The Best Cooperative Tabletop Games

Original Article

Wirecutter recently put out an article on the best Cooperative Games.

LibraryGameBuy
DaybreakBuy on Amazon
YesSpirit IslandBuy on Amazon
Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective: The Thames Murders & Other Cases
YesCastle PanicBuy on Amazon
Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island

Source: Unplugged RVA

Mark’s Pick:

Game Details
NameTake Time (2025)
ComplexityMedium Light [1.78]
BGG Rank792 [0.00]
DescriptionTake Time is a cooperative game where players either win or lose together. To succeed, you must strategically play 12 cards facedown around a Clock, following specific rules for each Test. You can work together through a series of games to pass all 40 Tests available in the game. —description from the publisher
Mechanism(s)

This is my current favorite cooperative game.

Top Push Your Luck Games

Original Article

This list of push your luck games was published a year ago by The Dice Tower. Games in our library are marked with our logo. We have you pretty well covered.

Affiliate links are provided for purchasing through Amazon.

Three people provided their list. These are the games that appeared on at least one person’s top 10 list.

LibraryGameBuy On Amazon
Atlantis Rising
YesCan’t Stop
Captain Flip
YesCelestiaBuy On Amazon
Circus FlohcatiBuy On Amazon
Dead Man’s Draw
YesIncan GoldBuy On Amazon
Dive
Don’t L.L.A.M.A. Dice
Excape
First in FlightBuy On Amazon
YesFlip 7Buy On Amazon
Gardlings
Matterhorn
Moonrollers
Mystic ValeBuy On Amazon
YesNemo’s War (Second Edition)Buy On Amazon
Ninjato
Oh My Goods!
Port RoyalBuy On Amazon
YesPUSH
YesSkate SummerBuy On Amazon
YesThe GrizzledBuy On Amazon
YesWelcome to the DungeonBuy On Amazon
Wonderland’s War

Mark’s Pick:

Game Details
NameQuacks (2018)
ComplexityMedium Light [1.94]
BGG Rank78 [0.00]
DescriptionIn Quacks, which was first released as The Quacks of Quedlinburg, players are charlatans — or quack doctors — each making their own secret brew by adding ingredients one at a time. Take care with what you add, though, for a pinch too much of this or that will spoil the whole mixture! Each player has their own bag of ingredient chips. During each round, they simultaneously draw chips from their bags and add them to their pots. The higher the face value of the drawn chip, the further it is placed in the pot's swirling pattern, increasing how much the potion will be worth. Push your luck as far as you can, but if you add too many cherry bombs, your pot will explode! At the end of each round, players gain victory points and coins to spend on new ingredients, depending on how well they managed to fill up their pots. But players whose pots have exploded must choose points or coins — not both! The player with the most victory points at the end of nine rounds wins the game.
Mechanism(s)

This is a great press your luck game. You draw chips out of a bag that are numbered 1 to 3. If the sum of the white chips you have drawn exceeds 7, your potion explodes. Other colored chips have special rules about how they score, what advantage they give, or how far along the potion progress track you move. Even if it explodes, the penalty is not so harsh that you can not overcome it. I have still only played with the first set of ingredients, but always have a fun time playing.

Most games have that moment where you have a total of 5 on your white chips, you have 10 chips in your bag and you know only one of them is a white 3. With those odds, how can you bust? Go ahead and press your luck … you draw a chip … and you get ….. unbelievable.

