Tired of competitive board games? These team-based alternatives are perfect for Christmas

Pandemic | $49.99 $34 at Amazon
If you want the ultimate co-op experience, this is where you should start. If you ask me, Pandemic remains one of the best cooperative board games ever made thanks to how essential teamwork and strategizing are (something that contributed to our five-star Pandemic review). Defeat is always a possibility, and victory hinges on your ability to communicate well. With four deadly diseases having broken out across the globe, your job is to cure and eradicate them before civilization becomes overwhelmed. Unfortunately for us, those illnesses – represented by little cubes placed on city spaces around the board – spread faster than you can say "hazmat suit." Yes, this is a pressure-cooker situation. But luckily, the result is a blast from start to finish. With a laser-focus on strategy and coordination, Pandemic is the definition of good teamwork. There are no awards or pats on the back for individual players; it's all for one, and one for all.

Buy it if:
✅ You want a gripping co-op game
✅ You're looking for a challenge

Don't buy it if:
❌ You don't like pressure
❌ You want something easy

UK price: £39.99 £24.88 at Amazon

Traitors Aboard | $19.95 at Amazon
The trouble with good hidden role games (like Unfathomable, which we'll get to later) is that they often take ages to play. That's why Traitors Aboard is such a must-have; it borrows the mechanics that make those games compelling but trims the runtime to a brisk 'n' breezy 10+ minutes. While a session can take up to half an hour, I found that they rarely last more than half that. In other words? It's perfect for a party with friends or family, though bear in mind it's better with more people. Whisking us back to the golden age of piracy, you all play swashbucklers looting the high seas (presumably with a bottle or rum in hand). However, there's no honor among thieves; while most of you are loyal pirates, some will take on the role of dastardly mutineers trying to steal that treasure for themselves. Because pirates don't know who the mutineers are, the race is on to uncover them before it's too late. Mutineers will obviously try to cast suspicion on everyone else as well, hoping to make players eject loyal pirates. It's utterly devious and a real hoot.

Buy it if:
✅ You want a gripping deception game
✅ You want something quick but compelling

Don't buy it if:
❌ You can't lie to save your life
❌ You want a game that lets you dig deeper

UK price: £19.99 £15.59 at Magic Madhouse

Castle Panic | $34.95 $31.40 at Amazon
With an accessible premise, easy-to-understand mechanics, and oodles of replayability, Castle Panic is amongst the best cooperative board games for families. The idea is simple; you have to defend your fantasy castle from a horde of orcs, goblins, and other ne'er do-wells. These hordes will slowly advance from the forest surrounding your fortress (which is a 3D cardboard building, by the way) and whittle away at its defenses. If they get through the outer walls and breach your inner towers, it's game over - so you'll have to break out your finest defensive measures to hold them back. The trouble is, you won't just be fighting mindless goons. Larger monsters, sorcerers, and warlords will also join the fray with special abilities, and some foes might even hurl boulders your way to collapse the walls. Flexibility and getting your heads together to optimize your turns is essential as a result; planning ahead might just spell the difference between victory and defeat, making it one of the best family board games.

Buy it if:
✅ You want an all-ages game
✅ You adore tower defense games

Don't buy it if:
❌ You find tower defense dull
❌ You want something relaxed

UK price: £37.25 at Amazon

Jurassic World: The Legacy of Isla Nublar | $33.50 at Amazon
Most of us have probably made jokes about how terrible Jurassic Park security is at one point or another. After all, how hard can it be to stop your star attractions from eating everyone? This team game lets you put that to the test by running the dino-park yourself. Even though it's still brilliant with more people, running it as a 2-player board game is also much better – you get more choice, and it's easier to leave your mark. Because you'll be permanently altering the board with barrier stickers, buildings, and more, limiting head-count affords you greater agency when it comes to those decisions. No matter who you play with, this is the kind of board game where things can go wrong fast... and it's gloriously chaotic. As an example, I was cornered once by a T.rex while organizing the gift shop as geriatric park founder John Hammond, and all I had to fight it off was a measly cattle prod. It was ridiculous and wonderful at the same time, and Legacy of Isla Nublar is stuffed with emergent gameplay moments like that. You'll always have to compromise as well, because your objectives deliberately make you choose between the mission and saving civilians.

Buy it if:
✅ You want a game with consequences
✅ You enjoy Pandemic or Horrified

Don't buy it if:
❌ You can't commit to multiple sessions
❌ You don't like permanently changing the board

UK price: £99.99 £61.10 at Amazon

Spirit Island | $64.99 at Amazon
You'll struggle to find a team board game with a better reputation than Spirit Island. This is often held up as one of the best cooperative board games ever made, and you know what? We don't disagree. As our Spirit Island review points out, it's a worthy challenge - it'll keep armchair tacticians coming back time and again to try new strategies or approaches. This game also flips the typical narrative on its head. Instead of playing as settlers conquering the land, you take on the role of nature spirits trying to kick them out. Your aim is to increase your presence on the board and stop those pesky invaders from causing too much damage, because - ecological chaos aside - it can cascade and reduce your influence. What follows is an absolutely delicious spread of emergent narrative. While the downside to all this is brutal difficulty, victory's all the more satisfying as a result. Your burgeoning abilities feel like a snowball rolling downhill too. If you can survive long enough to build them up, Spirit Island is one hell of a power fantasy.

Buy it if:
✅ You're looking for a deep, complex game
✅ You can dedicate time to learning its ins and outs

Don't buy it if:
❌ You struggle with complex rules
❌ You want something quick and easy

UK price: £71.99 at Magic Madhouse

Unfathomable | $89.99 at Amazon
If you want to make sure everyone stays on the edge of their seat, throw traitors into the mix. Unfathomable does this to great effect, and the result is good. Monstrously good, you could say. Sure, it's not going to be for everyone. It's quite lengthy and complicated. But as noted in my Unfathomable review, it's a great choice if your family loves more complex games or you've got a regular board game group looking for new challenges. There's so much you can get your teeth into here, and its hidden role systems are peerless. Picture the scene: the year is 1913, and some very unlucky passengers have booked onto the SS. Atlantica for a voyage across the ocean. A couple of days from port, things go horribly wrong; bug-eyed sea creatures rise from the ocean and attack, directed by eldritch behemoths. Your objective is to keep the ship afloat, survive those monsters scrambling on board, and reach safety before it's too late. Well, for most of you. A few players are secret 'hybrids' hell-bent on sabotage, providing a thrilling test of nerves and communication. The best bit is how Unfathomable balances the strategic depth of the best adult board games with the cheeky glee of undermining your friends.

Buy it if:
✅ You love deception games
✅ You enjoy cosmic horror

Don't buy it if:
❌ You're short on time
❌ You want something straightforward

UK price: £89.99 £65.98 at Zatu Games