Just realized I was overthinking co-op board games for years

I used to only play competitive games like Catan and Ticket to Ride because I thought co-op games were basically just everyone telling one person what to do. Last weekend my buddy forced me to play Pandemic Legacy Season 1 with his group. I figured I'd hate it. After 3 sessions I finally got why people love them. The tension of everyone losing together hits different than one winner. Plus nobody sits around for 10 minutes waiting for their turn. Has anyone else had a game genre they wrote off for years and then changed their mind?

2 comments

2 Comments

kai_knight11mo ago

Oh man, I gotta respectfully disagree on the waiting around thing. In my experience, co-op games can actually have worse downtime because you're all analyzing everyone else's moves and trying to quarterback. I played Forbidden Island with some friends and one guy literally sat there for 5 minutes while three of us argued over whether to shore up the sinking tiles or go for the treasure. At least in Catan when it's not your turn you can zone out and check your phone. Your mileage may vary, but I've seen co-op games turn into group decision paralysis way more often than competitive ones where you just roll dice and move your piece.

brookefox1mo ago

You actually changed my mind here. I always thought co-op games were more chill but yeah, that Forbidden Island example hits close to home. My group had the exact same problem with Pandemic where we'd just sit there staring at the board forever trying to optimize every move.