Cooperative Games

In this category, you will find games where the goal is not to beat each other, but to work together to overcome the challenges presented. These games are also known under the term co-op games.

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We are used to playing every man for himself in most games. The player who performs the best wins the game. But in cooperative games, all players must work together if they are to have a chance of winning the game. Either all players win or they lose together.

There are many advantages to this type of game. First and foremost, it means that the most experienced player cannot just steamroll the other players, as they need to work together. It also means that there is often no player who gets knocked out. Everyone is an active part of the game until it ends, and everyone is involved in laying out strategies and making decisions, thus being constantly engaged in the game.

Cooperative games also encourage players to think in new ways. It is no longer enough to focus only on one's own success, but also on the needs of other players. What is best for the group as a whole? For the same reason, this type of game can also be a good tool for strengthening teamwork as part of team building.

Many cooperative games have great potential to be played many times, without the players reaching a perfect strategy. Unlike when playing against other players, here you play against the game itself, which often reacts randomly. Dice may be rolled, cards drawn each round, or new sections of the game board revealed, generating random goals, events, or challenges. This means that players always have to deal with new unpredictable moves, keeping them constantly on their toes.

Games where you must cooperate are also an excellent way to introduce people to the heavier board games. Players who are not used to devising strategies, or dealing with long and complicated rules, can still have fun with cooperative games, as the pressure is not as great on each individual player. Instead, the responsibility is often shared among all players. Players can work together with the team to come up with a good strategy. It can also be a nice change to switch to cooperating, rather than always having to play against other players. This means that players who are not interested in the competitive aspect of board games can still have a good experience with a challenging game.

A whole new subgenre of cooperative games that has blossomed is games that try to mimic the experience of being in an escape room. Escape rooms can have different themes or concepts. Here, you must work together to solve puzzles and other tasks to unravel the mystery of the particular escape room. In the board game versions of escape rooms, you get everything you need to have the same experience in your own home.

Popular Cooperative Games

Frosthaven

Frosthaven is a standalone game set in the same world as its predecessor Gloomhaven, featuring the same award-winning gameplay, along with several new elements, particularly focusing on gathering resources and building structures.

Frosthaven is a tactical combat game set in an adventurous fantasy world shaped by the players' actions and choices. Players take on the role of wandering adventurers, traveling around and undertaking missions based on their own motivations.

Cthulhu: Death May Die

In Cthulhu: Death May Die, inspired by the books from H.P. Lovecraft, you and your fellow players play investigators in the 1920s, who instead of trying to stop the coming of the elder gods, must summon these and other terrible creatures so you can stop them permanently.

The Crew

The card game The Crew is played in ways that resemble whist, hearts, or bridge, where the goal is to take tricks, but in this version, you must coordinate so that the right player takes certain specific tricks, and they must be taken in a specific order. The game is structured so that you play a new and more difficult challenge each time you master a level.

Unlock!

Unlock! is an 'Escape Room' or 'Mystery Room' in a box. On time, you must together solve the puzzles to escape the place where you are trapped or stranded. Unlock! contains three different scenarios, each offering a good selection of puzzles and challenges.

Zombicide

In Zombicide, players take on the role of survivors during a zombie apocalypse. They must work together through various missions. Each player must also complete objectives and, of course, kill zombies. With each kill, their adrenaline points increase. They become stronger, but the zombies are attracted by the sound of the players' actions and come in greater and greater numbers. Will the survivors stay alive, or become a zombie's lunch?