Cooperative Game
454 games found
Games with this mechanic
Mistfall: Kickstarter Edition
2015
7.00
1-4 players
3.33/5
Dead of Winter: Tabletop Edition
2015
7.89
2-5 players
2.86/5
Yggdrasil Second Edition with Asgard Expansion
2013
7.71
1-6 players
75 min
2.39/5
Hanabi & Ikebana
2010
7.41
2-5 players
25 min
1.76/5
The Game on Fire (compilation)
2015
6.86
1-5 players
1.17/5
Pandemic Legacy: Season 1
2015
8.50
2-4 players
60 min
2.83/5
Gloomhaven
2017
8.54
1-4 players
60-120 min
3.92/5
Spirit Island
2017
8.34
1-4 players
90-120 min
4.08/5
Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion
2020
8.37
1-4 players
30-120 min
3.64/5
Too Many Bones
2017
8.29
1-4 players
60-120 min
3.87/5
Mechs vs. Minions
2016
7.95
2-4 players
60-90 min
2.46/5
Pandemic Iberia
2016
7.87
2-5 players
45 min
2.60/5
Paleo
2020
7.72
2-4 players
45-60 min
4.12/5
EXIT: The Game – The Abandoned Cabin
2016
7.41
1-6 players
45-90 min
2.54/5
Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu
2016
7.36
2-4 players
40 min
2.16/5
D-Day at Omaha Beach
2009
8.30
1-2 players
480 min
3.48/5
EXIT: The Game – The Pharaoh's Tomb
2016
7.13
1-6 players
45-90 min
2.73/5
EXIT: The Game – The Secret Lab
2016
7.04
1-6 players
45-90 min
2.53/5
One Deck Dungeon
2016
6.93
1-2 players
30-45 min
2.09/5
Outfoxed
2014
7.14
2-4 players
15 min
1.10/5
Frequently Asked Questions
A cooperative (co-op) board game is one where all players work together against the game itself rather than competing against each other. Players win or lose as a team. Popular examples include Pandemic (fighting disease outbreaks), Spirit Island (defending an island from colonizers), and Gloomhaven (tactical dungeon crawling).
The alpha player problem (or quarterbacking) occurs when one experienced player tells everyone else what to do, reducing other players' agency. Game designers combat this through hidden information (each player has secret cards), real-time pressure (no time to discuss), or traitor mechanics (someone might be secretly working against the group).
Top cooperative games include Pandemic (classic disease-fighting), Spirit Island (asymmetric powers defending an island), Gloomhaven (campaign-based tactical combat), The Crew (cooperative trick-taking), and Mysterium (one player gives visual clues to others).