. Your goal is to solve a murder… but the victim (e.g. a player) attempts to provide clues from beyond as a ghost.
3. Sleeping Gods
Much like its eerie cover art, this story-rich exploration game is deeper than you'd think. It sees you globetrotting across a strange world to awaken deities that can send your lost ship home, and its setting reacts to your choice❀s.
Play if you like: Pandemic Legacy, Horrified, Nemesis
Reasons to buy
+
Replayable Legacy mechanics
+
Mini-games shake things up
+
Superb attention to detail
Reasons to avoid
-
A big commitment
-
Lots of mechanics to juggle
Most of us have probably made jokes about how terrible Jurassic Park security is at one point or another. After all, how hard can it be to stop your star attractions from eating every🅘one? This team game lets you put that to the test by running the dino-park yourself.
Even though it's still brilliant with more people, running it as a 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:2-player board game is also much better &꧂ndash; you get more choice, and it's easier to leave your mark.
Buy it if:
✅ You want a collaborative game with consequences: Because this is a 'Legacy' board game, your choices don't cease to matter once the session is over. Instead, they carry into the next game and beyond. Changes you make are permanent, so the experience is uniquely yours.
✅ You enjoy Pandemic or Horrified: For anyone that loves two of the best cooperative board games out there,🥀 take note – this cribs bits of both for something incredibly compellin🌳g.
Don't buy it if:
❌ You can't commit to multiple sessions: Legacy games can take a long time to finish, so don't think of this as a 'one and done' sorta deal.
❌ You don't like the idea of permanently changing your board: If altering your bo🍌ard with stickers makes your skin crawl, be warned – th♊ere's a lot of that in Legacy of Isla Nublar.
Features & design: At its most basic, Legacy of Isla Nublar lets you play through the story of each movie (along with a few scenarios set between them). Your aim is to do better than the characters on-screen, a𝓰nd the first priority is keeping guests safe if and w💫hen dinos run amuck.
Making sure they stay in line isn't easy. For starters, your prehistoric residents will do their best to break through any barriers you've erected. Secondly, predators will make a beeline for anything on two legs… and you've got to protect those poor saps while completing objectives that are probably going to drag you in the opposite direction. When combined with legacy mechanics that allow you to erect permanent structures on the board or create your own dinosaurs with gene-splicing, this Jurassic World spin-off elicits the same excitement you might have felt when seeing those park gates open (complete with that score) for the first time.
Actually, you'll get a whiff of that as soon as you open the box. This team board game is one of the few I'd describe as genuinely sumptuous. Its rulebooks and cards have been designed to look like pulp comic books from the 20th Century, and elements like the board sport 'wood-trim' effects along with a vibrant color scheme to bring the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best classic board games to mind.
There are plenty of other flourishes, too. For one thing, the d20 die included here evokes prehistoric mosquitoes trapped in amber. Plus, those dinosaur tokens would look amazing on a shelf as is – they're miniature dioramas pulled straight from the movies.
Although you are paying for all this in a literal sense with🔯 the higher price tag, Legacy of Isla Nublar pullsꦐ overtime to make that investment worthwhile.
Gameplay: This is the kind of board game where things can go wrong fast, and it's gloriously chaotic. As an example, I was cornered once by a T.rex while organizing the gift shop as geriatric park founder John Hammond, and all I had to fight it off was a measly cattle prod. It was ridiculous and wonderful at the same time, and Legacy of Isla Nubl𒈔ar is stuffed with emergent gameplay like that. You'll always have to compromise as well, because your objectives deliberately make you choose between the mission and saving civilians.
No matter how you go about it, tackling Legacy of Isla Nublar as a pair makes for a more satisfying time. Because you'll be permanently altering the board with barrier stickers, buildings, and more, limiting head-count affords you greater agency when it comes to those decisions. This does mean commiting to a long-term campaign for the full effect, but sticking with it pr꧅ovides a unique board for use in an endgame mode you can revisit over and over again. Few other lega🐻cy games do this, and fewer still have mini-games to keep things interesting, so that's a tick in the 'win' column right away.
