Co-Operative Board Games

What is a Co-Operative Game?

Play as friends, not as enemies! These games foster the spirit of co-operation. Players help each other climb a mountain, make a community, bring in the harvest, complete a space exploration... They are never against each other. Co-operative games have been proven to be that friendly form of fun.

After all, the initial impulse to play a game is social; that is, we bring out a game because we want to do something together. It is ironic that in most games, we spend all our efforts trying to bankrupt someone, destroy their armies — in other words, to get rid of one another! We soon learn how to pick on the other person's weaknesses in order to win the game.

People of different ages and abilities should be able to play side by side, each making their best contribution. In a co-operative game, someone young and little can play with others older and bigger and not worry about being wiped out. We are all there at the end of it.

Children are not protected from not making it to the summit or completing the space voyage. These games are designed to offer realistic challenges.

The challenge. In sum, games are used in various settings and for various reasons, socialization, entertainment, academic learning, character growth, etc. Whatever your objective, we invite you to realize them by co-operative means. Parents and teachers trying to teach children to share, be kind to living things, and help others out often are troubled by games and recreation programs which undermine these values. Our games provide the opportunity to experience sharing and caring behavior. We simply don't have enough of such experiences.

ENJOY!

"What matters is to awaken in ourselves this spirit of co-operation, this feeling of joy in being and doing together, without any thought of reward or punishment. Most young people have it spontaneously, freely if it is not corrupted by their elders." - by J. Krishnamurti