Playing cooperative board games like Pandemic has been a popular way to spend time with friends since their inception. But if you feel like you’ve played Pandemic a few too many times (and have also tried out all of the expansion packs!), then you may be looking for more board games similar to this popular game.
Extremely topical in nature, the Pandemic board game has you timing up with your friends to try and prevent a deadly pandemic from wreaking havoc on the entire world. Different from a lot of other board games in the fact that you’re not competing directly against your teammates, many players relish in the idea of working collaboratively with their friends, rather than trying to defeat them.
If you love the premise of this board game and are searching for more board games similar to Pandemic, then you’re sure to love these great games.
9 Board Games like Pandemic
Ghost Stories
If you’re looking for a great collaborative game like Pandemic, then Ghost Stories is an excellent choice for you. Using a lot of the same themes as Pandemic, this game has you protecting your village from ghost invasions rather than protecting the world from a global epidemic.
Players are inhabitants of a town in China and, cooperatively, they must defend it from being taken over by various ghost incarnation of the lord of hell — Wu-Feng. Each turn, players have to exorcise a ghost to appear and then collectively figure out how to eradicate it in order to save the town.
Like in Pandemic, players must cooperate with one another and there is no clear winner or loser at the end of the game. Instead, you either collectively win or lose the game when it comes to an end. All in all, for those looking for cooperative games like Pandemic, then you’re sure to love Ghost Stories.
Saboteur
Though it is slightly different in premise than Pandemic, this is a great collaborative game that you’re to love if you’re looking for something similar to that cooperative board game.
Saboteur follows the premise that you and your teammates are miners trying to find gold. It is a card game where you must build tunnels digging for the gold and where you must draw cards from a deck that will either hinder or help you achieve your goal.
The majority of players are just typical miners, however, there are a couple of players that will be “saboteurs” whose goal it is to stop the regular miners from finding the gold by any means necessary.
Though initially, players don’t know the other player’s identities, there, eventually, is a fair amount of collaboration involved in the game both amongst the saboteurs and the miners. Whichever player has the most gold at the end of three rounds wins the game.
Shadows over Camelot
If you like Pandemic but wish there was more of a fantasy element to it, then you’re sure to enjoy playing Shadows over Camelot. Another fantastic collaborative game, this one is based on Arthurian legend where everything is related to the myths surrounding the legendary King Arthur and his court.
Each player represents a member of the Knights of the Round Table and the eventual goal is to find the Holy Grail. On each turn, players go on a quest and complete a “heoric action” while also defending from “evil actions” that will end up eating Camelot.
A great collaborative board game like Pandemic, Shadows over Camelot is sure to entertain and thrill all those who choose to play it.
Space Alert
If you like Pandemic but the premise hits a bit too close to home right now, then you’re sure to enjoy playing Space Alert.
This board game is very similar to Pandemic however, it is (as the name would suggest) in outer space and players must defend and protect their spaceship as it travels through dangerous areas of the galaxy.
Each turn, players must embark on a mission and work together to get their ship through the dangerous galactic sectors and defend themselves from the various threats thrown their way. It is a fun and fast-paced game that will bring you closer with your teammates and sure to entertain you just as much as other games like Pandemic.
The game only takes about thirty minutes to play from start to finish and can accommodate 2-5 players, meaning that it’s perfect for a group of friends looking for a great cooperative game!
Castle Panic
Another wonderful fantasy-based cooperative game, Castle Panic is perfect for those who are looking for board games similar to Pandemic.
A fun game that requires collaboration and strategy, this is the perfect choice for those who loves themes surrounding castles and monsters.
Castle Panic follows the premise that you and your teammates live in a castle that is located in the centre of a haunted wood. It is you and your teammates’ duty to defend the castle from attacks from monsters coming out of the wood using various strategies and abilities.
The game lasts about an hour and it can accommodate up to six players. The game is suitable for players ages ten and up, meaning that Castle Panic is also a great game to play with your family.
Last Night on Earth: The Zombie Game
Wish that Pandemic had more zombies? Then you’re sure to love Last Night on Earth: The Zombie Game. This collaborative board game is based during a zombie apocalypse and you and your friends must do all that you can to survive and thrive.
The premise of the game is similar to anything involving zombie: the goal is to survive, slay zombies and make sure that the human race does not die out.
In Last Night on Earth, the majority of the game is made up of humans who are trying to survive and one or two zombies that are trying to control and conquer the humans. It is up to both sides to collaborate in order to win the game.
Though there are two different sides to this game, Last Night on Earth: The Zombie Game is an excellent choice for those who are looking for more collaborative board games like Pandemic.
Forbidden Island
A wonderful game that is perfect for those who are looking for great cooperative games similar to Pandemic, Forbidden Island is sure to delight all those who love collaborating and cooperating with their teammates rather than competing against them.
The general premise of this game is quite simple, you and your friends are on a desert island and that is slowly sinking into the water.
The goal is that you and your friends are supposed to prevent to from sinking before you can collect the treasure on the island and safely leave it. With various levels of difficulty involved and numerous curveballs thrown in, it is an entertaining game that is sure to delight fans of Pandemic.
The game takes about thirty minutes to play from beginning to end, meaning that it’s a great choice for those looking for fast-paced but fun and interesting game to play. It can accommodate 2-4 players and is suitable for ages ten and up.
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Zombicide
Another zombie apocalypse game, Zombicide is an excellent choice for those looking for board games similar to Pandemic. A cooperative game where everyone is trying to survive a world being taken over by zombies, this game is sure to thrill you to the very end.
The premise is pretty simple: each player is a survivor of the zombie apocalypse and the goal is to keep surviving and to vanquish the zombies once and for all. To do this, you must work with your teammates to find weapons and kill zombies, and the more you do that, the more you advance in the game.
Like the rest of the games on this list, there are no winners or losers of the game as it is collaborative and cooperative. The game takes about one hour to play and can accommodate up to six players.
Flash Point: Fire Rescue
Getting away from the fantastical or apocalyptic themes of the rest of the games like Pandemic on this list, Flash Point: Fire Rescue is a collaborative game where you and your teammates must work together to respond to a dire emergency.
The game starts with a “911” phone call that triggers the game. Through each turn, each player must make choices to try and extinguish a fire and to save the victims from it in the best way possible. The game is complex and fast-paced and encourages you to work well with your teamates.
Flash Point: Fire Rescue is great for up to six players and takes about 45 minutes to play from start to finish.
Games like Pandemic are fun to play because, sometimes, you want to work with your friends rather than against them. All of the games on this list are cooperative and complex and are sure to entertain you much in the same way that Pandemic has!
Are you hunting for more collaborative board games like Pandemic? Have any recommendations that didn’t make the list? Let us know in the comments!
Thanks Maggie, this is great… I love pandemic but would really like to get hold of a couple of similarly playing alternatives too.
I’ll definitely look into picking up a couple of these.
Thanks, Si 😁
Thank you so much! Because of your list, I picked out two of them and just ordered them off of Amazon. Just in time for the holidays. Great list here – thanks!
Thanks. Appreciate the comparisons to Pandemic. Our extended family plays it a lot! Could you add some comments about the replay value of these games. That is a strength of Pandemic.
Thanks again for the work.
Kennerspiel des Jahres winner The Crew would be a good addition to this list. It differs from Pandemic in that play consists of an increasingly difficult set of short missions. If you fail a mission you can try again until you succeed.