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Ratings
Criteria
Notes
Score
Game mechanics
This is a pick-n-mix of board gamꦫing's best ideas, and I'm not complaining. When you combine systems꧟ inspired by Pandemic, Horrified, and more, you get magic.
5/5
Accessibility
Seeing as it's a Legacy game (consequences follow you from session to📖 session), there's a greater level of complexity here. However, i🅘t's still surprisingly accessible nonetheless.
3/5
Replayability
In a much-appreciated departure f𝓀rom most Legacy games🍎, you can keep coming back to this one thanks to an endlessly replayable endstate – you wind up with your own unique board game.
4/5
Setup and pack-down
There's a lot of 'stuff' to work through here, and each se🍬ssion will provide its own components, so the process is moꦑre involved.
3/5
Component quality
They spared no expense with this one. It feels like a million dollars, a🎉nd looks like it as well.
5/5
Expert verdict
Expert verdict
Benjamin Abbott
"This game breaks out plenty of ideas we've🐼 seen before (hidden mechanics that are unlocked as you go, branching upgrade trees, and board changes), but they're all executed to perfection. Additions like spot-on theming and incredible production values cement it as a worthwhile addition to your col♊lection too, even if your shelves are packed enough to give off 'board game cafe' vibes."
Honorable mentions
Load honorable mentions ↓
1. Sky Team
Seeing as it won an award from the highly prestigious Spiel des Jahres (the industry's most sought-after gong), Sky Team has plenty of clout behind it. This is a clever, engrossing co-op experience that🌱 does something different.
2. Forbidden Island
This clever game is very similar to Pandemic mechanically speaking, so it comes highly recommended if you enjoy co-op experiences. Your aim ♚is to grab treasure from a sinking island, and it's a tense race to the finish.
3. Codenames Duet
Codenames is𓆉 one of those classic party games that many tabletop fans praise, so the dedicated two-player version is an easy recommen🍃dation. It's definitely worth considering if you struggle to find enough players for the OG game.
It's a well-known fact that Star Trek redshirts are doomed, but they're your only chance of survi🌸val in The Captain is Dead: Dangerous Planet. As the franchise's third installment, it builds on the existing formula in clever, compelling ways. But don't think you need to have played its predecessors (The Captain is Dead and The Captain is Dead: Lockdown) to enjoy yourself. Thanks to push-your-luck mechanics and a generous amount of depth, this is one of the best cooperative board games from the last few years if you're a fan of strategy.
To🌳ngue-in-cheek nods to Trek will delight fans as well. This co-op board game clearly adores the series ye🅷t will poke gentle fun at its quirks, so it should always put a smile on your face even if you're being beaten to a pulp by bugs.
Buy it if:
✅ You want a challenge: This game isn't messing around. It can be genuinely hard if you don't play your cards right (and even if you do, depending on the difficulty level), so players with a tactical mind will find plenty to get their teeth into.
✅ You love tower defense games: Boil it all down and you'll find an incredibly well-made tow🐈er defense exercise 💖propping this game up. Does that sound like your idea of fun? If so, you'll appreciate this.
Don't buy it if:
❌ You want to switch off your brain: Dangerous Planet requires lots of brainpower to overcome. Want a quiet, chilled-out night in? This isn't the one for you.
❌ You get frustrated easily: Seeing as this co-op board game can be tricky, those without patience may struggle to find all that gold 𒁏under the surface.
Features & design: As the name would suggest, the commander of your away-mission has been killed in action. (Boo.) Now you've got to complete their quest and gaඣther as many alien artifacts as possible before you're overwhelmed by the planet's bug-like inhabitants. (Yay?) Naturally, there's also a catch – those artifacts are hidden deep in bug-infested tunnels. Want to collect 'em all? You'll n༺eed to venture further into enemy territory.
Due to newly-hatched bugs scuttling toward you each and every turn, you'll have to set up defenses unless you want a particularly short match; thওey'll wound your characters and destroy your shuttle should they break through. This results in a ticking clock, especially thanks to bugs moving faster when you've collected more artifacts.
