Cooperative Board Games: What They Are and Which to Give

A cooperative board game is one where all players work together toward a shared goal and win or lose as a team, with the game itself as the opponent. Good co-op gifts include The Mind and Hanabi for quick card play, The Crew for trick-taking fans, Forbidden Island for beginners and Pandemic or Horrified for longer game nights.

What is a cooperative board game?

In a cooperative game, players don’t compete against each other. Wikipedia’s definition is that players “work together to achieve a common goal,” and either everyone wins by reaching it or everyone loses.

The idea is older than it looks. Wikipedia notes that Elizabeth Magie’s 1903 patent for The Landlord’s Game included alternative cooperative rules, and that Jim Deacove founded Family Pastimes in 1972 in Perth, Ontario, to publish only cooperative games. Pandemic, released in 2008, brought the style into the mainstream.

How does the game play against you?

If nobody is your opponent, something has to push back. In most co-op games, that is a system built into the rules: an infection deck, rising water, monsters that move on their own. Wikipedia describes it simply as players typically playing “against the game.”

This is why co-op games make good gifts for mixed groups. A new player isn’t beaten by a veteran; the whole table is beaten by the box, or beats it together.

What is quarterbacking, and how do games prevent it?

The known weakness of co-op games is one confident player telling everyone else what to do. Players call it quarterbacking. Wikipedia cites the design principle that each player should not need the rest of the group’s input to make a decision.

Some games solve this with hidden information or limited talk. In Hanabi you can’t see your own cards. In The Mind you can’t talk at all. In The Crew you can share only one card, with a limited signal. If the person you’re buying for plays with a dominant friend, pick one of these.

There is also a middle ground. Wikipedia describes semi-cooperative or traitor games as co-op games with a betrayal mechanism, where a hidden player works against the group.

Six cooperative games, from lightest to deepest

The list runs roughly from the fewest rules to the most. Ages, players and times come from each publisher unless noted.

1. The Mind: no talking, 15 minutes

The Mind, by Wolfgang Warsch (NSV, 2018), is a deck of cards numbered 1 to 100. Players must play their cards in ascending order without communicating. If someone plays a card while another player still holds a lower one, the team loses a life.

Pandasaurus Games lists 2 to 4 players, ages 8+ and 15 minutes. It was nominated for the Spiel des Jahres in 2018, according to spiel-des-jahres.de.

2. Hanabi: fireworks you can’t see

Hanabi, by Antoine Bauza, takes its name from the Japanese word for fireworks. Players hold their cards facing outward, so you see everyone’s hand but your own. Using a limited supply of hint tokens, the group tries to play cards of each color in order from 1 to 5.

R&R Games lists 2 to 5 players, ages 8+ and 30 minutes. Hanabi won the Spiel des Jahres in 2013.

3. The Crew: trick-taking as a team

The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine, by Thomas Sing (Kosmos, 2019), turns a classic trick-taking card game into a cooperative campaign of 50 missions. Each mission assigns specific cards that specific players must win, and communication is tightly limited.

Kosmos lists 3 to 5 players, ages 10+ and 20 minutes, and its product description also allows a two-player game. It won the Kennerspiel des Jahres in 2020. It suits anyone who grew up on Hearts or Spades.

4. Forbidden Island: the classic starter

Forbidden Island, designed by Matt Leacock for Gamewright, sends a team to collect four treasures from an island that sinks a little more each turn. Players must shore up tiles, share cards and escape before the water rises too far.

Gamewright lists 2 to 4 players, ages 10+ and 30 minutes. It was nominated for the Spiel des Jahres in 2011. The treasure figurines and tile island make it a good-looking gift box.

Cooperative board games on eBay

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Browse current cooperative games on eBay, new condition only.

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• PandemicShop on eBay →
• Forbidden IslandShop on eBay →
• The CrewShop on eBay →
• HorrifiedShop on eBay →

5. Pandemic: the modern standard

Pandemic, also by Matt Leacock (Z-Man Games, 2008), casts players as a disease control team. Each player has a role, such as Medic or Scientist, with a special ability. The team travels a world map treating infections and must discover cures for four diseases before outbreaks, cube shortages or the player deck run the team out of time.

Z-Man lists 2 to 4 players, ages 8+ and 45 minutes. Pandemic was nominated for the Spiel des Jahres in 2009, and Wikipedia reports about two million copies sold.

6. Horrified: monster movie night

Horrified: Universal Monsters, from Ravensburger, pits the team against seven classic movie monsters, including Dracula, the Mummy and the Wolfman, while defending a village. Ravensburger describes varying levels of difficulty, and each monster needs a different plan to defeat.

Ravensburger lists it at 1 to 5 players, ages 10+ and about 60 minutes. The solo option makes it a rare co-op gift that also works for someone who often plays alone.

Who should get a cooperative game?

• Families with a sore loser. Nobody at the table beats anyone else. For younger kids, our board games for kids by age guide includes cooperative picks.
• Couples. Most games above start at 2 players. Our two-player board games guide has competitive options too.
• Party hosts. Just One is a cooperative word game for up to 7, covered in our party games for groups guide.
• Award followers. Hanabi and The Crew both won top awards from the Spiel des Jahres jury. Our Spiel des Jahres guide explains the three categories.

Buying a co-op game on eBay

• Buy new and sealed. Pandemic and Forbidden Island depend on complete card decks and tiles, and a missing card changes the difficulty.
• Check the edition. Pandemic has legacy and themed spin-offs; the base game is what this page describes.
• Read seller feedback and the returns policy.

More board game gift guides

• Board game gifts: the best games to give, by who’s playing