In cooperative games, you don’t play against each other, you play together against the board. So you lose or win together.
Cooperative games are interesting for all age groups. In Learning with Games magazine #2, you will find an article on the gradations in cooperative games.
There are different types of cooperative games. Personally, I am very keen on cooperative games where each player is given a specific role. With that, the game ensures that everyone has a piece of information or a special power that is indispensable to win the game. Every player is needed and important! Definitely interesting to deploy if you have a lot of player-type fanatics in your group who tend to take the whole game to themselves.
There are also games where everyone is equal and you get to discuss everything. You will find that these have a very different dynamic from the games where everyone has their own role. These cooperative games are super suitable to play with younger children too (maybe even younger than the age stated on the box). Even if they still have trouble reading or counting. Together, the players devise a strategy and everyone can join in. With these games, (young) players also practice social skills, language skills and thinking skills!
Cooperative games with roles
1. Legendes of Andor
In this game, you are a wizard, dwarf, archer or warrior. Together, players go on an adventure through Andor and have to defeat trolls and dragons.
Meanwhile, players are also given various assignments that they have to complete properly in order to survive in Andor. For this board game, you have to sit down for a while (about an hour and a half) but in return you get a lot of action and adventure.
There are now three expansions to the base game and two variants. That means the game plays nicely and is popular!
- 2 – 4 players
- from around 10 years
2. The series Forbidden – Forgotten – Abandoned
Dutch publisher White Goblin Games releases three cooperative games that stand alone, but could be considered a series. As far as I’m concerned, the games increase in difficulty. If you have played the first one, The Forbidden Island, it makes it easier to understand the next one, The Abandoned Station. The game principle is always the same, but an additional complicating factor or challenge is added each time.
* Het Verboden Eiland
Het Verboden Eiland is the first in the series. This game consists of individual cards that you use to build an island. So each time you play it, the island can look different. Everyone gets a role, for example there is a diver who can quickly get from one island to another via water. There is also someone who can move other players in their turn. On the island are four treasures that you want to collect before the island sinks. An extra challenge is also that everyone has to be in the helicopter on time.
- 2 – 4 players
- from around 8 years
* De Vergeten Stad
he second in the series was released, De Vergeten Stad. In this game, you go into the desert in search of a legendary flying machine. A sequel to The Forbidden Island, it has a number of new and additional elements. De Vergeten Stad is the only game in this list that I haven’t played myself (yet). But it is such an obvious part of the series that I didn’t want to skip it.
- 2 – 5 players
- from around 10 years
* Het Verlaten Station
Do you like technology and puzzles? Then Het Verlaten Station is a perfect game! The goal is to build an electrical circuit that allows you to leave the teetering station with the rocket. I think this game is a perfect Father’s Day gift. Read more.
- 2 – 5 players
- from around 10 years
3. Magic Maze
In this game, each player is not given a character, but a running direction (North / East / South / West). Together, you have to make sure that four pawns walk to the right spot. To do so, you have to move left, right, down or by escalator as the playing field slowly grows. The challenge of Magic Maze is that the players are not allowed to talk to each other. And that’s very annoying when you can see that the pawn has to go to the right, but the person who can do that doesn’t!
Then you may stare intrusively at your fellow player or tap the table with the big, red ‘do something’ pawn. In the meantime, the hourglass runs slowly. Fortunately, you can turn the hourglass over once in a while, but then you have to make sure that one of the pawns lands on the hourglass square. Extra actions, in other words. It’s a fast, hilarious game that gets you pretty hooked.
- 1 – 8 players
- from around 8 years
There also is Magic Maze Junior
- 2 – 4 players
- from around 5 years
Magic Maze Hidden Roles is an expansion with new roles (traitors) and secret missions.
4. Pandemic
Can a game be more topical than Pandemic? The world needs you to develop drugs against four deadly diseases that threaten humanity. Each player is given a role: one can cure more easily, another can travel faster et cetera. Each player gets a number of cards of places in the world and can use them to travel to or use them to develop a medicine. At the end of each turn, you turn over cards that show how a disease is spreading. If that spread is too severe, an outbreak can occur and you have to try extra hard to win.
- 2 – 4 spelers players (the expansion allows more players)
- from around 10 years
The Rising Tide variant is set in the Netherlands.
5. De Schatzoekers van de Kuala-archipel
Among the cooperative games, the Adventure-By-Book-games are a category in themselves. In these, everyone gets their own booklet belonging to the character you have chosen. Everyone sees the same pictures but each time with more or different details. This way, you need each other to solve the mystery. For me, a perfect game to explore the genre of storytelling. You can read how we played it at home here.