With all this Trek-adjacent tomfoolery, I wouldn't have been surprised for Dangerous Planet to ape that art style as well. But to the game's credit, it doesn't. Even though its heroes are deliberately reminiscent of archetypes or act✅ual The Next Generation characters, they're rendered in an angular way that's totally unique. The Captain is Dead has an instantly recognizable style as a result.
Its components are equally well thought-out, and the use of clear plastic for movers should keep things in tip-top condition for years to come. It's true that there are issues (besides having a lot to set up, it ca𒅌n be hard to see the clear plastic discs you put on the board during play), yet these pale in compa💃rison to the design team's bold choices elsewhere.
Gameplay: Dangerous Planet has plenty in common with the best cooperative board games, and that's no bad♋ thing. It boasts a randomized board and objective placement like Betrayal at House on the Hill (albeit with less flashy tiles), so you'll always have to dream up new plans of attack. It gets harder the further you go as well, just like Pandemic.
And boy, can it get difficult. Thanks to 'alert' cards arranged by color and severity, these random events occur at the end of your turn and are designed to keep you on your toes. This means you'll be walking a tightrope-thin line between victory and defeat, so engineering a cunning strategy or outmaneuvering this devious ♏game feels like an achievement. We'll admit that there are some stumbling blocks via hard-to-absorb rules and a few confusing cards, but these niggles are a small pric♍e to pay.
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Ratings
Criteria
Notes
Score
Game mechanics
This game boldly goes… well, we🦩've been he🙈re before, but it's rarely been managed better. This is the piece de resistance of tower defence.
5/5
Accessibility
There's a🌳 lot to think about in Dangerous Planet, and deliberately so – trying to spin all those plates is part of the challenge. That does make💟 it more complex, though.
3/5
Replayability
Althou♒gh you may eventually become bored of the core loop, the wealth of upgrades, characters, and challenge levels mean that wo🎃n't happen for a long time.
4/5
Setup and pack-down
Thanks to the modular tunnel tiles, a treasure trove of tokens, and diffe🎶rent components for different difficulties, you won't be able to set this up on autopilot.
3/5
Component quality
The Captain is Dead series has an incredibly distinct a🦄nd compelling art style, coupled with smart🐟 design choices that mean it should last.
4/5
Expert verdict
Expert verdict
Benjamin Abbott
"This game is as deep as the tunnels beneath its titular planet. There are many, many different ways to go about it, and a wealth of options stop this threequel from becoming stale. It's tricky enough that winning is a legitimate thrill, too; Dangerous Planet is hard, though not in an annoying way." Read more: The Captain is Dead: Dangerous Planet review
Honorable mentions
Load honorable mentions ↓
1. Robinson Crusoe
I've heard great things about this survival game, and it's the kind of experience that will punish anyone who doesn't plan ahead. Make sure you b🐠ring your wits and teamwork with you for this one.
2. Aeon's End
This deckbuilding game is often touted as one of the best cooperative experiences out there, and thanks to mechanics that r♚equire careful planning, it's one strategy fans should get a real kick out of.
3. Dead of Winter
A zombie apocalypse has ruined everyone's day in this atmosphಌeric strategy 🌼game, and it forces you to contend not just with hordes of the undead… but the monstrous survivors who've been left behind.
Play if you like: Linkee, Bucket of Doom, Articulate
Reasons to buy
+
Fast-paced
+
Accessible & easy to explain
+
Radical '90s theming, man
Reasons to avoid
-
You're in the spotlight
-
Head-to-head is a lot of pressure
The store may be long dead, but the game it inspired isn't going anywhere. Fast-pace🐽d and straightforward, Blockbuster should be your first choice if you need good family or party board games. And don't worry, knowing a shed-load about cinema isn't required. At its core, this has more in common with charades than a quiz. Actually, it's my go-to recommendation for friends who want something easy to understand that everyone can get involved with. It takes less than a minute to explain, and then you're off to the races.
While that lack of depth means strategy fans may be left wanting, its accessibility makes it an easy co-op board game to break out when family desce💮nd or at a party.
Buy it if:
✅ You want something quick and easy to explain: Blockbuster is dead easy to learn, and you can be playing within minutes. A short run-time means that it's unlikely to outstay its welcome, either.