Sky Team

Game Details
NameSky Team (2023)
ComplexityMedium Light [2.04]
BGG Rank33 [0.00]
DescriptionSky Team is a co-operative game, exclusively for two players, in which you play a pilot and co-pilot at the controls of an airliner. Your goal is to work together as a team to land your airplane in different airports around the world. To land your plane, you need to silently assign your dice to the correct spaces in your cockpit to balance the axis of your plane, control its speed, deploy the flaps, extend the landing gear, contact the control tower to clear your path, and even have a little coffee to improve your concentration enough to change the value of your dice. If the aircraft tilts too much and stalls, overshoots the airport, or collides with another aircraft, you lose the game...and your pilot's license...and probably your life. From Montreal to Tokyo, each airport offers its own set of challenges. Watch out for the turbulence as this could end up being a bumpy ride! —description from the publisher
Mechanism(s)

SKY Team was nominated for the Spiel des Jahres

https://www.spiel-des-jahres.de/en/award-winners-2024

Board Game Geek Hall of Fame

Board Game Geek recently published their inductees to the Hall of Fame. As part of their 25th year celebration, they inducted 25 titles into the Hall of Fame

Haven’t played one of these? We have many of them, come in and give them a try.

The icon marks games that are in our library

LibraryGameYearBGG Rank
1830: Railways & Robber Barons1986285
7 Wonders2010100
Acquire1964345
Agricola200756
Brass: Lancashire200721
Carcassonne2000230
The Castles of Burgundy201116
CATAN1995574
Caylus2005117
Civilization1980452
Concordia201325
Cosmic Encounter2008209
Diplomacy1959812
Dominion2008139
El Grande199591
Magic: The Gathering1993166
Pandemic2008158
Power Grid200466
Ra1999131
Race for the Galaxy200780
Terra Mystica201231
Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization201514
Ticket to Ride2004247
Tigris & Euphrates1997110
Twilight Struggle200513

Foros

Foros is a 3D version of connect four. Players take turns placing blocks on the board, attempting to be the first to get 4 in a row on any level or diagonally.

3D Connect Four has been done before, but Foros stands out from previous versions. The decision to use cubes and cylinders as playing pieces make it easier to see where your pieces are and how they line up.

Foros also offers the ability to play traditional connect 4 and a circular Stonehenge version.

The quality of this game makes it standout against any competitors. This is a perfect game for younger players. Come in to try it out at Unplugged.

Tabletop Toolbox Top 100 Games

Local Dice Tower contributor, Jeff Knapp, has put out his top 100 games of all time.

https://www.dicetower.com/video/jeff-knapps-top-100-games-all-time-100-91

Be sure to check out his other content https://www.youtube.com/@TabletopToolbox. Give it a like and subscribe to the channel.

The list contains a healthy dose of

  • Lacerda Games – Weather Machine, The Gallerist, On Mars, Escape Plan, and Kanban
  • Games from my Shelf of Shame – Caper Europe, Hallertau, Brew Crafters, Rocketmen, Imperial Settlers: Empires of the North
  • Games from my wish list – Anno 1800 and Planet Unknown
  • Many games you can try out at the Cafe

This list truly offers a variety of light weight, mid weight and heavy weight games. There are games to enjoy with your family or just solo.

I was inspired to revisit my own list and here are my top 10. My list is a combination of my favorite strategy games and the ones that my family likes to play.

  • 10 Clank
  • 9 Underwater Cities
  • 8 Wingspan
  • 7 Boop
  • 6 Space Base
  • 5 Blood Rage
  • 4 Obsession
  • 3 Teotihuacan: City of Gods
  • 2 Ark Nova
  • 1 Yokohama

