Played out Monster Mayhem card game within a month or so. Bought Castle Panic and was a great fantasy intro board game, simple to learn with just enough strategy to keep it interesting for older folks but it’s about run its course.
Looking for suggestions 2-3 can play together mix of youth and adults, ideally collaboratively. Basic-level RPG or strategy fantasy/mystery/adventure, small group of 3 max so not really a “DM” situation type game, all would be players.
TIA
Betrayal at House on the Hill is an interesting and (generally) cooperative board game with a bunch of spinoff versions that are themed differently. The original is haunted house themed, and the game starts pretty easy but grows in complexity as it’s played, with a BUNCH of different scenarios/endings available to keep things fresh. The game itself acts as the “DM” and the scenarios are pretty varied. Doubly so if you get the expansion.
This is one of our group’s favorites! They also have betrayal at Baldur’s Gate which is a D&D flavored take on the game.
It’s a lot less RPGish, but Forbidden Island is a great co-op game, not too complex.
On the other end of the scale, Once Upon a Time is a cooperative storytelling game. Not much on strategy, but still fun for the grownups.
Those both lookgreat in different ways. I got outvoted and bought Samurai Showdown but am going to snag Forbidden Island as a surprise. Thanks!
I recommend spirit island, it might be a little higher than mid difficulty but I really enjoy it. It’s co-op and if you get tired of the core game, there are lots of expansions that change features
Thanks, that looks really great, review I watched said highly complicated, it seems ok for me but would probably lose the others at this point, maybe will give it a go later on!
Stuffed Fables is a storybook adventure with stuffed toys. Sort of Choose Your Own Adventure meets D&D. The book’s the DM.
In a similar vein there’s The Adventures of Robin Hood, and Eila and Something Shiny.
One Deck Dungeon is an inexpensive small box co-op game with a fantasy dungeon crawl theme and an approachable rule set. It only plays 1 or 2 but you could always have 2 people share a character and make the decisions together. Or just share both characters between all players. There is also an app version (mobile, steam) that is a good way to learn the game.
Thanks for the rec, I looked it up and that’s right in the sweet spot of introducing some basic RPG mechanics but not too much to juggle for my co-players.
As a side note, it’s encouraging to see the artwork has all female heroes–it’s great to see industry recognizing after decades of girls and women playing that sorceress and elf doesn’t have to be the limit.
If it looks interesting then make sure to check out the Forest of Shadows version too. It can be played either standalone or combined with the original. It adds a poison mechanic and some other relatively minor things. There is also a newer space themed game called One Deck Galaxy but I haven’t played that one yet.
Talisman is super fun and easy to play. There are a bunch of versions and new ones every few years. I also own a ton of the expansions and made a bunch of home brew characters. The base game is solid enough thou.
Thanks, just watched a play-through of it, looks like a perfect level of difficulty but it’s competitive though rather than collaborative, which is what I’m looking for.
Collab huh? We’ve played Gloomhaven Jaws of the Lion. Gloomhaven is massive but the Jaws of the Lion is a way smaller stand alone expansion. There are companion apps that help speed it up. The other co-op games we play are Zombicide, Mansions of Madness and Arkham Horror. If I remember correctly the last 2 can switch from collab to where one person can win. All of them are a blast.
Daybreak is very good. It’s from one of the designers of pandemic.
