Games like Pandemic: co-op games to play next
Last checked 31 October 2026
Quick answer: If you liked Pandemic, try Forbidden Desert first: it's the same team race against a board that keeps getting worse, with a storm that buries everything. Forbidden Island is the gentler version. Zombie Kidz Evolution works with kids from 7, The Crew: Mission Deep Sea and The Gang are co-op card games, and Mysterium and Sky Team bring something new.
Pandemic is the game that showed a lot of people that board games can be co-op: everyone wins or loses together, against the game itself. If that's the part you liked, these keep it. Some are close cousins with the same race against time, some are co-op card games, and one is for playing with children. All of them work well when you'd rather not have anyone lose to anyone else at Christmas.
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1. Forbidden Desert
A co-op (everyone wins or loses together) survival game. Dig through shifting sand to find the parts of a flying machine before the storm or thirst beats you.
- Players
- 2 to 5 players
- Age
- 10+
- Play time
- about 45 minutes
- Our teaching rating
- Takes a little explaining
Why it suits this: The closest match. Your team digs through shifting sand to find the parts of a flying machine before the storm or thirst beats you. It has the same ‘things get worse every turn’ pressure as Pandemic and plays up to five.
Check price on Amazon for Forbidden Desert (opens in a new tab)
Details last checked 24 October 2026.
2. Forbidden Island
Work as a team to grab four treasures from a sinking island and fly off before the water swallows the lot.
- Players
- 2 to 4 players
- Age
- 10+
- Play time
- about 30 minutes
- Our teaching rating
- Easy to teach
Why it suits this: The gentler, shorter cousin. You work as a team to grab four treasures from a sinking island and fly off before the water swallows the lot. Good for a family that found Pandemic a bit much.
Check price on Amazon for Forbidden Island (opens in a new tab)
Details last checked 2 November 2026.
3. Zombie Kidz Evolution
Co-op zombie bashing at school. Each turn a zombie comes in, then you move, clear zombies and team up to lock the doors. Win or lose, you earn stickers and open sealed envelopes that change the game.
- Players
- 2 to 4 players
- Age
- 7+
- Play time
- about 15 minutes
- Our teaching rating
- Easy to teach
Why it suits this: A co-op game for children from 7. A zombie comes in each turn, then you move, clear zombies and team up to lock the school doors. Win or lose, you earn stickers and open sealed envelopes that change the game.
Check price on Amazon for Zombie Kidz Evolution (opens in a new tab)
Details last checked 26 October 2026.
4. The Crew: Mission Deep Sea
Co-op trick-taking (everyone plays a card and the highest takes the lot) where the whole team wins or loses together. Missions say who has to win which cards, and you can barely talk about your hand.
- Players
- 3 to 5 players
- Age
- 10+
- Play time
- about 20 minutes
- Our teaching rating
- Easy to teach
Why it suits this: Co-op in a card game. Everyone plays a card and the highest takes the lot, and each mission says who has to win which cards. You can barely talk about your hand, so the teamwork is in reading each other.
Check price on Amazon for The Crew: Mission Deep Sea (opens in a new tab)
Details last checked 2 November 2026.
5. The Gang
Co-op poker with no betting. Without talking, you each take a chip ranking how good you think your hand is, then reveal. Get the whole order right three times before three alarms.
- Players
- 3 to 6 players
- Age
- 10+
- Play time
- about 20 minutes
- Our teaching rating
- Takes a little explaining
Why it suits this: Co-op poker with no betting. Without talking, you each take a chip ranking how good you think your hand is, then reveal. Get the order right three times before three alarms go off. It takes up to six.
Check price on Amazon for The Gang (opens in a new tab)
Details last checked 20 October 2026.
6. Mysterium
One player is a ghost who can't speak and hands out dreamlike picture cards as clues. Everyone else works together to pin down the suspect, the place and the object within seven rounds.
- Players
- 3 to 7 players
- Age
- 10+
- Play time
- about 42 minutes
- Our teaching rating
- Takes a little explaining
Why it suits this: A very different co-op. One player is a ghost who can't speak and hands out dreamlike picture cards as clues, and everyone else works together to pin down the suspect, the place and the object within seven rounds.
Check price on Amazon for Mysterium (opens in a new tab)
Details last checked 22 October 2026.
7. Sky Team
Pilot and co-pilot quietly place dice in the cockpit to land a passenger plane, and you're not allowed to talk about your rolls.
- Players
- 2 players only
- Age
- 14+
- Play time
- about 20 minutes
- Our teaching rating
- Takes a little explaining
Why it suits this: Co-op for exactly two. Pilot and co-pilot quietly place dice in the cockpit to land a passenger plane, and you're not allowed to talk about your rolls. A good one for couples who liked Pandemic.
Check price on Amazon for Sky Team (opens in a new tab)
Details last checked 9 November 2026.
Want more co-op games? See our cooperative board games and escape room board games.
How we choose and check
We pick games for the situation, and ignore hobby rankings and hype. Player counts, ages and play times come from the publisher's own page or the box. If we can't confirm a detail there, we leave it off the card. The teaching rating is our own view from reading the rules, not a publisher figure. Nobody pays us to include a game. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. See how we make money.