Bean Adventures: Co-op Games to Play

*note: scroll to the bottom for a list of all the games mentioned in this post*

Before I met J, I wasn't playing many video games on the regular. I mean, I grew up in the age of Webkinz, Club Penguin, and flash games on the computer. And I played my fair share of PlayStation games growing up. But once family computers became obsolete and I realized I had almost no knowledge of the PC gaming world, my days of playing games stopped. Lucky for me though, one of J's hobbies is playing games on his PC. Which meant entering the world of Steam, Discord, and the likes was a much easier experience for me and it brought us together.

One of the first games J sent me on steam was Stardew Valley in 2018. Now, this was back before the co-op update, which meant I was farming solo but I still really enjoyed playing the game and learning about it as I went! J had previously played through it and had heard a co-op update was on the horizon, so when he bought it for me, he thought it would eventually be a game we could try together. And he was right! Stardew Valley is now one of my all-time favourite games. It's super easy to get into, even if you've never played a video game before, and even ran on my Acer laptop I used for university. We currently have a co-op farm going onto year 11 and still play Stardew from time to time!

While I was still in university, we also picked up mobile games like Draw Something and Words with Friends that could be played while I was in class or during my breaks. Over the years, we've tried other games and apps such as Plato but we've always gone back to Words with Friends as our go-to mobile game. It's easy to play and has the ability to send notifications to play your opponent back, so you don't have to constantly be on the app to play back and forth.

Another one of my favourite games to play with J is Minecraft, which we started playing together in 2019. We use the X-Box version, which allows us to play on a server together for free, as long as the host (usually J) is online. The Java edition is also available for those who want to play on a server at different times, but for a monthly subscription. There is definitely a slight learning curve to getting the hang of the controls (at least for me as I had not previously played a game like Minecraft before) but I love being able to explore open worlds, build anything my little heart desires, and collect animals while J helps me along the way by mining diamonds and making me armor. The creative world mode is also awesome if you want to build without the stress of open world gameplay! As well as Stardew, both versions of Minecraft are playable on my laptop so it's another good game to play even if you don't have a PC!

One game that we have since stopped playing after starting in 2019 (but I would 100% play again) is Town of Salem. J and I put in a lot of hours playing this game because it was simple enough to not only play on my laptop, but also connect to my university's campus wi-fi in between classes.

Co-op games like BattleBlock Theatre, Overcooked 2, and Golf With Your Friends are ones we have played on and off over the years. They're easy games to hop in and out of as they don't follow a story and can be played without much thought - although, the first two are definitely more challenging and possibly frustrating than the rest. Don't let this stop you though! There is fun to be had with these co-op games.

In 2020, J and I had a lot more free time and found ourselves playing lots of different games together! Group games like Jack Box Party Games became frequent amongst us and our friends, or Terraria and Don't Starve Together as other great co-op games. We also found games on Steam for free or much cheaper than most games, like Bloons TD 6, Never Split the Party, and Degrees of Separation. As well, 2020 was when I finally started playing Pokémon Go which was a fun way for J and I to get outside and still do something together!

Following our big gaming year in 2020, the next two years eased off in terms of us trying new games and instead we found ourselves going back to old ones for the most part. Of course with J being an avid gamer, he found new games for us try and got me into playing a gem matching game on my phone called Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells, which is a fun game to play while on the phone with each other. 2021 was the year I bought myself a switch for Christmas (thank you Boxing Day Sales!), which coincided with J's purchase of Animal Crossing: New Horizons for his switch (leading me to purchase it for myself as well). It's a good game to play while calling one another, whether we're visiting each other's islands or not, and it is super calming. I highly recommend ACNH to anyone who has the ability to play it!

And as of June 2022, Fall Guys is now free to play which means even more bean adventures... and lots of falling.

Games to play together: *listed in order of appearance above*

1. Stardew Valley (available on PC, Mobile, Switch, and more)

2. Draw Something (Mobile)

3. Words with Friends (Mobile)

4. Plato (Mobile)

5. Minecraft (PC, Mobile, Switch, and more)

6. Town of Salem (PC, Mobile)

7. BattleBlock Theatre (PC)

8. Overcooked 2 (PC, Switch)

9. Golf With Your Friends (PC, Switch)

10. Jack Box Party Games (PC, Mobile, Switch)

11. Terraria (PC, Switch)

12. Don't Starve Together (PC, Switch)

13. Bloons TD6 (PC, Mobile)

14. Never Split the Party (PC)

15. Degrees of Separation (PC)

16. Pokémon Go (Mobile)

17. Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells (Mobile)

18. Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Switch)

19. Fall Guys (PC, Switch)

Also, heads up that Steam offers "Remote Play Together" which allows an owner of a game to play co-op with someone who doesn't own the game. It's worth checking out to save you from both buying a game!