✅ You want something everyone can play: Even if you're not a movie buff, everyone can get involved with this game –💛 all you need to do is rattle off movie titles that fit the prompt.
Don't buy it if:
❌ You want something with a focus on strategy: Blockbuster's light-touch gameplay is a double-edged sword. It's great for casual games, but anyone wanting something more tactical will be disappointed.
❌ You don't like pressure: If you hate the 🌼spotlight, Blockbuster won't work for you. Its mechanics revolve around quick-thinking under pressure.
Features & design: Blockbuster may not require endless trivia knowledge, but you will need your wits. Things kick off with a ꦯhead-to-head round where two players take it in turns to yell an example from categories like 'superhero movies' (e.g. "Avengers"). Time is of the essence; fail to come up with a response in 15 seconds and you lose. This leads to frantic yet fun chaos, and it's an amusing spectator sport. I once witnessed a five-minute grudge match where neither side gave in, for instance, and thi🍌s battle has become near-legendary amongst my friends.
That's 𝔉when the real game begins. The winner draws six cards and must act, quote, or describe three of them for their team. The remaining three are left for the loser. (Naturally, these are probably the toughest ones.) Collect enough cards and victory is yours.
This, and the overall aesthetic, is enough to make you yell "radical!" like it's 1993 again. On𓃲 top of a container modeled after the humble VHS box, each card is made to look as if it's a video tape. The board is inspired by the store car park as well, so you'll find that distinctive logo looming over everything just as it did in the '90s.
Gameplay: Blockbuster is a wicked idea in every sense of the word, and always goes down well at get-togethers in my experience. Ther𝓡e's a frantic energy powering it, and that'll keep everyone engaged. It's not the sort of game where you'll want to check 🌜your phone in between rounds.
Because everyone reacts differently to the card prompts, you won't get bored of it either; unlike a quiz, you can't 'learn' the♕ answers. In much the same way, its short run-time means that it won't lose its shine after a few sessions. I've had my copy꧟ for years and still break it out whenever I can.
Even if you did get fed up, an expansion pack (Blockbusteꦗr Returns) is now available to shake things up. This adds bonus films to the lineup, along with extra categories.
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Ratings
Criteria
Notes
Score
Game mechanics
Like so many party games, Blockbuster opts for the 'simple but effective' approach. It's approachable but varied thanks to multiple levels of challeng♐e per turn.
4 / 5
Accessibility
This is described as a game for anyone who's ever seen a movie, and that 'all welcome' attitude i♒s evident throughout.
5/5
Replayability
The volume of cards help to keep Blockbuster afloat for longer, a♎nd because it's not a trivia game, you'll get very different responses to each prompt from everyone wﷺho plays.
4/5
Setup and pack-down
Due to a fairly small play zone and limited ဣcomponents, Blockbuster can be set up or packed away in moments.
5/5
Component quality
Those cards are the only✅ thing you may need to watch out for in terms of longevity, because everything else seems built to last. It's a looker too🌺 thanks to the '90s VHS theming.
4/5
Expert verdict
Expert verdict
Benjamin Abbott
"Despite being a few years old, Blockbuster still punches above its weight. It can be explained and set up in under a minute, keeps everyone on the edge of their seat, and is endlessly replayable. I think everyone should have a copy in their collection." Read more: 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Blockbuster: The Game review
Honorable mentions
Load honorable mentions ↓
1. Castle Panic
Tower defencജe is a simple gameplay mechanic, but this colorful co-op game leverages it to great effect. Your job is to hold off a horde of orcs th♕at are marching on your castle, and it's surprisingly engrossing.
2. Horrified
This game is a master of tricky choices. Do you try to stop a monster once and for all or save the civilians who are in harm's way? It's a compelling dilemma powered by gameplay 🅘taken from the best co-op board games.
3. Hanabi
I'm not sure I'd ever played a game like Hanabi when I first tri﷽ed it; it's a highly novel challenge where you have to place down numbers in the 🌠right order… and everyone can see your cards but you.
