1:39 Number 10: Sam - Commissioned, Tom - Orleans: Invasion, Zee - Pandemic: The Cure 5:40 Number 09: Sam - Mysterium, Tom - XenoShyft: Onslaught, Zee - Dead Men Tell No Tales 10:02 Number 08: Sam - Carnival Zombie, Tom - Dead of Winter, Zee - Legends of Andor 14:56 Number 07: Sam - Marvel Legendary, Tom - Shadows Over Camelot, Zee - Freedom: The Underground Railroad 19:12 Number 06: Sam - Shadows Over Camelot, Tom - Eldritch Horror, Zee - Atlantis Rising 24:29 Number 05: Sam - T.I.M.E Stories, Tom - Defenders of the Realm, Zee - T.I.M.E Stories 28:13 Number 04: Sam - Zombicide: Black Plague, Tom - Robinson Crusoe, Zee - Pandemic Legacy 33:05 Number 03: Sam - Pandemic Legacy, Tom - Ghost Stories, Zee - Robinson Crusoe 38:59 Number 02: Sam - Battlestar Galactica, Tom - Marvel Legendary, Zee - Ghost Stories 44:14 Number 01: Sam - Dead of Winter, Tom - T.I.M.E Stories, Zee - Pandemic
A testament to how far cooperative games have come is the fact there is little crossover, and also the fact that there are many good games none of you listed. That is not a bad thing. It's a good time to want to work together in board gaming.
Space Alert is possibly my favorite board game. The real time aspect, its best feature, makes sure that no one bosses the other players around, a feature I haven't not seen in any other coop game.
THANK YOU for adding the banners. It makes fast forwarding so much easier. Love the videos; but I love them more with banners thanks for editing those in!
My top co-op games are 1) Fallout w/Atomic Bonds Exp 2) Lords of Waterdeep 3) This War of Mine 4) Terror Below 5) Aliens: Another Glorious Day In The Corps. Glad to hear Robinson Crusoe is in Tom's faves, because I just bought it and am excited for an adventure! Thanks for a great video!
Some great games on those lists. Really looking forward to the Robinson Crusoe playthrough. I found it very complex and rules-heavy at first. Interested to see Sam's reaction to it.
I agree. A pain to learn, but worth it in the end. First play took almost 5 hours. Doesn't help when you have that one player who questions every rule. Sigh
My top 5, listed not in pure enjoyment (SotM would be tops in that case) but in the quality of the game: 1. Pandemic Legacy 2. Robinson Crusoe 3. Sentinels of the Multiverse 4. Legendary Encounters: Aliens 5. Ghost Stories.
For me the list is as follows, here I list games as cooperative if the mode I play the game for most is cooperative (Such as Mage Knight or Descent 2nd): 1. Lord of The Ring LCG 2. Descent 2nd Edition (Coop Expansions) 3. Pandemic Legacy 4. Time Stories 5. Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective 6. Sentinels of the Multiverse 7. Project: Elite 8. Mage Knight 9. Dead of Winter 10. Myth 11. Shadows of Brimstone 12. Arhkam Horror 13. Ghost Stories 14. Pathfinder: Adventure Card Game 15. Warhammer Quest 16. Warhammer Quest Adventure Card Game 17. DND Board Games (Wrath of Ashardalon etc.) 18. Assault on Doomrock 19. WoW TCG Raid Decks 20. Mysterium 21. Defenders of the Realm 22. Robinson Crusoe 23. Shadow over Camelot 24. Mistfall 25. Runeage Just from the top of my head, I am sure I forgot some major ones. Edit: Yes, I forgot Legendary Encounters: Alien and Zcide: Black Plague, they would probably have ended up somewhere in the 15+ and top 10 respectively. Also, I do not consider a game like BSG a cooperative game, as the focus of the game is on the traitors and the cooperative game itself is not that interesting. For Shadows over Camelot, we have never won a game even without traitors, and for Dead of Winter the coop game is interesting enough for the focus not to be on the traitor all the time. Oh and I love Space Alert, that would probably have been top 5 as well.
I can no longer find easily these Top Ten List and they are my favorite part of the Dice Tower. Last year they were on the front of the page, now I don´t see them and I just realized I haven´t watched the most recent ones.
