Best Co Op Board Games 2025: Top 6 Reviewed
Looking for fun co op board games? We played loads and picked the easiest and most exciting co op board games for beginners.
The 6 Best Co Op Board Games to Play With Friends (and Not End Friendships!) If you’ve ever tried to wrangle your friends for a night of gaming, you know pure chaos. That’s why we love co op board games. Instead of fighting each other, we team up against the game itself. For this list, we picked games that are fun, easy for new players to learn, and full of nail-biting moments. We don’t care much for endless rulebooks or games that take years to finish. If you want laughter, teamwork, and friendly yelling, you’ll find your next co op board game here.
On this list:
6 Forbidden Island
Forbidden Island gets our vote as a top starter for co op board games. We always wonder why we packed so few life rafts and so many snacks. In this one, you and your mates race against a sinking island to gather treasure. Every turn brings a new disaster: tiles sink, panic rises, someone yells ‘why did you move there!?’ It’s light, tense fun and perfect for families. We still haven’t saved the Statue of the Wind on hard mode, but hey, that’s the charm. The rules are simple enough to pick up quickly, so new players won’t feel lost or bored. Great for an easy-going night.
5 Mysterium
We don’t always see ghosts, but in Mysterium, we pretend—and it’s a blast. This co op board game lets one player be a very quiet ghost handing out dream clues while the rest play psychic detectives. We laughed at our horrible guesses (‘The top hat means… kitchen?’) and enjoyed the spooky art. It’s all about teamwork and guessing what the heck the ghost means with those weird cards. No one gets left out, because you win or lose together. Makes for a fun, weird party game—especially if you have a friend who acts like a real-life ghost.
4 The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine
The Crew is proof that co op board games can be about more than fighting monsters or solving murder cases. It’s trick-taking with a twist: your team tries to finish secret missions but you can’t really talk to each other much. We learned that frantic winks and eyebrow raises are not as helpful as we hoped. Every round feels like solving a fresh, tiny puzzle. The game is cheap, quick, and works great with family or friends who love card games. It really hooks you and feels different every time.
3 Pandemic
We owe a lot of ruined Friday nights to Pandemic—and we mean that in the best way. This classic co op board game has you fighting global outbreaks with your team, balancing crisis after crisis. It’s tense, dramatic, and kept us all yelling, ‘One more turn!’ The game is easy to learn but tough to beat. No one can slack off or you’ll be drowning in cubes. Pandemic shines because teamwork is a must, and the victory (or crushing defeat) is always group-owned. It’s perfect for folks new to co op board games and for seasoned players who like a challenge.
2 Spirit Island
Spirit Island takes co op board games to a whole new level. You play as angry island spirits who scare off colonists. The strategy is thick and we cheered when we blocked a big invasion with a perfect combo. Everyone feels powerful and the game still kicks your butt—no free wins here. It’s a lot to learn if you’re new, but totally worth it for the insane teamwork and wild combos. When we pull off a big save, it feels epic. Definitely more for gamers who want a challenge, not a light snack.
1 Gloomhaven
Gloomhaven is the king of co op board games—no contest. We picked it as the best one because it offers a giant world filled with adventure, teamwork, and endless choices. If you want true co operation, this is it. When we play, everyone matters. The story is deep, the puzzles keep us thinking, and unlocking new characters makes us feel like treasure hunters. Sure, it takes a while to set up and needs a dedicated group, but we keep coming back because no game does teamwork better. Gloomhaven is the perfect pick for friends who want a big, epic experience together. Nothing beats it.
