Stone Soup for Five: Family Favorite Cooperative Board Games!

Family Favorite Cooperative Board Games!

Board games that everyone likes are hard to come by.
Especially when there are video games that are liked more...

BUT

we've found a few that we all really enjoy
AND
THE BEST PART?

Most of them are cooperative. So everyone either wins, or everyone loses.

So there are no fights, angry talk, or attitudes.


Our top favorite right now is Pandemic:


We bought this game after watching a play-through video and it looked too fun.  Here's the good and the bad:

GOOD:  
-Ultra cooperative game--you really have to work together and use everyone's roles to cure the virus and keep it from spreading.  Everyone has input, everyone works together.

-It's fun.  You get a randomly drawn "role card" that tells you who and what your character does during the game. Each character has VERY USEFUL skills that are needed to beat the game.

-Super re-playable--every single game is totally and completely different. Some games last just a few rounds, some go quite a bit longer, but in each one, your role is different and the infections are different.

-You can play solo (never have tried that), with two (fun!) or up to 7.  I thin the expansion pack lets you play with 8!

-It is great for a variety of ages, we play with our 10 yr old up to 15 yr old and extended family and friends.  Very family friendly.

BAD:
-There is a HUGE learning curve.  There are so may things/roles/actions to do that they are easy to miss and mess up.  If you can play it through with someone who knows it, you'll get it on the first or second game.  If you are learning together, plan on playing 10+ times before you get all the ins and outs.  **I recommend reading the 'how the game ends' section first, there are many ways to lose.

-It's stinkin' addicting... you'll lose, and want to play again and again and again.

Overall, this is by far a family favorite.  There is one expansion pack out now, that has a new box to keep all these pieces AND the expansion pieces together in one.  Another expansion is due out next month.  GREAT game!
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Another favorite game, that is part cooperative is Scotland Yard:


This game is all players against one "Mr. X" who is trying to get away.  Mr. X wears a visor or ball cap to hide his eyes, and moves his player secretly around the board, riding either the bus, taxi, or tube.  Every 4th move or so, he places his pawn on his current location, then removes it for another 4 secret moves, leaving only clues of which ticket he bought (taxi/tube/bus).  If one of the other players lands on his spot, or prevents him from moving, Mr. X is captured and the game ends.

GOOD:
-Younger players can easily play this game.  Very fun and family friendly.
-Easy to learn
-Fun to talk with and plan with the other players to try to figure out where Mr. X is
-Extra fun when you require all players to talk with British accents.

BAD:
-The game CAN be a bit long, if Mr. X is really good at evasion
-If you require British accents, they tend to be poorly done....which breaks concentration when you are laughing so hard.

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We also enjoy Castle Panic:



This game is also cooperative and fun.  If the castle is destroyed by the enemies (orcs, trolls, goblins, and Bosses), everyone loses.

GOOD:
-Young players can understand this game too.
-Quick learning
-Very re-playable, each game is different because you don't know which enemy will come out of the forest after you, or which cards you'll get to battle.
-Plays very well with 2 players up to the max number of 6.


BAD:
-It can be frustrating when you lose your castle walls right away and the monsters just waltz on in there and win.
-My oldest (15) isn't that into this game.  He'll play sometimes, but thinks it's too slow moving.

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And the quickest and loudest game we love is ESCAPE: The Curse of the Temple



This game is played in REAL TIME, so you have 10 actual minutes to find the escape tile, collect enough gems, and get out.  If one of your team is left inside when the walls fall, all die.

GOOD:
-Super quick game.  10 min and you are done.
-There is a CD that you play to add to the effect, with a timer on it that GONGS when you need to get back to the safe room, and has spooky Indiana Jones music and sounds for when you are playing.  It really adds to the coolness of this game.
-It's a dice and tile game.  You roll combos of dice to move through the temple, and lay tiles till you find the escape tile.
-Everyone rolls and plays at the same time. There is no waiting for your turn, you just go and keep going till time is up.
-Very family friendly.  Great for a variety of ages.

BAD:
-With the CD it can be loud, so not great for parties where others are trying to talk.  They do have an hourglass timer option, but we've never used it.
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These cooperative games have really helped us make our 'no screen time' times much more tolerable.  The boys still won't go to the closet and grab one out to play on their own, but when we do play them, it is so much fun.  So glad so many game makers have realized the coolness of cooperative play games.

These pics are affiliate links to Amazon.com.  If you buy through the links it will help us fund more games to play and review.

If you know of any other great cooperative games, let me know!

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