Five Great Co-op Games To Play With Your Kids

Spend some quality time with your kids.

Depending on where you live, March/Spring break is right around the corner, and to those of us with kids that means they are going to home all week and need something to do. Our March Break started today and aside from going skating, watching some movies and taking a quick trip, me and my kids wanted to find some games that we could play together. I have two boys, 10 and under, so we needed to find a few games that had at least three player co-op to avoid the fights of who was playing first and turns lasting too long. We sat down and talked about which co-op games were our favorites and this is our list.

The Simpsons Arcade – Rated Everyone 10+

A Konami classic, The Simpsons Arcade supports up to four player local and online co-op and was brought back to to life in its original form on the Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network last year. It’s not the longest game in the world, clocking in at around two hours on Normal, but it’s a fun walk down memory lane with your kids. For more on The Simpsons Arcade, read our review here.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance – Rated T for Teen

Marvel Ultimate Alliance is probably the best superhero series to play cooperatively, as it features both four player local and online co-op. They aren’t just fun kids games that you’ll only enjoy while playing with them though, as the Marvel Ultimate Alliance games are actually really fun and deep with character progression as you level up the large roster of Marvel characters. You’ll more than likely end up playing these long after the kids have gone to bed.

Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition – Rated Everyone 10+

We could very well end up spending the entire week building a new city in Minecraft, but I really want to save some time for some other games. It’s just so hard to stop once you start. Minecraft basically offers unlimited gameplay for up to four players locally and eight while playing online co-op. You can build whatever you want in Minecraft, just be careful not to get sucked in and spend the whole week on your creation. For more on Minecraft on the Xbox 360, read our review here.

Crimson Alliance – Rated T for Teen

It’s one of the most mature games on the list, but Crimson Alliance isn’t as bad as the ratings make it seem and it has quickly become one of our favorite co-op games in the last few weeks. I played it before and then my oldest saw it and wanted to check it out. We had a blast leveling up our characters and searching the dungeons for secrets together. It supports up to four players in both local and online co-op and is easily one of the best co-op games around. For more on Crimson Alliance, read our review here.

Dungeon Defenders – Rated Everyone 10+

It’s a pretty big game, so I don’t know how far we’ll get in Dungeon Defenders, but it’s one of my favorite co-op games of all time, so I definitely want to fit it in at some point and introduce my kids to its greatness. Our Best Co-op and Best Downloadable game of 2011 offers two to four player local and online co-op, and is one of the best Tower Defense/Action-RPG games you’ll ever play. For more on Dungeon Defenders, read our review here.

Honorable Mention

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time – Rated Everyone 10+

Turtles In Time is a classic, whether in the Arcade or on the Super Nintendo, and anyone over the age of 25 can appreciate how awesome this game was, and still is. Konami released an HD remake on the Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network in 2009, which supports 2-4 players both offline and online, and is full of family friendly action. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be available on the Xbox Live Arcade or Playstation Network any more, so it’s not much help to those who don’t already own it, but it’s just too good to not be mentioned.