Play if you like: My First Castle Panic, Horizons of Spirit Island
Reasons to buy
+
Evolves over time
+
Really encourages teamwork
+
Sticker achievements
Reasons to avoid
-
Components might not last
-
Better for older kids
This cooperative board game might have one of the best elevator pitches here. Zombies have invaded your school, and you've got to fend them off to avoid eternal detention with the undead. Fun, right? The game is too. It's quirky, light-👍hearted, and keeps players hooked with a steady s💖tream of secret upgrades.
Despite not being scary, though, this will probably be too much for younger kids. Bear that in mind befor𓃲e adding it൲ to your collection!
Buy it if:
✅ Your kids want something more involved: This 'Legacy' style game is a real step up in terms of complexity (and fun, let's be honest) over staples such as Monopoly, Sorry, and Clue.
✅ You don't want a five-minute novelty: Players are constantly leveling up in Zombie Kidz and unlocking new abilities, so your children will keep coming back to it rather than getting boꦺred after a couple of matches.
Don't buy it if:
❌ You're buying for very young children: Due to the more complex nature of Zombie Kidz Evolution, very young players will have a hard time getting to grips with it.
❌ You think the zombie theme may be too scary: Even though it❀'s all very silly and there's a distinct lack of brꦯain-eating, this may be too much for kids who are scared of zombies in the first place.
Features & design: Zombie Kidz Evolution challenges you to lock down your school by defeating these shambling monsters and keeping each of the four entrances locked down. If all zombie tokens enter the board, it's game🍷 over.
This is basically a 'my first Legacy game,' too. Thanks to unlockable abilities that carry over from session to session (not to mention stickers for tracking it all), Evolution should stay interesting for the long haul. Considering how some of these changes involve 'Super Zombies' with gnarly powers and weird new player ab🔴ilities, it shouldn't get boring any time soon.
In much the same way, it shouldn't spook your little ones. This is a very friendly apocalypse, aꦛnd everything is rendered with a bubbly aesthetic that could be taken from a Dreamworks film. The component quality isn't good enough to match this, unfortunately, but there's no denying that the game has personality to spare.
Gameplay: The mechanics holding up this version of Zombie Kidz are easy and breezy. The core objective is always the same (defeat zombies and shore up your defenses so they don't overwhelm you), ⛄and that means young players should pick it up quickly. Indeed, the unlockable abilities are more of an enhancement than a breaking of the wheel; they keep you on your toes when⛎ the dust has started to settle.
It's not scary either, so don't worry about this freaking out your children. It adds some fun to the apocalypse with a cartoon artstyle and no mention of brain-eating an✱ywhere. When you add in 'weapons' that are Nerf blasters and toy lightsabers, Evolution feels more like it's happening in the kids' imagination than real life.
It's a shame that the game's components aren't as sturdy as those toys (a must for all 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:board games for kids), but that's the only complaint I have.
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Ratings
Criteria
Notes
Score
Game mechanics
This game is pitched just right for kids who want to✨ graduate beyond simple games such as Mouse Trap. Its system is straightforward, yet compelling.
4/5
Accessibility
It's a bit more involved than other chi♔ldren's games, but Zombie Kidz isn't that hard to understand. The way it introduces n🍸ew ideas step by step helps.
4/5
Replayability
Zombie Kidz is designed to be played over and over again, so longevity won't be a problem where Evol🅰ution is concerned.
4/5
Setup and pack-down
Despite including a few Legacy elements (sealed envelopes, stickers, upgrades, that sort of thing), Zombie Kidz Evolꦬution isn't a faff to get going.
4/5
Component quality
Some components may not stand the test of time, but most should hold up well against older kids. The cute aesth🐟etic makes up for it, too.
3/5
Expert verdict
Expert verdict
Benjamin Abbott
"If your children are ready for something more involved, Zombie Kidz Evolution hits the spot. Its Legacy mechanics keep things fresh for as long as possible, while straightforward mechanics mean it's easy to understand." Read more: 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Zombie Kidz Evolution review
Honorable mentions
Load honorable mentions ↓
1. My First Castle Panic
This kid's version of the excellent co-op game brings across the same exce🌄llent mechanics, but in a more accessible way. It's easy to learn, doesn't require reading, and isꦑ short enough to replay over and over.