The icon marks games that are in our library

RankLibraryGameYear
100YesCascadia2021
99Reality Shift2022
98YesSpirit Island2017
97Jamaica2007
96YesLanterns: The Harvest Festival2015
95Maglev Metro2021
94YesCuBirds2018
93YesRallyman: GT2020
92YesExploding Kittens2015
91Kraftwagen2015
90Caper: Europe2022
89YesAir, Land & Sea2019
88YesStar Realms2014
87Hallertau2020
86Fallout2017
85Flotilla2004
84Marvel Champions: The Card Game2019
83YesModern Art1992
82YesAltiplano2017
81YesAzul: Summer Pavilion2019
80Magna Roma2022
79YesTransformers Deck-Building Game2021
78YesDisney Lorcana2023
77Star Trek Customizable Card Game1994
76Yesboop.2022
75Chocolate Factory2019
74Hegemony: Lead Your Class to Victory2023
73YesTapestry2019
72Xia: Legends of a Drift System2014
71Weather Machine2022
70YesTidal Blades: Heroes of the Reef2020
69Coffee Traders2021
68Dead Reckoning2022
67YesHeat: Pedal to the Metal2022
66Ancient Knowledge2023
65Hellenica: Story of Greece2019
64NEOM2018
63Smartphone Inc.2018
62Autobahn2022
61Planet Unknown2022
60YesFlamecraft2022
59PitchCar1995
58Starship Captains2022
57Honey Buzz2020
56Lacuna2023
55Xenon Profiteer2015
54YesIsle of Skye: From Chieftain to King2015
53First Rat2022
52VektoRace2018
51Scoville2014
50The Gallerist2015
49On Mars2020
48NMBR 92017
47YesChampions of Midgard2015
46Hibachi2021
45Rolling Heights2023
44Earth2023
43YesBeyond the Sun2020
42YesPlanet2018
413 Ring Circus2023
40Kuiperium2024
39YesSuburbia2012
38YesArk Nova2021
37Star Trek: Fleet Captains2011
36Imperium: Legends2021
35Escape Plan2019
34Aqua Garden2021
33Let’s Go! To Japan2024
32The Guild of Merchant Explorers2022
31YesKanban: Driver’s Edition2014
30Evergreen2022
29Archipelago2016
28YesEverdell2018
27Anno 1800: The Board Game2020
26YesViticulture2013
25Obsession2018
24Firefly1987
23Raising Robots2023
22Ostia2022
21Project L2020
20Wormholes2022
19Robot Quest Arena2023
18YesBrew Crafters2013
17Life of the Amazonia2023
16Voidfall2023
15YesRocketmen2021
14The Taverns of Tiefenthal2019
13Mosaic: A Story of Civilization2022
12YesUnderwater Cities2018
11Forests of Pangaia2023
10YesMeadow2021
9Imperial Settlers: Empires of the North2019
8DinoGenics2019
7Evacuation2023
6Tenpenny Parks2022
5Vindication2018
4YesAnomia2010
3Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy2020
2Leaving Earth2015
1The Age of Atlantis2022

Vote For Richmond’s Best

https://richmond.com/exclusive/readerschoice/ballot-2024

If you feel that we are worthy, we are nominated in 2 categories. Best date night and hidden gem.

Come out for Mushrooms by Moonlight Demo

This Thursday demo local game designer Joel Davis’s upcoming game Mushrooms by Moonlight!

The Best Card Games

The New York Times recently printed an article about the best card games. Many are available in our library. Come in and check them out.

The icon marks games that are in our library

LibraryGameNoteYear
YesSkullThe best bluffing card game2011
YesDominionThe best deck-building game2008
YesCat in the boxThe best trick-taking game2020
SCOUTThe best ladder-climbing game2019
YesHanabiThe best set collection game2010
YesSprawlopolisThe best layout game2018
YesBohnanzaThe best negotiation game1997
Queen by MidnightOther good card games2023
RegicideOther good card games2020
YesFood Chain IslandOther good card games2020
YesThe Crew: The Quest for Planet NineOther good card games2019
YesRace for the GalaxyOther good card games2007
Aeon’s End2016
YesArboretum2015
YesBoss Monster: The Dungeon Building Card Game2013
YesCockroach Poker2004
Fantasy Realms2017
YesFort2020
Hero Realms2016
YesMonopoly Deal2014
No Thanks!2004
YesPoint Salad2019
Silver2019
YesSmash Up2012
Startups2017
YesTake 51994
Trailblazers2023
YesTussie Mussie2019
YesUNO1971

Boardgames for everyone