If you like Pandemic, then try...

This is a new column we hope to run fairly often, which compares similar games to each other.  If you like one of the games, hopefully you'll like others on the list!  Ideally we hope to add these similar games to the reviews as well, but for now I thought it would be fun to start a separate column.

To kick things off we'll start with Pandemic, a fun cooperative game.  If you're a fan of Pandemic, here are five other games we think you might like:

1.  Flash Point: very similar to Pandemic, but with a bit more added.  The theme of this game is trying to put out fires in a house and save everyone within it.  It's completely cooperative, and in my opinion a bit better than Pandemic because there is more involved.  I only played once, but it seemed pretty challenging as well.

2.  Forbidden Island: The same makers of Pandemic, the game play here feels very similar.  One nice thing is that it plays well with 2 players, making it a fun game if you're a couple or just have one close friend or sibling to play with.  Like Pandemic, there are different difficulty levels, the hardest of which can be quite intense.

3.  Lord of the Rings:  A bit more complex than Pandemic, Lord of the Rings is probably one of the most challenging purely cooperative games we've tried.  It's a ton of fun though.  Like Pandemic, everyone takes a turn but they are all working toward the same goal.  This game also has the rule that you can't share what cards are in your hand, fixing a problem we had with Pandemic.

4.  Red November: Though it's not Jason's favorite, Red November is also a decent cooperative game you might enjoy if you like Pandemic.  Everyone is working together to save a sinking submarine.  It has a similar feel to Pandemic in that it will never feel like you're very close to winning until you actually do - every game seems to come down to the wire.  Plus, Red November can hold up to 8 players - though keep in mind that if you use that many, the game can last for quite a long time (over 2 hours sometimes).

5.  Shadows over Camelot:  It's not completely 100% cooperative, but it's a fantastic game so I have to mention Shadows over Camelot.  For the most part you are working together against the forces of evil, though there is a possibility of a traitor.  You can choose not to play with the traitor to make it purely cooperative, though it tends to be a lot less challenging that way for advanced players.