I've spent years hosting people to play couch games, so here's a short list of the games my friends and I have enjoyed the most: Duck Game - Silly but surprisingly fun competitive 2D shooter....
Exemplary
I've spent years hosting people to play couch games, so here's a short list of the games my friends and I have enjoyed the most:
Duck Game - Silly but surprisingly fun competitive 2D shooter.
Jackbox Party - Every party pack has some winners (and losers) but it's always a hit.
Knight Game - A nice collection of top-down games for up to 8 people.
Monaco - Cooperative heist game. It's designed so that you can screw up over and over again and still succeed (if you play your hand right).
Mount Your Friends - The visuals on this game are tasteless. But the actual gameplay itself is fun to watch. Just make sure you're playing with the right group of (immature) friends.
Nidhogg - Fantastic 2-player sword fighting; supports tournament mode to cycle through players. Get the original, the sequel is bad.
Overcooked - Already been mentioned, but I'd be mistaken not to include it in the list.
Rocket League - This popular game can be played split screen!
Speedrunners - Well-designed foot-race game that creates a lot of fun moments.
Ultimate Chicken Horse - The name is bad, but the game is fun and unique. Your goal is to make your character get from the start to the end of the level, but getting to the end is impossible without building structures. You want to add objects that let you get to the flag (but not everyone else).
In general, the simpler the game, the better it goes down for couch coop. Most people just want to drop in and play for 30 minutes; some couch coop games are complicated enough that they'd require practice to beat, and those never really kept the crowd's attention.
These are all the games I was going to mention, plus a few I hadn't considered. I especially appreciate the mention of Duck Game (though it does have network multiplayer, too), which absolutely...
These are all the games I was going to mention, plus a few I hadn't considered. I especially appreciate the mention of Duck Game (though it does have network multiplayer, too), which absolutely needs more people playing it. Please play Duck Game! (quack).
I wouldn't say that Nidhogg 2 is bad, it's just different. The art style is definitely polarizing, though. I remember being vehemently opposed to it when I first saw it, but upon release it seemed much more reasonable. Still a departure from the elegant simplicity of the first one, though, and that supports your later point.
They're all action games. Monaco definitely gets hectic. It sounds like you're actually aiming at board games given that you're wanting something in-person and turn-based.
They're all action games. Monaco definitely gets hectic. It sounds like you're actually aiming at board games given that you're wanting something in-person and turn-based.
Overcooked is great and I haven't found a single person that doesn't get into it. I really like Tooth and Tail, Rivals of Aether and Screencheat but they do require a bit more buy in from your...
Overcooked is great and I haven't found a single person that doesn't get into it.
I second Duck Game, Towerfall, Overcooked, Speedrunner and Monaco. They are all great but the first 2 are especially amazing. I will add Crawl : A semi cooperative dungeon crawler where one player...
I second Duck Game, Towerfall, Overcooked, Speedrunner and Monaco. They are all great but the first 2 are especially amazing.
I will add
Crawl : A semi cooperative dungeon crawler where one player controls the dungeon. If a hero kills a monster, then its their turn to be the overlord.
Full Metal Furies : A top down action with many clever systems requiring constant cooperation
Hidden in Plain Sight : A set of games where you try to avoid drawing the attention of the others players to yourself. Really unique.
Helldivers : A difficult twin-stick shooter with friendly fire. A must if you love Starship Troopers.
I commented on this elsethread, but I just want to make a special mention for Duck Game so OP sees it. It is a TON of fun and I enjoy myself so much even when I'm losing (sometimes especially when...
I commented on this elsethread, but I just want to make a special mention for Duck Game so OP sees it. It is a TON of fun and I enjoy myself so much even when I'm losing (sometimes especially when I'm losing). It has local and online multiplayer, and especially the online lobbies need more people. It's not that you can't find a game, but it's not as fast as I'd like it to be. The interactions between different items is the true draw, and the physics engine is pretty consistent--but buggy. I said this elsewhere, and I'll say it here, too, as it's the best way I know how to endear the game to people. It's buggy in the sense that Goat Simulator is buggy (but not nearly to that degree), so it's always hilarious because it's always something different (unlike Goat Simulator).
Lots of great suggestions here, so I won't rehash ones that have already been made, but there's two couch co-op classics that I think shouldn't go unmentioned: Castle Crashers and BattleBlock...
Lots of great suggestions here, so I won't rehash ones that have already been made, but there's two couch co-op classics that I think shouldn't go unmentioned:
Castle Crashers and BattleBlock Theater
They're both made by the same dev team, and both have great cartoony visuals, easy to pick-up gameplay, and lots of charm. Castle Crashers is a beat-em-up with some light RPG elements, while BattleBlock Theater is a puzzle platformer.
I've spent years hosting people to play couch games, so here's a short list of the games my friends and I have enjoyed the most:
In general, the simpler the game, the better it goes down for couch coop. Most people just want to drop in and play for 30 minutes; some couch coop games are complicated enough that they'd require practice to beat, and those never really kept the crowd's attention.
These are all the games I was going to mention, plus a few I hadn't considered. I especially appreciate the mention of Duck Game (though it does have network multiplayer, too), which absolutely needs more people playing it. Please play Duck Game! (quack).
I wouldn't say that Nidhogg 2 is bad, it's just different. The art style is definitely polarizing, though. I remember being vehemently opposed to it when I first saw it, but upon release it seemed much more reasonable. Still a departure from the elegant simplicity of the first one, though, and that supports your later point.
They're all action games. Monaco definitely gets hectic. It sounds like you're actually aiming at board games given that you're wanting something in-person and turn-based.
Overcooked is great and I haven't found a single person that doesn't get into it.
I really like Tooth and Tail, Rivals of Aether and Screencheat but they do require a bit more buy in from your friends.
Looks like it has the same kind of frantic energy as overcooked. I'm gonna give this a go.
I actually got this recommendation from @Deimos: Towerfall Ascension
I second Duck Game, Towerfall, Overcooked, Speedrunner and Monaco. They are all great but the first 2 are especially amazing.
I will add
I commented on this elsethread, but I just want to make a special mention for Duck Game so OP sees it. It is a TON of fun and I enjoy myself so much even when I'm losing (sometimes especially when I'm losing). It has local and online multiplayer, and especially the online lobbies need more people. It's not that you can't find a game, but it's not as fast as I'd like it to be. The interactions between different items is the true draw, and the physics engine is pretty consistent--but buggy. I said this elsewhere, and I'll say it here, too, as it's the best way I know how to endear the game to people. It's buggy in the sense that Goat Simulator is buggy (but not nearly to that degree), so it's always hilarious because it's always something different (unlike Goat Simulator).
Overcooked, Trine and Broforce.
Lots of great suggestions here, so I won't rehash ones that have already been made, but there's two couch co-op classics that I think shouldn't go unmentioned:
Castle Crashers and BattleBlock Theater
They're both made by the same dev team, and both have great cartoony visuals, easy to pick-up gameplay, and lots of charm. Castle Crashers is a beat-em-up with some light RPG elements, while BattleBlock Theater is a puzzle platformer.