My brother-in-law changed how I see cooperative board games

I used to think games like Pandemic were boring because there wasn't a clear winner. Then my brother-in-law Mike sat me down last month and said, the point isn't who wins, it's whether you all figure it out together. He showed me how every player's role matters and how one bad turn can mess things up for everyone. That talk made me try Spirit Island with his group, and I actually had a blast. Has anyone else had a moment where someone flipped your view on a whole type of game?

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caseym482mo ago

You ever see someone's whole personality change over a board game? My buddy Tom was the same way with competitive stuff, always trying to math out the best move and getting quiet when he lost. Then we played The Crew one night and he was literally cheering when we finally beat a mission together after like five tries. Now he's the one suggesting co-op games at every hangout, totally different guy.

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murphy.barbara2mo ago

...and then my friend Jenna told me a story about her husband's family game nights. They were big into competitive stuff, Settlers of Catan and all that, and her brother-in-law would get so worked up his face would turn red. Then someone brought Forbidden Island to a holiday gathering and it was like a switch flipped. She said watching her brother-in-law actually coordinate with everyone instead of just trying to win was weird at first but then he started laughing for real, which she'd never seen before at a game.

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