Best Cooperative Sci-Fi Board Games

Discover the best cooperative sci-fi board games ranked by BoardGameGeek rating, from intense survival horror to grand galactic campaigns.

Best Cooperative Sci-Fi Board Games

October 1, 2026 · 10 games

When team strategy collides with futuristic worlds, you get some of the most engrossing tabletop experiences available. Exploring Science Fiction settings through a Cooperative Game structure forces players to pool their abilities, coordinate resources, and overcome formidable alien perils or oppressive regimes together.

To help you choose your next collaborative space mission, we have gathered the top titles ranked directly by BoardGameGeek rating. Whether you seek tactical skirmishes, silent trick-taking, or heavy galactic management, this list highlights the finest cooperative sci-fi games on the table.

Dune: Imperium – Uprising board game cover

1 Dune: Imperium – Uprising

Dune: Imperium – Uprising (2023) is a medium heavy game by Paul Dennen for 1-6 players, playing in about 60-120 minutes.

This standalone entry enhances deck building and worker placement by introducing an expansive six-player team mode where factions clash over vital resources and military dominance. Players must balance spy networks, contracts, and sandworm combat while coordinating with their allies to secure victory. It is ideal for gaming groups seeking deep tactical intrigue and dynamic shared strategy.

Dune: Imperium – Uprising rules
Star Wars: Rebellion board game cover

2 Star Wars: Rebellion

Designed by Corey Konieczka, Star Wars: Rebellion seats 2-4 players and runs 180-240 minutes at a medium heavy weight.

Delivering a vast galactic conflict through hidden information and worker placement, this sprawling design allows players to share command of either the mighty Empire or the insurgent Rebel Alliance. Each side features distinct victory conditions, driving high-stakes team discussions regarding starship deployments, hero missions, and system loyalty. Fans of cinematic narrative and tense thematic wargames will relish the epic scope.

Star Wars: Rebellion rules
Nemesis board game cover

3 Nemesis

Expect a medium heavy experience: Nemesis plays 1-5 players in 90-180 minutes, from designer Adam Kwapiński.

Trapped aboard an evolving vessel, players must coordinate unique character skill decks and manage noise levels to survive an onslaught of deadly alien intruders. The modular corridors and mounting structural failures create intense sci-fi survival horror where team survival often teeters on razor-thin margins. It is tailor-made for players who enjoy harrowing atmospheric exploration and emergent tactical emergencies.

Nemesis rules
Pandemic Legacy: Season 2 board game cover

4 Pandemic Legacy: Season 2

Matt Leacock and Rob Daviau's Pandemic Legacy: Season 2 (2017) supports 2-4 players, lasts around 60 minutes and sits at medium heavy complexity.

Set decades after a devastating plague forced humanity onto ocean havens, this campaign tasks your group with venturing into dark mainland cities to rebuild supply networks. Hand management, movement, and modular narrative discoveries reshape the board and player abilities across every session. It belongs here as a premiere post-apocalyptic journey for groups wanting ongoing collaborative world exploration.

Pandemic Legacy: Season 2 rules
Voidfall board game cover

5 Voidfall

At 90-240 minutes for 1-4 players, Voidfall is a heavy design by Dávid Turczi and Nigel Buckle.

A deeply strategic heavy game of galactic empire management, this title challenges players to unite against the corrupting cosmic threat of the Voidborn. Coordinated action selection, hand management, and technological upgrades determine whether your houses reclaim territory or succumb to alien ruin. It is the perfect match for dedicated strategists seeking complex, deterministic planning with rich lore.

Voidfall rules
Star Wars: Imperial Assault board game cover

6 Star Wars: Imperial Assault

Star Wars: Imperial Assault (2014) is a medium heavy game by Corey Konieczka and Jonathan Ying for 2-5 players, playing in about 60-120 minutes.

Combining tactical movement, dice-driven combat resolution, and modular map scenarios, this campaign puts a squad of Rebel operatives into mission-based warfare against the Empire. Players work as a cohesive unit, leveraging asymmetric player powers and weapon upgrades to outmaneuver endless imperial reinforcements. It is an exceptional pick for groups wanting miniature-driven action and story-rich tactical missions.

Star Wars: Imperial Assault rules
The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine board game cover

7 The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine

Designed by Thomas Sing, The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine seats 2-5 players and runs 20 minutes at a medium light weight.

Stripping space exploration down to a brilliant cooperative trick-taking format, this card game challenges crews to complete over fifty sequential deep-space missions. Because communication is severely restricted in the vacuum of space, your crew must read the table and manage hands flawlessly to assign specific tricks to the right players. It is an essential recommendation for groups wanting quick, brain-burning team puzzles.

