Escape: The Curse of the Temple - after hearing the title of the game, you pretty much know exactly what it is about. Players take on the role of Indiana Jones-like adventurers deep in an exotic temple. The object is to work together to get all players to an exit before time expires. This task is quite difficult, involving exploration, teamwork, and time management. Escape is exciting, a bit chaotic, loud, and also very, very fun.

For me, one of the gems of PAX East 2013 was a game located in a tiny booth on the edge of the expo floor. Entitled Eon Altar, developer Flying Helmet Games ambitiously combines a tabletop RPG with a video game for a unique cooperative experience.

Once again, it’s time for us to delve into the world of tabletop gaming. We’ve seen the rise of cooperative concepts in video games in recent years, and there is a similar pattern in board and card gaming. Today, we’ll consider one of the most popular board games released last year, the highly thematic and gorgeously produced Zombicide.

In recent years, the deck building genre of card games has become very popular. Dominion hit the scene in 2008, and was a smash hit. In addition to a host of expansions for that game, many other deck building games have been published. One thing that was missing from the genre, though, was cooperation. The subject of this installment of Tabletop Co-Op, Legendary, introduces Marvel super heroes into the deck building genre, and adds co-op too!

It’s time once again for another installment of Tabletop Co-Op. We'll go on an adventure into a network of monster filled rooms in search of treasure. Horrible ogres and foul skeletons bar your way, but gemstones, magic swords, and bags of gold await! Join a group of friends on a trip into the Dungeon! board game.

Star Trek Generations is a board game that has many appealing elements. It is based on the revamped Star Trek movie universe, and was created by Reiner Knizia, one of the most successful board game designers of all time. Expeditions includes detailed miniatures for the crew of the Enterprise, as well as the ship itself, and even a Klingon vessel. These minis use the “Clix” system for tracking damage and changing stats. Best of all, it is a fully cooperative game!

This month, we're taking a bit of a different spin for Tabletop Co-Op. Typically, I don't think of this series of articles as reviews. There is no scoring system of any kind, and generally speaking, I try to concentrate on the mechanics, theme, and cooperative nature of the mechanics without too much critique one way or the other. But for Red November, I can't help but look at it from a more critical angle. I wanted to like this game, but I didn't. Why?

It's time once again for some Tabletop Co-Op! This month, we're taking a look at an expansion to one of the board games we've previously featured here at Co-Optimus: Defenders of the Realm. Since the original is my favorite co-op board game, I eagerly grabbed the first expansion, and absolutely love it. The Dragon Expansion, as it is called, adds more customization options, variant rule sets, and, best of all, new generals for the heroes to fight against. (And they are even painted!)

Magic is, generally speaking, a highly competitive game, but what if there were a way to play it in co-op? I've got good news for you, reader, the always innovative Magic community has created just such a format. Horde Magic blends the awesome deckbuilding fun of Magic with the unrelenting pressure and tension of survival modes, like Gears of War 3's Horde mode, or Left 4 Dead's Survival. The combination is glorious!

Conquest of Planet Earth is an incredibly appealing game. It has a great theme, fantastic miniatures, high production values, and plenty of replay value. There are two gameplay variants included in the rules. One of them is competitive, the other cooperative, both using largely the same mechanics, but changing the overall goal. In the cooperative game, the alien armadas put aside their differences and combine forces to destroy the fierce human resistance.

About a year and a half ago, we covered a cooperative board game called Castle Ravenloft. That game was the first in a series using rules known as the Dungeons & Dragons Adventure System. This system allows all players to play together as a team, with no Dungeon Master required. Castle Ravenloft was quite good, as was the follow-up, Wrath of Ashardalon. The third (and perhaps last) game in the series, The Legend of Drizzt, is the topic for Tabletop Co-Op today.

The Lord of the Rings saga has always been popular, but perhaps never before has it been as mainstream as it is now. A decade ago, the movie trilogy brought orcs, elves, and dwarves into theaters and then our living rooms as never before. Later this year, the long delayed film based on the Hobbit will be released. For Tabletop Co-Op this month, we'll look at a card game based on Tolkien's magnificent setting.

It's time once again to put down the controller and move to the dining room for some Tabletop Co-Op. This month, we're donning our tights and capes for some card slinging fun. Grab some super friends and form the ultimate team to take on the opponents of truth, justice, and the American way. Unless you're Canadian, or Japanese, or.. well, maybe everyone should just fight for truth and justice. Sling some cards, co-op style, in Sentinels of the Multiverse.

Board games have made quite the resurgence in the last decade since the importing of Settler's of Catan to everyone in North America.  We here at Co-Optimus love tabletop gaming as much as video games and ePawn is bringing a product that will bridge the gap between board game and digital entertainment.

It's a new year for Tabletop Co-Op, and what better way to celebrate than by defending a dusty old museum from an invasion of ancient, otherworldly evils? In today's installment, we'll enter the world of the Cthulhu mythos, take on the role of an investigator, and try to stay sane in the face of unspeakable terror. Take a closer look at a new co-op dice-rolling game that is positively dripping with the theme of eldritch horror: Elder Sign