Tabletop Talks Week 13

Let’s try a little teamwork for your next game night! Get ready to jump into these new titles and work together with friends to conquer fantastical beasts through epic journeys in this week’s Tabletop Simulator Cooperative Games Edition of Tabletop Talks! We know that competition fuels the energy behind most board game nights. The evenings of independently vanquishing your opponents and dominating the board have probably even tested a few friendships every now and then. Alternatively, cooperative games can provide an equally competitive evening but with the twist of added socialization and intricate problem solving only achieved through collaboration. These added components have helped boost this type of game into one of the most popular available on the market today. In fact, looking at Kickstarter’s most funded board games of all time, the only 2 tabletop games that broke the $10 million funding mark were cooperative games and 80% of the top-funded tabletop games of all time were classified as co-ops or semi- co-ops. 

Gather your friends and get ready to unite as we show you 4 assorted and exciting, recently cooperative titles. From a semi-cooperative tug of war, to a digitally tinged dungeon crawler, to a 4X cooperative sweeping fantasy war, these games are a perfect way to add a little camaraderie and take away some table-flipping stress from any upcoming board gaming session!  (But you can still flip the table, we won’t tell!)

Uprising: Curse of the Last Emperor

An unforgettable 4X cooperative fantasy experience

Some board gamers might think about “working together” and become a little hesitant. We understand that a lot of the fun in tabletop gaming is being able to go head to head with your friends. But, if instead, we said that this “working together” could take place in a sprawling fantasy universe with deep combat, immaculate world-building, and game mechanics designed exclusively for 4x cooperative play, then we think almost anybody would be ready to jump into Uprising: Curse of the Last Emperor from Nemesis Games. IN this groundbreaking creation, players take on the role of one of four formerly enslaved fantasy races as they unite in rebellion against their former oppressor, the empire, and the separate forces of Chaos! Using a collection of mechanics, including dice and tile-control, each of these wonderfully asymmetric roles must work together against the enemies that are controlled by the game itself! This is all to say that Uprising puts the focus on cooperative gameplay in a way that no other game does, forcing you and your fellow players to band together, gather as many victory points as possible, and wrest control of the world from your former oppressors!

Uprising stands out for its unique and full-throttle commitment to competitive play, but equally impressive is its immersive world. With this level of lore crafting and world design, there is no way that you won’t get pulled into the epic history and masterful design of Uprising’s world. And, after taking in its gorgeous aesthetic, we don’t think you will want to leave either!

The team at Nemesis games has used Tabletop Simulator to cut down on design time and costs to create their cooperative masterpiece! Be sure to check out their Mod!

2. Taelmoor

The scan & play dungeon crawler

One of the best parts of board games is that they bring you back to analog gaming. But, what if we could combine the analog and the digital? What if we could pair the convenience of a smartphone with the unparalleled escapism of a dungeon crawler? With Taelmoor, you can do just that! In this unique co-op dungeon crawler, you and your fellow players use a combination of exploration and combat mechanics as well as a scan-and-play app to interact, explore, solve puzzles, and fight monsters in the exciting and dangerous city-state of Vale! Players must also choose and craft their own character as they prepare for a digitally-tinged co-operative questions experience that will have you swinging an imaginary ax every time you pick up your smartphone!

Taelmoor started with the idea of combining a classic RPG experience with today's modern technology. By doing this, the team behind Taelmoor was able to create a sophisticated combat system, a wonderfully freeing choose-your-own-adventure format, and a new level of board game interaction that ups the RPG experience to the next level! This is paired with an addictive and exciting rendition of the classic dungeon-crawling idea and a focus on cooperation to create an experience you and your friends won’t soon forget!

The team behind Taelmoor has used Tabletop Simulator to develop their revolutionary dungeon crawler and now has a mod available here! Also be sure to check out their website to download a print-and-play of the game and check out their Kickstarter running now through August 14, 2021.

3. DreamWeavers

Do you have what it takes to become a Dreamweaver?

While we have been focusing on cooperative board games, you may be looking for a game that has a little edge of competition to it. You may be looking for a game that allows you and your fellow players to form teams that then square off. You may also be looking for a strategically deep card-player/area controller that delves into the deep and exciting world of dreams and the unconscious mind. If that’s the case, we think you should try Dream Weavers from Squanga Games! In this “thematic tug of war game”, players form teams and compete to prove their worthiness to Morpheus, Orchestrator of Nightmares, and Paradise. Only through strategic decisions, creative teamwork, and a mastery of fun mechanics can you prove that you deserve to become that next DreamWeaver, the prestigious architect of the unconscious mind! 

 DreamWeavers was created to marry the brilliant theme of “dreams” with a semi-cooperative tug-of-war mechanic. The team at Squanga games did this and more! They have crafted a beautiful world of dreams and nightmares that explores a theme not touched on by many tabletop games. They then populated that world with expansive lore, wonderfully deep strategy, and rewarding gameplay design! With all of that, we can’t wait for our next dive into the human unconscious!

The team at Squanga Games used Tabletop Simulator to avoid spending extra time and materials that iterating print-and-play versions can create. The result is a beautifully crafted mod. Also be sure to check out their Kickstarter launching on October 18th, and their website for all things DreamWeavers!

4. Twin Realms

Control elemental spirits, fight armies of demons, and defeat an unknown evil!

Don’t get us wrong, we love competitive board games, their high tension, and the ultimate satisfaction of a “gotcha” moment. But, sometimes board games are the best when you and your friends can undertake something together. And, if that something is an epic quest to rid the world of scores of demons, that’s just a little extra fun! That is what Twin Realms is all about. In this cooperative dungeon crawler, you and your fellow players take control of elemental spirits to defeat demons infesting the world. Twin realms pair immersive lore such as the balance of dual realities and the traditional RPG elements of a quest book and a story deck. However, these more traditional elements are combined with fun, game-changing mechanics including world alterations that impact both story and gameplay. Twin Realms is still in development, but the first 20 quests of its immersive campaign have been released, and we can guarantee that they will have you itching for the next installment. 

Twin Realms was inspired by RPG giants like Gloomhaven, but took the basic principles and gave them a strongly cooperative rework and an emphasis on puzzle-solving and inventive combat to create a wholly original and infinitely exciting dungeon crawler experience! All of this comes in a package that is easy to set up, quick to learn, and impossible not to replay!

Twin Realms has used Tabletop Simulator to conveniently iterate and rework its gameplay and campaign to questing perfection! Be sure to check out their mod! Twin Realms is still in progress, so be sure to play their mod and keep an eye out for a Kickstarter down the road!

Do you like cooperative games or are you more of a single competitor type? Let us know in the comments!

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