- 1 – 4 players
- from around 7 years
6. If you can still get your hands on it: Flash Point
Always wanted to be a fireman or woman? Then get started in Flash Point! A house is on fire and there are victims inside. Together, you have to make sure the victims are rescued from the house. In the meantime, the flames are spreading and you have to put them out. Oh, and there is a rescue dog. Everyone always wants to be one, so choose your role quickly!
- 2 – 6 players
- from around 10 years
Cooperative games without roles
7. Cahoots
A new entrant in 2024 that can go straight to number 1 as far as I’m concerned! This one is so much fun! Each player gets 4 cards in their hand and in the middle is a common row with 4 cards. You may put a card down on the card in the row if the card in your hand has OR the same number OR the same colour (and of course, both same colour and same number are allowed).
Why would you do that? Well…. To fulfil the assignments that are open. Beforehand, you count out a number of assignments: 15 for beginners to 24 for experts. Together, you try to fulfil all the assignments before the pile of cards is empty. Assignments are for example: all cards are orange / the sum of the purple cards is half that of the green cards etc. You start with four open assignment cards and each time you fulfil an assignment, you turn open a new assignment.
Note: you are allowed to talk minimally in this game, which means you should never mention the number or colour of the cards you have in your hand. So try to find another way to communicate about this.
- 2 – 4 players
- from around 8 years (or younger, as language independent and only number knowledge needed of numbers 1 – 7)
More cooperative games without roles
Here five golden oldies that stay strong!
8. Hanabi
This card game won a major games award in Germany. And rightly so, because it is really quite special. Moreover, it is fun and quite easy to learn, but…. difficult to execute! Together, players try to create a beautiful Chinese firework with their cards. Only….problem: you have the cards in your hand the other way round. So you can’t see your own cards. And that’s quite complicated. Your fellow players give you tips on the colour of the cards and the number on them. But the number of tips you can give out is limited, so sometimes you have to discard a card. The fireworks you made will get points from the audience.
- 2 – 5 players
- from around 8 years
9. Mysterium
In this game, you play together for a very long time, but in the end it’s every man for himself. A murder has been committed and you have to guess: who, where and how. One player has all the information and tries to pass it on to you. Unfortunately, she is only allowed to communicate through pictures. She has a whole stack of cards with mysterious drawings in front of her and hands them out to the players. Together, the players discuss what information they can extract from these. And that is quite complicated. Especially when it only takes a few rounds, because the clock keeps ticking away an hour…..
- 2 – 7 players
- from around 10 years
10. S.O.S. Dino
The pawns alone will instantly sell you on this game! After all, these are four cute dinos that you must collectively save from the lava flows swallowing up the island. But there are also some dino eggs to be saved. A quick run to the mountain is not easy as there are several obstacles and a meteorite might hit in between.
The game encourages younger children (7+) to deliberate, work together, plan and prioritise. I tried out the game with some children from group 4 and saw a project team emerge before my eyes. Read how they played it and what they thought of the game here.
- 1 – 4 players
- around 7 years
11. Who did it?
Who did it is a bit different from other cooperative games. Here, each player gets a turn to decide what to do. Moreover, it comes with a treasure chest where a ring is hidden. During the game, you constantly press one of the symbols on the chest and get clues. Or not….
Since players do play together to find the king’s ring, it is useful to coordinate your actions: who searches in which room? Who talks to which animal?
Together, you search the house and collect objects that you can give to animals for extra hints. Will you manage to find the ring in time?
Who did it? is a super fun family game. Just keep in mind that the voice from the treasure chest might be a bit scary for toddlers.
- 2 – 4 players
- from around 6 years
12. Sign
A game where you have to be fast, exchange secret signals and also think carefully. That’s Sign!
It is difficult to explain exactly how to play Sign, while the rules are not even that difficult. Either way, it’s a multi-layered game that you can get totally hooked on. I played it with (gifted) group 7/8. Read what they thought of the game here.
- 4 – 9 players in 2-3 teams. It’s most fun if you play it with a larger group
- from around 8 years and definitely fun for adults too
I originally wrote this blog in 2018 and have updated it regularly since then. Sometimes games move fast and a game I described is no longer available through the link. Sorry! In that case, look at the better game shop or second-hand.
You’ll find affiliate links in this text. If you buy one of the games (or anything else) through these links, you support the website and the work of Pen & Pion (Pen & Pawn) 🙏🏼🌈🧩
