Looking for LAN Coop game recommendations

[NewClassicMac]

I would like to introduce my 2 sons to LAN games. I have a bunch from over the years that are LAN games, but it is always capture the flag or kill each other.
I would like to find a few cool coop games that we can play locally. I haven't found any in the forums or via the App Store so I thought maybe someone here has found something fun. We are running a couple of iMacs and a MacBook Pro. Any suggestions would be welcome.

 

[Suture]

Look into: Castle Crashers, Left 4 Dead series (if age appropriate), Torchlight 2, Diablo 3, Overcooked 2

 

[NewClassicMac]

Look into: Castle Crashers, Left 4 Dead series (if age appropriate), Torchlight 2, Diablo 3, Overcooked 2

Thank-you! I was able to get Modern Warfare 3 to run and I am trying to get the App store's Borderlands 2 to work through Game Center, but so far no luck. It looks like we have some fun games to try out.

 

[Janichsan]

Portal 2. Great non-violent puzzle co-op.

 

[Suture]

Thank-you! I was able to get Modern Warfare 3 to run and I am trying to get the App store's Borderlands 2 to work through Game Center, but so far no luck. It looks like we have some fun games to try out.

BL2 is AMAZING. So much content. One of my favorite games of all-time, but I was playing it on PC and Xbox 360/One. According to Aspyr, their port of BL2 on the App Store doesn't feature multiplayer: https://support.aspyr.com/hc/en-us/articles/203396134-Borderlands-2-Mac-FAQ

... which is pretty poor.

 

[MasConejos]

I used to host bi-yearly lan parties. Here are some of the titles we used:

Armagetron Advanced - TRON type racing game
Garrison Gang 2 - Like Team Fortress 2, but 2D, pixelated, side scrolling, more cartoony. It's windows only, but plays fine in wine/crossover
Madballs in Babo:Invasion - Steam game, you play one of those goofy balls from the 80's. Supports coop and versus modes
DOTA 2 (Steam) - DOTA 1 (warcraft 3 mod) had a mode with AI bots, and it was fun to play against them as a team. Haven't played DOTA 2 much, but I think it supports something similar. Note that DOTA is fun as long as everyone is at the same skill level. If your skill levels differentiate too much, it can be frustrating. You can also look at several other MOBA style games, like
Galcon Fusion - Simple clicky strategy game where you try to take over all the planets. Plays fast.
Left4Dead2 - already mentioned

The games above were selected because I had a mixed windows/mac group to support, with old and new hardware. Also not everyone was a serious gamer. So I picked games that typically had low requirements, and played fast, where player elimination was rare or the games were short

Other games you could consider:
Warcraft 3/Starcraft 2 - From Blizard, RTS games
Civilization 5 or 6 - My wife and I play this together on a team against the AI, or you can play against each other.
Borderlands 2, if you get it on steam it supports multiplayer. Steam should be having a big sale to pick up this, portal, civ, etc cheaply, in a few weeks
Trine 1/2/3 - also on steam. Mostly nonviolent platform/puzzler
AI Wars - Steam, brutally difficult. Read the strategy guides
Total War franchise - Steam. I liked Total War: Shogun 2 a lot. Do some research to find a flavor that interests you
Terraria - like a cross between minecraft and zelda - multiple platforms
HOARD - steam. You're a dragon, stealing treasure from humans... and other dragons
Serious Sam HD - steam. It's an FPS, but its coop, you versus hordes and hordes and hordes of mobs.
Payday/Payday 2 - steam - FPS, you work together to rob banks against the AI police
Keep Talking on Nobody Explodes - fun party game where you have t diffuse a bomb, only the person diffusing the bomb doesn't have the instructions and the person with the instructions can't see the bomb. Communication is where things go wrong

 

[Bertrude]

Portal 2 is awesome and Trine 1 & 2 are great fun too (not sure if they have LAN play). All great for co-op play.

No LAN if I recall but Paladins is a decent free-to-play class-based team game, but there may be some exposure to salty/toxic players which might be an issue depending on the age of your sons. I guess Team Fortress 2 might be suitable, too but both are FPS.

I like a game of Worms every now and again too.

Personal fave is Rocket League (football/soccer with rocket powered cars) though. Get yourself a team of 3 and have some fun.

 

[NewClassicMac]

thank-you, these are great suggestions. I am downloading Steam and then next figuring out what to start with first. I appreciate it and I hope other readers appreciate your helpful suggestions.

 

[Suture]

Portal 2 is awesome and Trine 1 & 2 are great fun too (not sure if they have LAN play). All great for co-op play.

No LAN if I recall but Paladins is a decent free-to-play class-based team game, but there may be some exposure to salty/toxic players which might be an issue depending on the age of your sons. I guess Team Fortress 2 might be suitable, too but both are FPS.

I like a game of Worms every now and again too.

Personal fave is Rocket League (football/soccer with rocket powered cars) though. Get yourself a team of 3 and have some fun.

I totally forgot about Worms! We had a lot of fun years ago playing that. I was actually planning to look and see if I could find it again or try the most modern release with my son.

 

[Bertrude]

I totally forgot about Worms! We had a lot of fun years ago playing that. I was actually planning to look and see if I could find it again or try the most modern release with my son.

The newest one I've played is Worms: Clan Wars and it's pretty good. I've only played it casually but it has a decent single player campaign and the multiplayer is pretty configurable to suit the type of game you might play. It'll probably be cheap in a Steam sale soon enough.

Towerfall Ascension is currently reduced on Steam (or at least it is in my region - UK) and it's a great little multiplayer game too.