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The Mind is the strangest little card game on many shelves. Your team holds cards numbered 1 to 100 and has to play them onto one pile in rising order, with no talking, no signals and no turns. You just wait, feel the room and play when it seems right. If that silent, nervous teamwork hooked your group, these games like The Mind keep the cooperation and the limited communication while adding new puzzles to solve.
Closest follow-up to The Mind: The Game
Play cards from 2 to 99 onto four shared piles while hinting, never naming numbers. It costs about $18.
Price band: $10–$20 (about $18) · Check today’s price on Amazon
1. The Game — groups who want a little more control
Players: 1 to 5, ages 8+ · Price band: $10–$20 (about $18) · Pick for: Groups who want a little more control · See The Game on Amazon
Steffen Benndorf's The Game gives the table four piles: two that climb from 1 and two that fall from 100. On your turn you must play at least two cards, and you may say things like do not play on this pile, but you can never say a number. A neat rule lets you jump backwards by exactly ten, which saves many hopeless hands. The team wins together by emptying the deck and their hands.
We compare the two head to head in The Game vs The Mind.
Skip it if: you love The Mind for its total silence; The Game allows some table talk.
2. Hanabi — puzzle lovers who like deduction
Players: 2 to 5, ages 8+ · Price band: $10–$20 (about $13) · Pick for: Puzzle lovers who like deduction · See Hanabi on Amazon
In Hanabi you hold your cards backwards, so everyone sees your hand except you. Your team builds five fireworks in colour order from 1 to 5, and each clue you give costs a token and can only point out a colour or a number. Like The Mind, the game is about reading teammates and trusting what they are not saying. Three wrong plays end the show.
Skip it if: your group hates memory games; keeping track of your clues matters.
3. The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine — card players ready for a campaign
Players: 2 to 5, ages 10+ · Price band: $10–$20 (about $15) · Pick for: Card players ready for a campaign · See The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine on Amazon
The Crew is a cooperative trick-taking game played across 50 missions in a logbook. Each mission tells the team which player must win which card, and you only get to share one card from your hand per mission, with a small token showing whether it is your highest, lowest or only card of that colour. The limited signals feel very close to The Mind, but the missions keep getting harder.
Skip it if: nobody at the table knows trick-taking; there is a short learning curve.
4. Sky Team — couples and two-player nights
Players: 2, ages 12+ · Price band: $30+ (about $33) · Pick for: Couples and two-player nights · See Sky Team on Amazon
Sky Team puts two players in a cockpit landing a plane. Once the dice are rolled, you cannot discuss them. You take turns placing dice on the controls to manage speed, axis, flaps and landing gear, hoping your partner reads your plan. It won the Spiel des Jahres in 2024 and captures the same silent trust that makes The Mind so tense.
Skip it if: you usually play with three or more.
5. Wavelength — bigger groups who want to talk
Players: 2 to 12, ages 14+ · Price band: $30+ (about $35) · Pick for: Bigger groups who want to talk · See Wavelength on Amazon
Wavelength is co-designed by Wolfgang Warsch, who also made The Mind. One player sees where a hidden target sits on a scale, such as hot to cold, and gives one clue. The rest of the team turns a dial to where they think it lands. It is the opposite of silent, but it scratches the same itch of trying to get inside your friends' heads.
Skip it if: you want a quiet game; Wavelength gets loud.
Silent and low-talk team games compared
| Game | Players | How much talking | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Mind | 2 to 4 | None | about $12 |
| The Game | 1 to 5 | Hints, never numbers | about $18 |
| Hanabi | 2 to 5 | Strictly limited clues | about $13 |
| The Crew | 2 to 5 | One signal per mission | about $15 |
| Sky Team | 2 | None once dice are rolled | about $33 |
| Wavelength | 2 to 12 | Plenty | about $35 |
What makes The Mind feel so different
Most party games reward talking. The Mind takes talking away and turns timing into the whole game. A level can fall apart in seconds when two people play at once, and a perfect run feels like magic. The picks above keep the cooperation and the tension, but each gives your group a little more to hold on to: piles to manage in The Game, clues in Hanabi, missions in The Crew and a plane to land in Sky Team.
Still need the original? The Mind (about $12) is a single deck with lives and throwing stars, and our rules guide for The Mind explains levels and rewards.
Choosing your next cooperative card game
- Want the same feel with more structure: The Game.
- Love logic puzzles: Hanabi.
- Regular card players: The Crew.
- Two players: Sky Team.
- Groups of six or more: Wavelength.
For more teamwork ideas, our Hanabi vs The Mind comparison and Sky Team vs The Crew guide go deeper on two of these picks.
Games like The Mind FAQ
What game is most similar to The Mind?
The Game. It also has players laying numbered cards in order as a team, with tight limits on what you can say.
Is there a two-player game like The Mind?
Sky Team is built for two and bans discussion once the dice are rolled. The Mind and The Game also work with two.
Who designed The Mind?
Wolfgang Warsch, who also co-designed Wavelength and designed The Quacks of Quedlinburg.
