Family•Kids•Lists

20+ Cooperative Board Games for Kids

Looking for a way to work together with your kids instead of against each other? Cooperative Board games are great for this!

I love getting out a cooperative game when I have a child who might need a little extra help during the game. Be it reading cards, or forming strategies, cooperative board games allow parents to provide the needed assistance while still allowing kids to feel independent and play on their own!

Here are some of my favorite cooperative board games for kids that the whole family will love playing together!

I’ve tried to order the games beginning with those for younger players, around ages 4-5, and ending with games geared for children around age 8. Just remember that all kids develop at their own speed and each game can have kids both younger and older who will enjoy playing them.

Cooperative Board Games for Kids

Hoot Owl Hoot

A great option for preschool/kindergarten kids just starting out with board games. A great alternative to Candyland!

Outfoxed

A classic! Outfoxed is a classic whodunnit for kids that’s great for teaching early deductive reasoning. Our older kids (7-8+) will often run the game while playing with their younger siblings (4+)

My First Castle Panic

Practice colors, shapes, and making strategic choices. A cute version of the original game, this time intended for the younger ones!

Karuba Junior

Flip tiles, make paths, and get to the treasure! A cute version of the original game that plays lightning fast. Easy enough for kids to play without a parent making it a nice option for solo or sibling play.

Magic Mountain

I love the perfect mix of toy + game factor here!

Mysterium Kids

This is a cute one and great for parents who love the adult game and want to share it with their littlest ones. Kids love getting to use the drum to give clues and each game plays quick — perfect for short attention spans.

Sheep Hop

One of our new favorites! Sheep Hop is great for solo play as well!

Concept Kids Animals

What kid doesn’t love animals! I love watching kids think of the different attributes of their animal and finding ways to represent that on the board.

SOS Dino

Tile placement and route building! Kids will find this game tricky to beat at first and will really have to work together to get the high score.

Kids Chronicles

App based narrative mystery game — our daughter ate this one up. Reading is required.

Unlock Kids

I was so impressed by Unlock Kids. A language independent (no reading required) escape room style game. Cute puzzles perfectly designed for kids to be able to do on their own together.

Peek a Mouse

Adorable theme! Part memory game, part real time challenge — this unique game design is always a hit!

Zombie Kidz & Zombie Teenz

We love this legacy game series! Teenz has the best narrative, but like any series you may want to start with the first game.

Zombie Kidz: Flashback

After you’ve worked through Zombie Kidz and Zombie Teenz, you can take on this entirely new game all about observation, clue following, and narrative storytelling.

Outnumbered

I absolutely LOVE this game! An excellent way to practice math in a fun, thematic game that is easily modified to suit the ages of the mathematicians you’re playing with.

Ghost Fighting’ Treasure Hunters

One of the best cooperative kids games around! If you can find this one at your local store or thrift store, do not hesitate to bring it home!

Chronicles of Avel

For an epic adventure, Chronicles of Avel delivers! Design your hero, fight villains, and save the Kingdom of Avel!

Miller Zoo

Hands down one of my favorite family games of 2023! If you’re looking for a new campaign/legacy game that you can play again and again, this is the one!

Mists Over Carcassonne

Carcassonne is one of the great family games of all time. Mists Over Carcassonne is great for groups of any age, but we find that it works really well for kids and their parents to play together.

Race to the Raft

Set in the Isle of Cats universe, Race to the Raft is the perfect family cooperative game to take on together! There are lots of difficulty levels to allow your family to customize the game to meet the ages of the players playing, be it with kids or a group of adults!