My friends and I cant get enough of Sentinels of the Multiverse which was a game i saw here first on The Dice Tower. Thank You Tom Vasel and surprised it was not somewhere on you list.
I agree with Sam on the traitor not disqualifying a co-op game as co-op. Especially because in many of those games the traitor is optional and/or not even taken.
Marvel Legendary you are actually playing Shield Commanders, getting heroes (and agents) to do specific stuff, which is why two can both direct Spiderman around.
+Graeme Patrick I agree with this. Also, why is Legacy on 4 and regular Pandemic on 1? I don't get it. What does the regular version have that the Legacy one doesn't? The Expansions? but are they really better than the Legacy aspect of the newer version?
I'm glad you guys made the distinction between Zombicide and Black Plague. I never would have wanted to play the former, but I'm definitely intrigued by ZBP now.
It always amazes me when people do thumbs down. These guys are working hard to make interesting content for fans, so how could anyone put thumbs down? Unbelievable. It you don't like the content go somewhere else.
1 : Pandemic Legacy 2 : Pandemic 3: Pandemic the cure 4: Time stories 5: The Grizzeld 6: Dead of Winter 7: Eldritch Horror 8: The Big book of Madness 9: Agents of Smersh 10: Escape or Escape : Zombie City
I know I'm trading into treacherous waters here, but I'm going to give a shoutout to DC Deckbuilder in Crisis mode. The variety of crisis/supervillain combos gives it great replayability (not to mention all the different superheroes you can play). And there's a whole sub-game in crafting a thematic or challenging main deck, which comes with an easy challenge throttle simply by increasing or decreasing the number of cards. I will also challenge the common critique that it's not thematic, but that's for another day.
10: Shadowrun Crossfire 9: Xenoshyft 8: Mansions of Madness (even with the keeper) 7: Posthuman 6: Big Book of Madness 5: Arkham Horror 4: Mage Knight 3: Thunderstone 2: Sentinels of the Multiverse. 1: Kingdom Death Monster, by FAR. Definitely the best co-op campaign experience I've ever played, and definitely one of the best board game experiences I've ever had.
Glad you guys redid this list. Lately it seems like you don't have discussion following your lists, comparing lists or listing the ones that just missed (Zee mentioned Forbidden Desert, shadows and others missed the cut). Otherwise, great as always. Keep up the good work, and get well soon Zee
BattleStar Galactica,, yea, I love that game, I learned the game before I saw the show, it got me to watch the show. I liked the original BSG and I hesitated to watch the new show., However after watching one of your videos where you talked about BSG board game, and I saw a local meetup for it, I went to the meetup and played the game. I learned that it is the perfect game for me and have my own copy and I've played it lot. Hopefully when I see you guys later this year we could get a game of BSG in.
So, Sam...we have to talk. According to your taste and that you start liking Zombicide I think it is time to go for the next step and that you check out Galaxy Defenders and Shadows of Brimstone and here are the reasons why. :) Galaxy Defenders: a) It offers a story-rich dynamic campaign experience (one story text beats the whole Imperial Assault story). b) It forces tactical decisions and discussions. c) It comes with very distinct character roles and strong development. You will cry when your 15h character dies. d) You can adjust the game to your own complexity level with the optional rules in the rulebook. You want Human View that it matters how to rotate your figure? You can. You want permadeath? There you have it. You want the High Impact rule that combat gets more burtal? There you go. According to the tactical choices and events in Imperial Assault, Galaxy Defenders goes the next step. Shadows of Brimstone: a) You love the "dungeon crawl" Descent 2.0? In Brimstone you will fear the next unknown corner especially in the beginning of the campaign. b) Shadows is dripping with theme. Mutations, encounters, travel hazards, town events, epic boss battles. That what in Descent 2.0 or Imperial Assault might be the final mission here you can have it in every mission. c) Is it Permadeath you are looking for? Here you go. d) Character development is what you like? Choose your tech tree options wisely. So all in all I think you will like these games very much and I could imagine that you will stop playing Descent 2.0 and even Imperial Assault (even if it is Star Wars). Grab these games, meet up with Rob, paint and assemble the figures (in Brimstone) and you will have hours of coop-heaven fun. I promise. My top 10 cooperative games: 1.) Shadows of Brimstone 2.) Galaxy Defenders 3.) Arkham Horror 4.) Machina Arcana 5.) Alien Uprising 6.) Fortune & Glory 7.) Eldritch Horror 8.) Project: Elite 9.) Robinson Crusoe 10.) Fireteam: Zero Short list: Zombicide Black Plague, Defenders of the realm, Gears of war, Legendary ALIEN.
