Best Co-Op Halloween Board Games In 2023

At some point, while watching a horror or mystery movie, we’ve all thought that splitting up the group was a terrible idea. People somehow always end up get dead; funny how many times that has happened. The next time you’re trapped in a spooky place, with a killer on the loose, remember that cooperation is the key to survival.

RELATED: Best H.P. Lovecraft Inspired Tabletop Games

With that in mind, and Halloween season creeping up, we’ve decided to curate a few board games that require cooperation in the face of something scary. Players will need to work together to escape, catch, survive, or kill – whatever the situation calls for. Here’s a list of the best cooperative board games to play this Halloween season.

Updated on October 14, 2023, by Vaspaan Dastoor: Board games don’t really teach us real life skills, but they’re a good way to test your strategic thinking. If you were to come face to face with Cthulhu, Destroyer of Worlds, it’s imperative that your group makes the right call, so these board games are great practice for such a time. With Halloween just around the corner, we thought we’d update this list with some more co-op board games that fit the theme.

Horrified

Monster Mash

What do you do when a bunch of famous monsters decide to attack your town? Well, you first get a picture with them, and then you devise specific strategies to take each one of them down. Horrified features some very popular classic monsters, each of whom require unique tactics and cooperation to defeat.

Pros

Features popular classic monsters.
Each one requires specific strategies to take down.
Features multiple editions with monsters from different eras.

Horrified features a number of monsters, all of whom you’ve heard of in classic horror tales – Dracula, The Mummy, The Wolf Man, and the sorts. Once you’re done being starstruck, you’ll need to work together with the other players and take all the monsters down one by one. However, each one will require unique tactics, changing the gameplay with every step. This one’s almost the best possible Halloween game.

Mysterium

From beyond the grave

Just because you’re dead, it doesn’t mean you can’t find your killer. Mysterium tasks one person to hand out clues as the ghost, while the others try and decipher them to catch the killer. It’s not as easy as it sounds, because each clue can be deciphered in a number of ways.

Pros

Great artwork.
Unique gameplay loop.
Requires a high level of cooperation.

As a psychic, your job is to decipher the convoluted clues given to you by a ghost in order to find their killer. However, these clues as a bunch of weird pictures which can be deciphered in more than one way, so it’s easier said than done. The design of the cards is absolutely stunning, especially the clues cards, which look like a fever dream.

Arkham Horror: Final Hour

Solve the riddle, save the world

$19 $36 Save $17

It’s hard to talk about Halloween games and not bring in Lovecraftian horror. With the imminent threat of Cthulhu’s arrival, players will have to travel all over the map, solve riddles, and figure out the location of a ritual that will awaken the ancient evil.

Pros

Based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft.
Features multiple Lovecraftian horrors.
High stakes gameplay, as there is a fail state.

The first of our two Lovecraftian entries, Arkham Horror: Final Hour requires players to travel all over the map to find clues and uncover symbols that will lead to the location of a world-ending ritual. The ritual in question involves the awakening of Cthulhu himself, and that’s never a good thing. With the world on the line, it’s up to the players to work together and stop the ritual before it’s too late.

Pandemic: Reign Of Cthulhu

Madness is a disease

$39 $50 Save $11

If you think an infectious disease was bad, you’ve clearly never been inflicted by madness by an ancient god. Based on the engaging gameplay loop of Pandemic, Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu has players travel all over the world in an attempt to close four portals that will bring forth the ancient god.

Pros

Based on the beloved gameplay loop of Pandemic.
Requires a high level of strategy and cooperation.

Our second Lovecraftian horror entry is built on the bones of one of the most popular strategy games of all time. Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu swaps out infectious diseases for portals that will bring forth the ancient evil. Of course, we can’t let that happen, so players will have to travel across the map in hopes of shutting the portals before it’s too late.

Kingdom Death: Monster

The hunter becomes the hunted

Kingdom Death: Monster is a survival game where players must explore a new realm filled with nightmarish monsters and set up a civilization, Humans are at the bottom of the food chain here, and it’s up to players to work together and climb their way to the top.

Pros

Beautifully designed pieces.
Features multiple versions, expansions, and new pieces.

Kingdom Death: Monster is a Kickstarter project, but the detailed design of the pieces and the AI deck of the enemies suggests it was created by a veteran publisher. It features intricate mechanics that will support a long-running campaign thanks to its AI, Gear, and Story Events systems.

Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective

Think you have what it takes to be Sherlock?