2. Mysterium Kids: Captain Echo's Treasure
We've already given a shoutout to Mysterium for being one of the best cooperative board games, so it shouldn't cꦿome as a surpris✤e that the kids' version would get our vote too.
3. Outfoxed
Buying for younger children? Outfoxed is just the ticket. It's a bit like Clue in that you're dashing around the board trying to find answers and ꦡruling out suspects before the culprit makes their esca🧸pe.
Unsure of what you're in the mood for? Don't worry, it's easy to get choice pౠaralysis when there's so much on offer.
To help point you in the right direction, I've listed a few questions below that usually help me when I'm trying to settle on what I should play next. Alternatively, check in with our guide to the many 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:types of board games. It's filled with suggestions that cou🐟ld be a fit for you.
👨👩👦 How many players are there going to be? Although it seems like an obvious question, it's usually a good idea to start with the number of people that will be sat around your table. This removes a few options from the list and adds others, helping you narrow the suggestions down. As an example, Legacy of Isla Nublar won't be much good if you've got six people wa😼nting to join in, because it's got a max capacity of four.
🎲 What games do you already enjoy? This is probably the easiest way of whittling down suggestions and zeroing in on what you're up for. Do you enjoy spooky games? Mansions of Madness, Horrified, and Betrayal at House on the Hill are great places to start. Hate titles that force you to really stretch that gray matter? The Captain is Dead may not be for you, but Articulate could be a better bet. Regardless, this is why our reviews always include a 'play if you like' section. Similarly, think about the type of game you🌸 enjoy; kn💮owing you love Legacy games gives you something else to shoot for.
🕐 How much time do you have? Time is at a premium for many of us, so it's worth taking how long a game will take into consideration before hitting checkout. (More complicated games will also take a while to get into the swing of, frequently lasting up to double the amount of time stated on the box as you figure things out.) Not up for a multi-hour behemoth that'll take the better part of an afternoon to finish? Knowing this helps you steer clear of chunkier games like Unfathomable. To make things as easy as possible, I▨'ve listed how long an average session lasts in the specs section of each entry on this page.
❓ Who are you buying for? Shopping for someone else, family, or a group? Having a quick think about the intended audience can really help push you in one direction or another. If you're , but thinking about who you're buying for can be helpful. Are you shopping for someone who loves fantasy stories and adventure RPGs? Try something like Gloomhaven, or Descent. Are they a big Star💟 Wars fan, on the other hand? Give Imperial Assault a go.
How we test cooperative board games
(Image credit: Benjamin Abbott)
Our testing methodology is of tremendous importance to the GamesRadaﷺr+ team; we're in the privileged position of recommending board games for you to spend your hard-earned money on, so we take the matter seriously.
As mentioned in our '澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:how we test board games' guide, our experts have years of experience covering the industry and will spend as l🥀ong as they can with a product to learn its ins and outs. They'll also run the game multiple times with different player counts too, just to see if or how the experience differs.
When it's time😼 to put pen to paper, we then split the critiques found on this page into four distinct sections:
Introduction: We discuss the game's 'elevator pitch' (e.g. what is its unique selling point?) here, and you'll find at-a-glance buy if / don't buy if advice nearby.
Features & design: This is where we discuss how the game works, and what its components or visual style's like.
Gameplay: Most of our writing is dedicated to a cooperative board game's mechanics, so expect the bulk of a review to discuss whether the product is actually fun to play.
Expert verdict: Whenever possible, we try to ask other GamesRadar+ writers and editors for their opinion (or an alternate take) on a team board game. This provides another perspective to help you decide whether the recommendation is right for you.
We also rank cooperative board games with a standardized set of criteria before the expert verdict, and♒ you'll you'll 🅰find examples on this page and across our reviews. This includes everything from how accessible it is to the component quality. You can see an example below:
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Category
Notes
Score
Game mechanics
Will you actually enjoy playing? We weigh in.
?/5
Accessibility
Is the game easy to get into?
?/5
Replayability
We discuss how much longevity a game has here.