Great top 10 from the Dream Team panel. Your choices are hard to disagree with. I have not played Ghost Stories yet I'll have to go to my board cafe soon and try that one.
For SEO it might be better if when you "redo" a list (Which I'm perfectly ok with you guys doing every X years or so) you add a year or number modifier. So when I'm looking for this video via google search. I don't keep finding the old one. Or if for instance you make a third one you introduce an amount of noise where we can't find the most recent one. It doens't have to be a "year" as some people will then demand one annually but something to separate the different versions.
Regarding Dead of Winter, it is a semi-cooperative team game in that all the players can lose. It’s not a fully cooperative game though (unless you play the cooperative variant in the rules of course). An interesting experiment to show it’s not fully cooperative is to play the game for money; all players put in say $10 at the start of the game and the winners split the pot at the end. (If nobody wins then donate the pot to charity, maybe a zombie prevention society?) I believe if you try this out you’ll find people are much more concerned about completing their own personal objective because failure will actually have a personal cost.
I surprised myself by really getting into Robinson Crusoe. Way more fun with a group, but still pretty fun to solo as well. Waiting for the 2nd edition to land where I am - I love the theming and the stuff for this game.
I´m sorry, but i have to comment. ALOT of you reviewers are complaining about the targeting mechanic in Zombicide. I don't get it! that mechanic is what make the game a strategy game, it forces you to think before using the actions you have availible. No it mite not be especially logical, however where it not there, it would just be dicerolling hack and slash game. That mechanic is, atleast to my mind, what makes the game worth playing. Other than that, i enjoy watching you guys, keep up the good work!
My top cooperative games have been Pandemic, Dead of Winter and the Forbidden Island/desert series. There are some on the list I have not played so who knows how things will shift form there.
Great lists again, not sure why none of you like G.D. but *shrugs* Mine would go: 1. Descent 2nd edition w/road to legend 2. Legendary 3. Galaxy Defenders 4. Elder Sign 5. Eldritch Horror I wanted to include MageKnight, in my opinion, one of the best games I own yet I was told that doesn't count because it's just a mode and to make it compelling you really do need the first expansion, although I think as long as you play it the way Tom plays Legendary the co-op take the cities thing is great!
My favorite co-op is Sentinels of the Multiverse. I have everything for that game and am looking forward (with some sadness) to the final expansion. Next year seems a long way off. Would love to expand my stable of co-ops, but hobby money is short and hobby time is even shorter. :(
i find it weird that no comparison was made to sentinels, esp since the video 3 years ago Tom had Sentinels as better than Legendary and sam didn't mention Legendary at all. In this video, they really didn't explain why Legendary suddenly appeared in their lists when it was only a sidenote of Tom's 3 years ago in their first video. Consider that some of their games listed in the older video moved down and out of mention in this video to make room for the new games that came out in that interim, while maybe legendary is the only one from that time that moved up. consistently the internet reviews give the higher rating to sentinels....weird indeed
Neon Squire Sentinels of the Multiverse can be somewhat fiddly, but the free iOS/android app offers to keep track of all that stuff so you can do away with counters and all the other cardboard stuff.
I do also like "Time Stories". But my major problem is: U can play each story only once - lets say u screw over and restart u do it twice or a third time - and thats it. You could show it to some new people...if you know some and see how they go but for the rest it rots in ur boardgameshelf and thats why iam sooo inbetween with this game.
Lots of semi-cooperative (traitor games) games on this list, (Shadows Over Camelot, Battlestar Galactica, and Dead of Winter). Personally I wouldn't include those as they are not strictly cooperative so not everyone wins/loses together, which to me is what makes a cooperative game.
