There's no 'I' in 'TEAM': 5 games that make you work together

Despite what Cassie may think, gaming is not all about competition. Every now and then, the best gaming moments come from beating the game together. It’s these moments that can turn gamers into friends, and friends into… better friends, I guess? Anyway, here’s a few game you can bring out at your next tabletop party to get people working together instead of against each other.

Pandemic

Four diseases are ravaging the globe, and you and your fellow players must work together to manage the sick and find a cure, before the human race grinds to a disgustingly mucusy end. Originally published in 2007, and expanded multiple times since, Pandemic is a staple for any co-op experience.

Recently, Matt Leacock teamed up with Rob Daviau to create a revamped Legacy edition that adds a whole new 12-month campaign for you and your friends to work through. So if you have a regular gaming night set up for you and your friends, why not try your hand at saving the world, or plunging it into filthy, diseased chaos, one month at a time.

The Big Book of Madness

What did you think would happen when you snuck into the library at Elementary Wizarding School to take a peek at The Big Book of Madness? Monsters roam the halls and now it’s up to you and your fellow wizard to lift the curses these monsters bring with them, and lock them away before you get caught.

It has surprised me that this game has not got more table time because it is just a lot of fun. You work with your fellow players to lock away the monsters but are still playing your own little game by building your deck of elemental cards, that are used to cast spells. There’s a lot going on in this game and every bit of it is just pure fun. Don’t expect to win all the time though. Unless your team is truly working together, you’ll find yourself with a handful of madness cards and out of the game.

Pathfinder Adventure Card Game

Want a little more role-playing in your team games? Then the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game (PACG for short) is the one for you. Each player takes control of a certain character class and, as you play through the game, you add better weapons, armour, allies and spells to your deck while increasing the bonuses on your character card. And you’ll need them, because the monsters get harder every time.

The core gameplay is simple, search through the different location decks to find the villain and don’t let them escape. But with the random upgrades and obstacles you encounter, the game layers on complexity and changes every time you play and with 6 adventure decks to a campaign, each with 5 scenarios, a campaign can last well over 40 hours of play time.

Codenames

Here we go, Dylan’s putting Codenames on a list again. Are you surprised? This game is one of the best team games I’ve ever played and is perfect for building friendships and communication, even if is a competition against the other team.

In Codenames, the spymaster needs to get his or her team to choose the right code names that only they know, but the only way they can communicate what code names their team needs to choose is with one, related word.

This game is perfect for building communication between players. The amount of times this game has been played at both Board games & Burgers and our own personal tabletop nights is astounding is a perfect example of a game that can bring people together.

Elder Sign

The old ones are rumbling from their slumber and it’s up to you and your fellow players to find the Elder signs to lock away these chaotic gods for good. Each turn, you complete challenges by rolling dice and, if you succeed, you get the rewards, otherwise you could end up losing your mind.

Players of Elder Sign will recognise a lot of elements from Arkham Horror and that’s precisely what Fantasy Flight Games made with Elder Sign. Elder Sgn is the best way to condense a 3-4 hour game into a much more manageable 45-60 minute experience, and just like Arkham Horror, beating the game isn’t easy. Elder Sign has a higher win rate than I do.

So what are you waiting for? Grab some of these games and get playing. You never know what friends you can make when you work together!