Despite the fact that my girlfriend and I both play video games, it’s rare that we sit down to play a proper co-op game together. We just enjoy different speeds of games, so there aren’t a lot of titles that cater to both of our tastes. What I have found throughout our relationship, though, is that our best multiplayer options are games that don’t actually have multiplayer modes at all.
Single-player puzzle games have become a go-to in our household over the years. This class of games that require more brainwork than controller inputs gives us a chance to work together on puzzles we can both contribute equally to. The perfect accidental multiplayer game is one that’s filled with logic puzzles of various stripes, letting each of us contribute a logic skill the other might not have. I can rotate shapes in my brain; she can do math. If you’re looking for a game that gives you and a loved one a chance to work out mental challenges together, these excellent games are a great starting point.
1
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
Image: Simogo/Annapurna Interactive
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is the perfect example of this specific type of game. Simogo’s eerie masterpiece is loaded with diverse logic puzzles that can be solved non-linearly. You’ll solve traditional riddles and math problems, alongside more complex logic puzzles that you’ll want to talk through in order to find a solution. When I first played it, my girlfriend and I often ended up huddling around my Steam Deck any time I found myself stuck. She was able to find some obvious solutions that eluded me, and vice versa. It’s the game that got us on our co-op puzzling trend, and I recommend it as a starting point for anyone looking for that kind of experience.
Where to play: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC
2
Return of the Obra Dinn
Return of the Obra Dinn: this used to be what a Game Awards winner for Art Direction looked like. Not anymore.Image: Lucas Pope/3909
Lucas Pope’s Return of the Obra Dinn is unquestionably one of the greatest puzzle games of all time. The nautical mystery has you investigating a string of deaths on a ship and trying to figure out who each victim was, as well as their role on the ship. The most brilliant thing about it is how many ways it throws clues at you. Sometimes the answers are hidden in plain sight, but other times they require some close observation. What language did this person speak? Where exactly were they on the ship when they died? Did they have any relation to anyone else onboard? Questions like that beg to be discussed, which makes them perfect fodder for a hands-off co-op session.
Where to play: macOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, Xbox One
3
What’s the Password?
Image: TrampolineTales
A few weeks ago, I sat down to play What’s The Password?, a game where you simply have to work out four-digit codes from a series of ever-changing hints. My girlfriend came home just as I was starting it and sat down to take a look at it. Two hours later, we were so locked in that we forgot we had to start prepping dinner. The trick of What’s The Password? comes from its wealth of logic puzzles that are rarely the same. I could easily figure out some puzzles that revolved around numbers correlating to shapes, but she was able to quickly deduce some complex math problems that I would never have figured out on my own. We played the entire game in one sitting, and it was my favorite “multiplayer” experience of 2026 so far.
Where to play: Android, iOS, Windows PC
4
Chants of Sennaar
Image: Rundisc/Focus Entertainment
The trick with finding a great co-op-friendly puzzle game is that it can’t be too reliant on long blocks of text — there’s nothing worse than trying to play a game with someone who can read much faster than you can. That means that excellent deduction games like The Séance of Blake Manor don’t always fit the bill. Chants of Sennaar solves that problem by turning words into symbols. The goal is to decode a series of foreign languages by using context clues to translate words. See a mechanism that opens and closes a door? You might be able to use that to figure out the words for open, close, and door, allowing you to decode other puzzles later. Like the other games on this list, its strength is that it features so many varied clues to chew on. Just bear in mind that you’ll have to make your way through a few momentum-slowing stealth interludes to solve it all.
Where to play: Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, Xbox Series X
5
Botany Manor
Image: Balloon Studios/Whitethorn Games
Escape room puzzle design is especially perfect for a game two people can play together. Plenty of great games fit that bill, from The Room to this year’s Call of the Elder Gods. My top recommendation is Botany Manor, a great little indie that has you solving your way through a mansion filled with plants. It’s not technically an escape room, but it follows the same fundamentals by throwing you into sections of the manor that have interconnected puzzles. Its cozy atmosphere is a plus too, making for a chill evening game. And if you want a more traditional co-op escape room game, don’t sleep on the delightful Escape Academy.
Where to play: Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
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