There are probably not enough games to make the list, but Orleans example made me wonder which games has made a successful change of play style (e.g. competitive -> co-op).
HERE HERE! The first gaming commandment, "Thou shalt not have to make house rules just to make a game playable!!" For me this is exemplified in Shadowrun Crossfire
It's weird to see that they write T.I.M.E. Stories when the publisher (and Boardgame Geek etc.) always say T.I.M.E Stories (which I always consider to be a huge typo). Weirdest thing is that even the original game box has that typo.
Top 10.1 (for the first after it originally being 10.0 or they can leave it at 10.0/10 and make the new one AKA this one 10.2 or top 10: the remix edition)!
I haven't played much the games on this list. Only Pandemic and Shadows over Camelot which would both be on my list. outside the list my favourite co-operative games would be Battlestar Galactica and Betrayal at House on the Hill. It would also be great to see a list of games that were on the previous list, but not on this one. Perhaps also to hear reasons on why they are not present any more.
picked up t.i.m.e stories after watching some of your game play. me and wife love it even though she doesn't really enjoy new games. we played twice and will finish it soon I'm sure. thanks much for the info.
With Assault on Doomrock, The Captain is Dead, Kill Shakespeare and Tiny Epic Defenders I feel like a hipster-coop-gamer. I do have Pandemic: the Cure though. And Ghost Stories, but the first edition. Before it was cool.
Will you make a top 10 introduction games, if you haven't already? Also hope you make a top 10 exploration games, just cause i like that theme/mechanic. :)
I haven't played a lot of games (just got into the hobby) but here is my short list. 1. Legendary Encounters: Alien 2. Legends of Andor 3. Dead of Winter 4. Sentinels of the Multiverse 5. Pandemic
Good choices. Personally, I'd have Legendary Encounters: Alien way above Marvel, but that is my taste. I can understand why it isn't as high for some because of the scary (and gory) theme.
Agreed. This is one of my go-to co-op games. It's a steal at what, 14 dollars, it plays great for new players and veterans of co-op games alike, and has a really fresh take on what are otherwise very pandemic-y gameplay mechanics.
wahou, there are some forgotten games in my opinion! hanabi is a fantastic short coop game you can play having a pint in a pub! it works well with "non players". a second one which is amazing is Sherlock Holmes détective conseil in french (i don't know the US title) in which one you have to solve an investigation using news papers, a map of london and your logics, this is like books in which one you are the hero. and for me another one which has its place in this top 10 is Mice and mystics!!! bref peut être que cela vient de mon regard français ! well, may be due to my french vision.
That's nice, a couple of games in your list are just in mine too, but it's nice to see indications for games that i didn't player, and i'm really a co-op game(online and offline) fan. Well, my personal list if you are interested: 01- T.I.M.E. Stories 02- Zombicide Black Plague 03- Legendary Alien 04- Mice and Mystics 05- Betrayal at House on the Hill(i'm not really sure if it's reall a co-op) 06- Dead of Winter 07- Eldritch Horror 08- Heróis e Monstros(a brazilian game) 09- Pandemic 10- Dead Men Tell No Tales
I was a bit surprised not to see Mice and Mystics since they have all spoken highly of it in the past but if memory serves wasn't it also a "one vs. all" type game? Maybe that's why?
Aidan Loewen I really want to like Betrayal. I actually own it and the Widow's Walk expansion, but the 3 times I've played it, we must have just had some pretty crummy scenarios. I love the exploration and theme, but once the haunt happens, every group I've played with just wants it to end. I wish I loved this game but it's just played poorly for us consistently.
can you reccommend a couple coop games that are easier to win, to get ppl dragged into boardgaming? so far we've only tried pandemic and it's pretty hard to win even on easiest mode thanks awesome videos btw
I'd be very curious on the guys' thoughts as to whether Decent, with Road to Legend application, qualifies for a co-op list. I'm pretty sure it came out after this was made, at least by half a year. I do think, however, it puts Decent firmly within the co-op genre -- and pretty high up on my personal list.
+jonjon2222 Yeah, one can see he is sick in this one already (well, he was also in Pandemic Legacy and TIME Stories play throughs, so it was a long burn ilness, it seems).