As RichieCon 2026 approaches, we are reminded that not all cooperative games are created equal! A convention hall (or equivalent thereof) usually has a very different atmosphere than a home or a store. A convention tends to be a noisier, you may play with people you don’t know, and maybe you’ve been up too long so you are tired! In this convention environment, some cooperative games work better than others! For each game we list below, we indicate WHY we think this is a good cooperative convention game!

Unfortunately, a convention is a place where the Alpha Player Syndrome can manifest more easily (as you tend to play with strangers who you don’t know or trust), so we choose games where the Alpha Player is kept at bay by something! Each game we choose will also somehow address mitigating the Alpha Player!

The order for this list matters less than other top 10 lists; these games are mostly just good cooperative games to play at conventions! Here’s my current Top 10 Cooperative Convention Games! Every single one of these I would be happy to play with you and/or teach you at RichieCon 2026!

All of these games will be at RichieCon 2026!

#10 Kinfire Council + Winds Of Change Cooperative Expansion

Ok, this is a weird one, but follow me here! So, this is a long game! It’s kind of complex! The base game is nominally a really good worker placement game, but it’s just too chaotic and fragile as a competitive game. There are a lot of rules, so if you are playing competitively, it makes it a lot harder to ask questions and address issues! The cooperative expansion (Winds of Change) makes the game more interactive and a lot more fun! The complexity is not nearly as overwhelming because players are all working together to play! The game is a lot for a convention, but if you can get someone to teach it to you, the game is more tractable (which is why it’s only #10 on this list and not higher).

The Alpha Player is kept away because the game is very multiplayer solitaire! Each players has their own set of workers and upgrades that, frankly, are too much for others to follow! This game has a lot of choices, and players tend to negotiate to help each other and not get in each others’ way too much. We also strongly suggest that you play with the house rule that you may also share a resource as an errand. See our review of Kinfire Council + Winds of Changes for more discussion of this and some house rules!

I have taught this at Dice Tower West, and to at least 4 different game groups, and it was always a joy! It also made the top position of our Top 10 Cooperations Expansions of 2025!

#9. Marvel United or Marvel United: X-Men or Marvel United:Multiverse or …

Marvel United is a great convention game for many reasons; it’s easy to teach, easy to play, but still quite cooperative! The game is usually under an hour!

The idea that each player uses the symbols of the previous player’s card is genius! Most people love this simple idea that they haven’t seen elsewhere!

Another reason this is a great convention game is because anyone can play the hero that they want! Who’s your favorite Marvel Hero? You can probably play them! The three Seasons of Marvel United have almost every hero from Marvel that you might want to play! Play the quirky Ant-Man! Or the powerful Venom!! Or play the baroque and mysterious Dr. Strange! Or play Wolverine!

The only reason this is just #9 on the list is that Marvel United is slightly susceptible to the Alpha Player since everyone can see each other’s hands; this makes it slightly easier for the Alpha Player to slide in and tell everyone what to do. I personally haven’t had any issues like that, despite having probably played 50 or more games! Each player is generally playing multiplayer solitaire, so that tends to keep the Alpha Player away!

Marvel United had made so many top 10 lists here at CO-OP Gestalt: here’s just a few! Top 10 Cooperative Games of 2024! Top 10 Solo Games of 2025!

#8. Good Dog, Bad Zombie (2nd Edition)

Good Dog, Bad Zombie is a light game that’s easy to jump into at a convention! It’s easy to play, easy to explain, and people can jump in and out very easily as the game is playing!!

Players play as dogs keeping the dumb humans away from the zombies! The dogs are adorable and will probably immediately bring you into the game!

This is a pretty light game with a touch of randomness, but when you are tired and just want a light game (where you can easily add people or take them out), this is a great choice! It’s quite cute too! See our review of Good Dog, Bad Zombie here to see if this is something you want to play at a convention!

#7. Tembo: Survival of the Savanna

Tembo is a very cute game about moving elephants along in the Savanna! The players work together to move the elephants to different watering holes, eating trees along the way, and keeping the herd away from the Lion and Lioness!

This game has amazing art from Vincent Dutraite, and the elephant meeples (elepheeples?) just pop on the table! My friends all adored the cute vibe this game exuded!

But this is still a fun little game for 1-4 players. I am actually expecting to teach Max and Cassidy this game at RichieCon 2026! They will really enjoy this I think! As will you; it’s a quick, cute game that’s easy to teach and you can be done in under an hour.

The Alpha Player is kept in check because there’s a notion that each player’s perspective informs how the tiles must be played on the board, and the Alpha Player can’t necessarily see all that! Each player must play tiles along their perspective! This is a unique way to keep the Alpha Player away!

See our review here to see if Tembo is the right convention game for you!

#6. Aetherspire

Aetherspire is really great at a convention because it is looks so interesting on the board!

