Category: Cooperative

Let’s visit Forbidden Island?

Why is it forbidden? Because it holds four treasures, each controlling a different element. What’s to stop me from stealing them? Um… the island sinks itself in the presence of an intruder. Great, huh? No wonder we’re the first to brave Forbidden Island. And the last.Forbidden Island

This is another game from the creator of Pandemic. You can see it in the characters and the Water Rises cards. Like Pandemic, it is a cooperative game.

When my cousin and I played we made it out without much real effort. It could, perhaps, be more challenging.

That said, we played the Novice level. There are options to make it harder and more interesting.

The characters are interesting. I played the Diver, who could move through I flooded or missing space for 1 action. My cousin played the Engineer, who could Shore Up (unflood) 2 adjacent tiles instead of 1 per action.

 

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Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu

Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu, is exactly what it sounds like. It’s Pandemic. With Cthulhu. And we are all going to the asylum for it.Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu

There isn’t much for me to explain about this game. If you have played Pandemic, you know the basics of this high-stakes, crazy-tough cooperative game.

Pandemic can be a long game. It is very hard to win. The characters in Pandemic: Reign of Terror are very similar to the ones in the original, though, so if you are familiar with the original it is easy to swap over mentally. I played the Reign of Terror version of the medic, who could eradicate all of the disease cubes on a specific space. This is important because every turn you draw cards determining where you add more disease, or, in this case, cultists. When three disease cubes are on a space, and another is placed there, an outbreak happens and it spreads to the adjacent spaces. This spill can, if under proper circumstances, have a ripple effect.

In both versions you are trying to rid the board of the given enemy.

The special cards are a nice addition to the original. You draw relics and can use them against the cultists.

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Do you have what it takes for Wizard School?

Come find out! Wizard School is a cooperative school-style game where you fight monsters, take tests, skip classes and generally attempt to survive high school. It is quite the challenge and not the game for the faint of heart or easily deterred.Wizard School

I like the level of school and the level of geekiness. I think it connects to the magic, the fandom, and the actual challenges of school. For instance, one of the Tests was “Finding All Your Classes”. Another was “Flying License”. Some of the monsters were “PsyRen” and “Parakeet of Paralysis’, “Its piercing call can shatter your ear drums. It may also wake a beast you didn’t know was right under your feet.” (There is a thought bubble coming from the Parakeet: “Also, I can kill you with my brain.” Go Firefly!)

It does not include counters or markers, which would be useful for showing what you have achieved and what you have yet to complete. It also does not provide a coin, despite the many “Flip-a-coin” cards. It also says “Pass the Wand” for symbolizing the end of your turn and the beginning of another. It had no wand.  (Luckily, we have several wands.)

On the other hand, if you are willing to take the time to play, it is remarkably amusing and great for practicing communication and group strategy.

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Do you want Codenames?

Your answer should be yes. Codenames is a fun strategy game that can play with two or more players. If you have two or three players, you are on the same team; it is a cooperative race against the clock to have your teammates guess the locations of your team’s Secret Agents.Codenames

If you are playing more than three players, you split into two teams. One person on each team is the Spymaster (just like in 2-3 player). They pick a key card at random, placing it between both Spymasters. It shows placements in the array of random cards that are the names they need you to guess correctly.

As Spymaster, you give a 1-word clue and a number of your team’s Codenames that it applies to. They can guess that many Codenames, one at a time, plus one extra (to make up for ones they couldn’t find on previous turns), until they either run out of guesses or find a Codename that doesn’t belong to their team.

There are four teams that you could find a Codename for.

Your team: place one of your team’s tiles on top of the Codename card.

Other team: place one of their team’s tiles on top of the Codename card. This acts as a point for their team.

Innocent Bystander: place an Innocent Bystander tile on top of the Codename card. This does nothing, it simply shows that the Codename has been guessed.

Assassin: Whichever team found the assassin automatically loses. Game over.

Rating:+1 to rating+1 to rating+1 to rating+1 to rating+1 mto rating

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7th Sea

7th Sea is a Role-Playing Game, or RPG. In RPGs, you make a character, background, and how good they are in what traits. It’s strange and bold, like many gamers, but it’s also an art, in a way. It takes the perfect balance of brawn, wits, finesse, panache, and resolve to make the perfect character.7th Sea character sheet

The perfect character doesn’t mean the fearless, invincible one. The perfect character is the one who’s traits, skills, advantages and disadvantages all fit the center of it all: the story you gave them. Note: when I say this, I don’t mean to say they have to be weak or a coward, I’m merely saying the carrot can’t scare the rabbit. However, I am also saying that the carrot can’t be afraid of the dirt.

I’ve found one way to make a strong character is to start with the background and base everything off of that rock you’ve placed. The moss, the bacteria, the lichen, and even the ants underneath all need the rock. My father, on the other hand, has a certain talent for messing up the GM’s (Game Master’s) plans. He makes his character by making an idea of the character concept, then looking at the traits, skills, advantages and disadvantages. He chooses the species of moss, the type of bacteria, the variety of lichen, and the type of ant. Then he uses those to choose the rock’s shape, size, and color.

Everyone has a different way of making their character. Feel free to comment me yours!

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Shh!

Shh is a cooperative game that came in the same Pack O Game as Fly. In Shh, you are trying to make words using consonants from your hand and vowels from the table. The consonants can each only be used once per game. The vowels are reused and reused until the game ends. There is only one of each letter, so any words with duplicates of a letter would count as invalid.

ShhThe catch is you aren’t allowed to tell your teammate(s) what letters you have and what words you have in mind. You take turns placing letters until one person, on their turn, decides that the word is finished. When the word is declared finished, the players use a show of hands to question the words validity.

If the validity is questioned, then the players must check the validity in a dictionary. A valid word is set on the scoring pile, minus the vowels, which go back to the center of the table. If the word is more than 5 letters, flip the vowels used to the +1 side.

During scoring, count the consonants in the scoring pile and add the amount of vowels with the +1 side up. The rules include a rating out of 4 of how you scored.

I would recommend this for people who enjoy cooperative games and for families who have trouble getting their kids to sit down long enough to play a game.

Rating:+1 to rating+1 to rating+1 to rating+1 mto rating+1 to rating

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