The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine rules
Aeon’s End board game cover

8 Aeon’s End

Expect a medium experience: Aeon’s End plays 1-4 players in 60 minutes, from designer Jenny Iglesias and Kevin Riley.

Defending the subterranean outpost of Gravehold requires precise deck building, where discards are never shuffled and turn order remains unpredictable. Teammates combine breach-focusing actions, cast charged spells, and share market purchases to repel massive otherworldly nemeses. It belongs on every cooperative sci-fi list for card game enthusiasts who crave high-intensity boss battles and synergistic character roles.

Aeon’s End rules
Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game board game cover

9 Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game

Corey Konieczka's Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game (2008) supports 3-6 players, lasts around 120-180 minutes and sits at medium heavy complexity.

Fleeing across the stars with dwindling resources, the human fleet must resolve political crises, dogfights, and voting sessions while suspecting that hidden Cylon agents walk among them. The blend of hand management, dice checks, and intense social deductions makes every jump through space a fight for survival. Groups that love high-stakes table talk, paranoia, and crisis mitigation will find this a timeless centerpiece.

Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game rules
Nemesis: Lockdown board game cover

10 Nemesis: Lockdown

At 90-180 minutes for 1-5 players, Nemesis: Lockdown is a medium heavy design by Adam Kwapiński.

Relocating survival horror to a multi-level Martian facility, this standalone experience introduces vertical stairs, blackout power dynamics, and brand-new hostile lifeforms. Players must navigate room exploration, item crafting, and tactical dice combat to preserve life support and execute critical base procedures. Fans of tense survival who want an even more treacherous, modular environment will love this claustrophobic Martian nightmare.

Nemesis: Lockdown rules

Comparison
at a glance

#GamePlayersBest withTime (min)AgeComplexityBGG rating
1 Dune: Imperium – Uprising 1-6 4 60-120 13+ Medium Heavy 8.3
2 Star Wars: Rebellion 2-4 2 180-240 14+ Medium Heavy 8.2
3 Nemesis 1-5 4 90-180 12+ Medium Heavy 7.9
4 Pandemic Legacy: Season 2 2-4 4 60 14+ Medium Heavy 7.7
5 Voidfall 1-4 1 90-240 15+ Heavy 7.7
6 Star Wars: Imperial Assault 2-5 5 60-120 14+ Medium Heavy 7.6
7 The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine 2-5 4 20 10+ Medium Light 7.6
8 Aeon’s End 1-4 2 60 14+ Medium 7.6
9 Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game 3-6 5 120-180 14+ Medium Heavy 7.5
10 Nemesis: Lockdown 1-5 4 90-180 12+ Medium Heavy 7.5

Which one should you pick?

Finding the right game depends on your crew’s appetite for complexity and play duration. If you want a fast, highly portable puzzle, The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine provides unmatched collaborative card play, while Aeon’s End offers tight, combat-focused deck building. For sprawling, narrative-driven evenings filled with miniatures and tactical maneuvers, Star Wars: Imperial Assault and Nemesis deliver pulse-pounding survival horror and adventure, whereas Voidfall stands as the definitive choice for groups craving heavy, deeply strategic galactic defense.

Frequently Asked
Questions

What is the best quick cooperative sci-fi board game on this list?

The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine is the quickest option, playing in roughly twenty minutes. It challenges players with short, focused trick-taking missions governed by restricted team communication.

Which games offer deep survival horror themes?

Nemesis and Nemesis: Lockdown provide premier sci-fi survival horror experiences. Both games plunge crews into claustrophobic, alien-infested environments where noise, limited gear, and escalating hazards threaten every move.

Are there cooperative sci-fi games suitable for campaign play?

Yes, Pandemic Legacy: Season 2 and Star Wars: Imperial Assault both feature evolving campaign frameworks. Your decisions and mission results permanently affect future games through ongoing narrative progression and character enhancements.

Which game on this list is best for heavy economic and tactical strategy?

Voidfall is the heaviest game listed, emphasizing deterministic action planning, technology development, and civilization management. It challenges players to coordinate complex asymmetric powers to purge the galactic Voidborn threat.

Can these sci-fi games be played solo?

Several titles include built-in solo options, including Voidfall, Nemesis, Nemesis: Lockdown, Dune: Imperium – Uprising, and Aeon’s End. These allow a single player to tackle challenging automated systems or survive hostile alien scenarios alone.