If you want to play board games like Pandemic, then you’re going to love this list. Below you’ll find 12 games that involve similar themes like strategy, cooperation and more.
- Players work together in this cooperative game as they try to protect a village from legions of ghosts sent from hell
- The ghosts are actively trying to recover ashes that will permit them to return to life
- Each player is a Taoist monk, and players work together to defeat different waves of ghosts
- There are four difficulty levels to choose from, making it easy to pick a level that is difficult, but not frustratingly impossible for players to defeat
- The rules are involved, but the steps that each player takes on their turn are very easy to understand
- Even the easiest difficulty level is still very hard, which means that this game has great replay value and can be enjoyed over and over without being boring
Days of Wonder: Shadows Over Camelot
- Cooperative game in which three to seven players act as knights of the round table
- All players have to try to work together to gather white swords before the fall of Camelot, which will signify the end of the game
- Knights who fail in their quests won’t recover a white sword, but will bring back a black sword
- Players have to complete an evil and a good action on each turn, bringing Camelot closer to destruction
- One player may turn out to be a traitor, working hard to undermine the chance that the others have to win the game
- Offers around 60 to 90 minutes of play
- Each knight has a special ability that no other knight has, keeping the game interesting
Castle Panic
- Great for up to six players, but a solo player can still enjoy the game as long as they are willing to change the game mechanics a little
- Easy rules and gameplay make this a wonderful option for new gamers
- There are rule variations that can be used to make the game harder or easier
- Since it is a cooperative game, it’s enjoyable for players who aren’t gracious losers and will do better when playing as a team
- Players use cards in their hand to determine the best strategy for protecting their castle
- By discarding and trading cards, players fine tune their approach and then slay monsters
- Every move brings monsters closer to the castle and spawns new ones on the board
- Features expansions to add new spells and stronger monsters to try to defeat
Arkham Horror
- Great cooperative game that blurs the lines between RPG and card games
- Base game is ideal for one to two players, although more can play with the addition of expansion decks, which will add more character cards and items to the game
- Players are investigators who try to understand conspiracies and mysteries and prevent Ancient Ones from gaining access to the world
- All efforts made by players will change the course of the game and the entire campaign, so it’s important not to make any decisions lightly
- Each player will have their own strengths and weaknesses to overcome during the game
- The adventures feature rituals, monsters, and cultists that the players will have to survive to win
Space Alert
- This cooperative game requires players to work together as part of a small space crew
- The crew is set to scan various areas of space and must work together to protect themselves and their ship from danger
- The game has 10-minute soundtracks that accompany the play, which not only act as a timer to ensure that all work is completed in the right amount of time, but also provides a great and interesting background to the game
- Players have the ability to choose the difficulty of the game that they play, which gives the game great replay value
- As the missions get more and more difficult players must improve their communication skills to win
Battlestar Galactica
- Players take on the role of 1 of 10 characters from the TV show
- Each character has their own set of strengths and weaknesses
- One or more players in each game is secretly a Cylon and will work against the other players
- Gameplay takes between two and three hours
- High-quality components are designed to last for a long time and add to the enjoyment of the game
- Players work to find the Cylon hidden in their midst and also to deal with food contaminations, fuel shortages, and political unrest
- The game is complicated the first time it is played, but the elements make sense quickly and add to the enjoyment of the game
- Each player has set moves on their turn, including resolving a crisis
Forbidden Sky
- Players work together as a team to try to uncover a power platform
- All players must try to connect a circuit of cables before becoming electrocuted or being blown off of the bridge
- It’s easy to make this game easier or harder, depending on the skill and interest of the players
- Without communicatio
n, players will struggle to win this game and can easily lose - High-quality components are designed to add to the enjoyment of the game
- Perfect for two to five players who are interested in a fast-paced cooperative game
- Each player will be able to use a variety of different cards to help them achieve their goal
- As time passes in the game, players run out of opportunities to win
The Hobbit
- Fans of Tolkien will love taking on the role of Bilbo’s companions in this semi-cooperative game
- Players have to help guide the hobbit on his journey
- Through the use of intuitive dice rolling and strategic bidding, players will be able to influence the outcome of the game
- By relying on cards that they can use strategically, players can offset the luck of rolling the die
- Great game for two to five players, although smaller groups will have more opportunities to earn treasure and experience different adventures
- High-quality components and easy to understand instructions mean that players can start enjoying the game right away
- Relies on event cards and adventure points to help with moving through the game
- Encourages imagination during play to make the game more enjoyable
Scotland Yard
- One player takes on the role of Mister X while all of the other players will team up and try to catch them
- Mister X moves first and then continues to move throughout the game while trying to escape detection and capture
- Other players are detectives who work together to try to capture Mister X or block any outlets so that they can’t leave the city
- While gameplay does take a while to understand, due to the way the game is set up, it’s a fast game that most players can easily grasp
- This is a great strategy game that requires all players to be able to think through their actions and decide on their future moves for best results
Fuse
- Great for one to five players, and all players work together to try to defuse bombs
- The app counts down the time that players have left to defuse bombs before they lose
- Players are on a ship and have to work together to defuse the detected bombs, but only have 10 minutes to do so
- While the game is very easy to learn how to play, it’s a difficult one to master and takes a lot of practice
- By using dice that match the bomb cards and working together to fill them all in to defuse the bombs, players can systematically clear their table of all bomb cards
- Comes with 54 bomb cards, 25 dice, 22 fuse cards and a storage bag
- With so many combinations of bomb cards and dice rolls, no two games will ever be the same
Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle Cooperative Deck Building Game
- Players get to act as their favorite Harry Potter characters in this cooperative game
- As players learn new spells, find allies, and discover magical items they will become more powerful, which will aid them in their fight against Lord Voldemort
- There are seven successive game adventures, as they continually get more difficult as you play
- High-quality components include 252 cards, 4 player boards, 4 dice, 70 chip pieces, and 8 villain control tokens
- Available expansions make the game more difficult and exciting
- As players advance through the seven adventures, they will become more powerful and learn new skills that will help them in their defeat of the dark lord
- Because of the number of adventures and the ability to swap characters, this game has a lot of replay value
Escape: Zombie City
- Cooperative dice game for two to five players
- All players are working at the same time rolling and taking turns, which makes this game very exciting and fast paced
- Players have to find supplies, get an old bus to start, and get out of the city without being eaten by zombies
- Game comes with a 15-minute soundtrack that plays during gameplay and then signifies the end of the game
- Thanks to the fast setup time and the short time needed to play, this is a great game for players who don’t have more time for a longer option
- While not officially designed for solo play, the rules can be adapted so that one person can play on their own, if desired