?/5
Setup and pack-down
Will it take a ▨long time to set up or p꧑ut away the game?
?/5
Component quality
Are the pieces going t𝐆o stand𓄧 up to punishment? You can find out in this section.
Simp🀅ly put, cooperative board games make you work as a team with all or some players instead of focusing on your individual strategy. Because you share an objective, you'll win or lose together.
Although there are exceptions, team board games usually challenge you to complete a task first or before time runs out. This includes reaching a finish line before your rivals (as seen in 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Articulate), collecting items as per Forbidden Island, or working in secret against your fellow players lik✤e in Nemesis.
Crucially, good communication an𓆉d teamwork form the backbone of the experience. Pandemic is a good example. It's a race against time to develop cures for diseases that are rampaging across the globe, and you'll need a plan if you want to avoid being overwhelmed. Lone wolves are basically guaranteed to lose, and using your abilities in tandem with one ano✨ther is your only hope.
That's what good co-op board games are all about in a nutshell:🌄 working as a team to overcome a challenge you couldn't tackle alone.
What team board games should I look forward to in 2025?
The tabletop industry is always busy with new co-op board games, ♛and 2025 is particularly flush with new favorites. There's a lot to see, so🦹 the GamesRadar+ team and I have narrowed things down with our own list of the top three team games we think you should be looking out for this year.
Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons | This is one of the premier team board game franchises with a long, illustrious history across multiple spin-offs, so seeing Horrified tackle D&D is more than exciting for RPG nerds like us. Its monsters are amongst the most iconic in fantasy and have unique abilities you won't find anywhere else, so they should feel very distinct compared to previous versions of the game.
📅 Release date: Halloween 2025
Fate of the Fellowship | Pandemic is famously one of the most popular co-op board games there is, so the fact we're getting a Lord of the Rings version based on its mechanics is cause for celebration. We don't know exactly how it'll work just yet, but it's being described as "mechanically-rich" by publisher Asmodee.
📅 Release date: June 2025
Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread | Looking for a sprawling new adventure for your gaming group to work through? Tabletop RPG Arydia is catching fire in the community right now, which is understandable. This is an enormously ambitious game that's been in the works for years, and it comes with 40+ hours of play that has you exploring an intricate new world. As mentioned in our 澳洲♌幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Arydia: The Paths We🍸 Dare Tread review, it "manages to give everyone something D&D can't match."
📅 Release date: From July 2025
What are the best new cooperative board games in 2025?
Everyone seems to be talking about this beautifully-illustrated new game, and it certainly jumped out at me when I wandered the London Toy Fair earlier this year. It stands out due to being a cooperative challenge rather than a head-to-head.
The Last of Us: Escape the Dark | This is a gritty reimagining of Escape the Dark Castle, and that means you can expect tough choices, a focus on narrative, and teamwork aplenty to get allies over the finish line. Much like Dark Castle, it's also visually stunning thanks to a monochrome design.
Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game | It's been a long road to get here, but the wait was worth it. This ode to Hideo Kojima's classic ꦐvideo game comes from the designer of an absolutely cracking stealth epic, Specter Ops, so S🌳olid Snake is in safe hands. This one sees you sneaking into top-secret facilities and trying to maintain cover just like the PSOne game, but it's also an engaging boss-battler where you'll need sound tactics to come out on top.
Where can I get cheap cooperative board games?
Co-op board games can be expensive, but it is possible to find good discounts if you know where to look. You can see our top picks based on region below, or head to our dedicated page of 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:board game deals for individual offers we think are worth your time.
US - Amazon: - Target: -Walmart: - Miniature Market: - Best Buy:
UK - Amazon: - Magic Madhouse: - Zatu: - Argos: - Very: - John Lewis:
If you're preparing for a get-together and aren't feeling like working as a team, don't miss our guide to the very 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best card games. Want a different kind of co-op experience, on the other hand? Be sure to check in with the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best tabletop RPGs.
I♛'ve ꦇbeen writing about games in one form or another since 2012, and now manage GamesRadar+'s tabletop gaming and toy coverage. You'll find my grubby paws on everything from board game reviews to the latest Lego news.