$47 $58 Save $11

Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective is one of the most unique games on this, or any other list. This is down to its gameplay system, which works somewhat like a choose-your-own-adventure book. You’re given a set of details about a crime, and what you do next is up to you. Depending on your action, you’ll have to flip through one of the game’s many booklets to find out what happens.

Pros

Requires high level of deduction and reasoning.
Features multiple mysteries.
You can ask Sherlock Holes himself for tips if you’re stuck.

Cons

Each mystery can only be solved once.

Much like a real detective, you’ll have to look at all the details and plan your next move carefully in Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective. Details and hints won’t jump out at you, you’ll have to corroborate evidence and check out alibis if you want to catch the real suspect. And, if you’re stuck, Sherlock Holes himself will help you out. There’s a lot that can happen in this game, just remember that it’s not always elementary.

Hocus Pocus: The Game

What are you brewing?

While Hocus Pocus: The Game isn’t exactly scary, it does have a spooky setting to it, thanks to the Sanderson sisters. Players will take control of the sisters’ cauldron and try to make it so that all the ingredient cards in the slots are of the same colour. This, of course, is easier said than done, as players aren’t allowed to verbally communicate, but must guess what each other are trying to do. There will also be the occasional spell that the sisters will cast on you to derail your progress.

Pros

Great artwork on cards and board.
Unique gameplay loop.
Features expansions for ingredients and spells.

Sure, you’re not going to be quaking your boots while playing Hocus Pocus, but it still fits the Halloween theme. However, what it may lack in horror, it makes up for in coordination. Players must manage to make all the ingredient cards placed on the cauldron slots of the same colour. The kicker here is that they aren’t allowed to verbally communicate while doing so. This not only makes the task quite difficult, but you’ll haveto ket tinto the minds of other players and figure out what they’re trying to do. It’s not a great feeling being the one break a chain of cards of the same colour.

Gloomhaven

It’s always a party with an RPG.

Gloomhaven is a tabletop RPG, meaning you’ll be in a party tasked with completing a quest together, as a team. When it comes to party based games, cooperation is key, as it could spell doom for everyone if you don’t work together. Reviving, buffing, shielding, and other such actions are often required in order to get the better of a situation. Not just that, your party members may have a solution you may not have deduced on your own.

Pros

Features numerous activities to tackle on the way to the main quest.
Massive map offers lots of places to explore.
No two campaigns will be the same.

As with any TTRPG, Gloomhaven requires you to cooperate with your party members if you’re going to defeat the BBEG. This cooperation is not only limited to combat scenarios, but also the general exploration and conversations you may have with NPCs. Perhaps your party member may get along better with the innkeeper and get that information you weren’t able to. And, of course, when it comes to the Halloween part, Gloomhaven features a lot of eerie and scary occurrences that will make you and your party stick a bit closer.

Nemesis

Everyone cooperates until it suits them

Board games always tend to go better when all players cooperate. However, when there’s a terrifying alien chasing you around a derelict spaceship, you’ve got to look out for number one. One of the most interesting features of Nemesis is that you need to choose when to cooperate with your crewmates and when to throw them under the bus.

Pros

Great for fans of the Alien movie series.
Players must choose when to cooperate.
Nose mechanic makes gameplay extremely tense.

Cooperation is something that we often take for granted. However, in Nemesis, you’ll truly learn how important it is, as not every player will work in your favour. There will be some who may help you out initially but then leave you in a lurch when it benefits them. While this game is only semi-cooperative, it really teaches you not to take cooperation for granted.

Elder Sign

Fright at the museum

Have you always wanted to be locked in a museum at night with your friends? Well, instead of a fun Ben Stiller-esque adventure, Elder Sign tasks you with solving clues to find the signs that will bring Cthulhu into this world. Yeah, it’s not as fun as in the movie, but the fate of the world is once again in your hands.

Pros

Great for fans of the Alien movie series.
Players must choose when to cooperate.
Nose mechanic makes gameplay extremely tense.

The rest of your group is relying on you to be able to solve the riddle and find the Elder Sign. If you fail, not only will Cthulhu enter into our dimension, but you’ll probably also not be invited to the next board games night. A lot is at stake in this one, so you better not let your crew down.

FAQ

What is the most loved board game?

Monopoly is easily the most popular and loved board game because of its simple rules and multiple editions and localizations. It has crossed over with so many other properties that there’s bound to be one for everyone.