The structures you build look so cool! Each player’s turn is fairly multiplayer solitaire, so the Alpha Player can’t sneak in. The game is easy to describe, but it moves well and has some interesting and unique ideas. In the end, it’s the 3-D structures you build that make this game pop in a convention!

Take a look at our review here to see if Aetherspire might be a game you like to play at a convention!

#5. Boaromia: The Cooperative Festival Game!

I can almost guarantee you’ve never heard of this game! It had a very small Kickstarter, and it’s a little rare! But the boisterous energy of this game matches the boisterous energy of a convention!

Players move around a music festival, trying to make sure they see their favorite bands, but making sure to eat enough, pee enough, and drink enough! Along the way, players will stop and see other bands with their friend and just have a good time!

This is a game about having fun together as you traverse a music festival. It’s goofy, the names of the bands are goofy, the characters are goofy, and the game is just goofy. But this is a great game that works for 3 to 8 players! It’s rare to get a game that works for so many players!

I know the Alpha Player can’t really invade this game; I tried playing it solo and there’s just too much going on for the Alpha Player to tell you what to do! Everyone has to see their own favorite bands, and that scheduling can really only handled per player! See our review here to see if this might be a game you are interested!

#4. The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine or Mission Deep Sea

I have played The Crew (either one) in so many environments, and it has always worked! Missions are short, and it’s really easy for people to hop in or out of this game! You may start with 3 people, add 2 more, then drop to 4! This is just the nature of conventions; people come and go, and The Crew can easily accommodate that! And the game is fun the entire game, even with people coming and going! And you can play as long as you want!! The Crew is also a cooperative game that works well at 5 people, and sometimes it’s just harder to find good cooperative games that work at 5! What a great game; it’s never failed me! The Crew has also made our Top 10 Cooperative Space Games, and the Top 10 Cooperative Trick-Taking games!

The Alpha Player is kept at bay because this is a game of hidden information; the Alpha Player can’t tell you what to do because he can’t see everything! While I personally like The Crew better than most trick-taking games, I can’t deny there was a more popular trick-taking game that works so well at a convention … see #2 below!

#3. Fate: Defenders of Grimheim

There are multiple reasons Fate: Defenders of Grimheim works so well in a convention! For one, the rules are simple to teach and easy to internalize: it’s a tower defense game! Defend the homeland in the middle!

For another, the board is so well-labelled! Everything you need is well-labelled on the board with big enough fonts to read!

For another, the game feels very multiplayer solitaire, but in a good way. Every player is upgrading their own character with their own rules and their own cards, so everyone feels like they are getting powerful! The Alpha Player is kept at bay because each player is too busy concentrating on their own deck; the Alpha Player can’t see what everyone is doing with their own very different deck!

A game of Fate: Defenders of Grimheim starts off very multiplayer solitaire, as each player defends a different direction, but as the game progresses and more shared area is threatened, the game becomes much more cooperative! This is a great dynamic for a bunch of strangers because they can slowly get to know each and slowly become more cooperative as the tension increases!

See our review here to see if Fate: Defenders of Grimheim might be right for you! Oh yes! I have also taught this at Dice Tower West and it went swimmingly!

#2. Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, Trick-Taking Game. Also, The Two Towers!

This is a cooperative trick-taking game set in the first book of the Lord of The Rings. There are 18 very thematic chapters that people play through!

I know this is a good convention game because I saw it being played non-stop at RichieCon 2025 and Dice Tower West 2025! People just seem to love this game!

Everyone seems to love the simplicity of this game! Like other games on this list, the game does scale so you can jump in and out (a little, the game is best at 3 or 4), but it’s been my experience that people just want to keep playing! See our review of Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, Trick-Taking Game here!

The Alpha Player is kept at bay because this is a limited communication and limited information game; the Alpha Player can’t tell you what to do because he can’t see everything!

And don’t worry RichieCon 2026 people; the next game in the (The Two Towers) will also be available to play at RichieCon 2026!

#1. Just One

I have never had a session of Just One fail me! I have played with gamers, non-gamers, and casual gamers … and it has always worked! This simple party cooperative game is easily to explain, easy to play, and addicting to keep playing! People can drop in and out without any consequences, and it can play small numbers (like 3 players) all the way up to 9 players (with a little cheating) and still work flawlessly! This word game has a simple premise: everyone choose one word to make the guesser guess the secret word. That’s it! If any words are the same, they are eliminated, so players must think outside the box sometimes to get thing working! Each round is quick, and people can easily join or drop!

The Alpha Player is kept at bay because players simply aren’t allowed to communicate during the word choice phase! There’s no way the Alpha Player can sneak in because he simply can’t talk! (And if he is talking, he is cheating!)

Just One has made our Top 10 Cooperative Games You Can Play Online and also our Top 10 Cooperative Party Games!