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Cooperative Games and Kindness to Strangers

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I love the research coming out that backs the use of cooperative games. There’s a study out now that looks at how the sense of belonging to a group makes people more likely to help others in real life. The study is described in an article in the Stanford School of Social Innovation newsletter and I think it’s very interesting. The gist of it is that people help those in need more readily if they construe them to be in the same group. Teachers, here is another study showing why cooperative games are a great idea in the schools. Cooperative games help kids feel that they are on the same team, and with that mindset, they are more likely to help one another out.

Here’s an excerpt of the study, which was done in 2005 and published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin in Britain.

A group of people are standing in the grass.

Two studies conducted at Lancaster University in the UK played on the intense rivalry between fans of two English football teams, Manchester United and Liverpool. In the first study, Manchester United fans were recruited to fill out questionnaires about their interest in the team and the degree to which they identified as fans. They were then invited to walk across campus to see a video about football teams. Along the way, an accident was staged in which a runner slipped and fell, groaning in pain. Hidden observers watched the incident, and those taking part in the study were asked about it when they reached the projection room.

Participants, all of whom had a strong identification as Manchester fans, were more likely to ask the runner if he needed help when he was wearing a Manchester United shirt than when he was wearing a Liverpool shirt or an ordinary unbranded shirt.

In the second study, Manchester United fans were again recruited, but when they arrived they were told that they were participating in a study about football fans in general (not Manchester United fans, specifically). They were also told that the study aimed to focus on the positive aspects of fanhood as opposed to the negative incidents and stories that usually get attention. The study questionnaires asked them about their broader interest in the game and what they shared with other fans. They then were instructed to cross campus to head to the projection room, and along the way witnessed the same staged incident and conditions described in the first study.

In this case, participants were as likely to help a victim in a Manchester United shirt as they were to help someone in a Liverpool shirt. And they were more likely to help those wearing team shirts than those who were not.

The results of the second study are fascinating in terms of their implications. The results indicate that when people are encouraged to see social category boundaries at a more inclusive level –– all football fans, versus fans of one team –– they will extend help to more individuals. Even in a country in which bitter intergroup rivalry exists between fans of one football team and another, when people expand their notion of the “in-group†they are more likely to reach out to those in the “other camp.â€

One noteworthy strength of this research is that it offers an analysis of actual helping behavior rather than “beliefs about†or “intentions†to act. Evidence of dramatic shifts in such behavior across deeply entrenched antagonisms in response to simple changes in levels of categorization is striking.

Indeed, the studies bring up questions regarding how we may cue more prosocial behavior not only in emergency situations, but in all circumstances. How may we promote a greater feeling of inclusiveness among members of society at wider levels such that boundaries become meaningless, and empathetic concern leads to more consistent positive action? Clearly this research offers inspiration for new approaches to camaraderie building across groups, communities, states, and even nations.

You can view the whole article from the Stanford Newsletter here:
http://view.exacttarget.com/?j=fe571576736502757013&m=fefc1273716707&ls=fdea1c7877670c7577127172&l=febe1677716d0278&s=fe171c787c62017d7d1375&jb=ffcf14&ju=fe2c15787162047c731776

Cooperative Games Summon the Spirit of Cooperation on Halloween. uhooo!

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Today is Halloween. Costumed kids will be roaming neighborhoods, huddling in tight groups to giggle and stay safe in the night. Adults join the fun by being ready with bowls of treats…and sometimes even haunted porches! Halloween is a great cooperative play occasion when young and old come together to celebrate and have fun!

My neighborhood in Northern California goes super crazy on Halloween. There’s even a haunted house that artists co-create. Last year it featured a room covered in black and white polka dots with people in matching polka dot suits. They were totally camouflaged—until they jumped out at you! What an amazing community event. Just for the fun of it.

A cartoon of a ghost with the peace sign.

Here are some more ideas to summon the Spirit of Cooperation to your Halloween gathering:

* Play BUILD A MONSTER! But first you have to find all of the pieces. Shred a bunch of old newspaper and create a “haystack†to hide the pieces of the monster. Monster pieces can be cut from felt squares and made as simply or elaborately as you wish. Monster pieces should be no smaller than four inches by four inches so that they won’t be lost in the haystack. Suggested pieces to make: a head, a neck with bolts sticking out, a torso, a brain, a heart, arms, and legs. If you have a felt board, players can assemble the monster as they find the pieces. This is a cooperative game that can be played over and over. Just toss the pieces in the haystack and stir it up to start again. Thanks to party palooza for this game. Their site: http://www.partypalooza.com/Halloween-Games-Party-Ideas.html

* Dunk for apples. Root for the dunker. Everyone wins!

* When kids return from trick-or-treating, ask them to pour the loot into a big bowl or bucket to make a witch’s cauldron. Play this sharing game: everyone sits in a circle around the cauldron. Each player takes a turn going to the cauldron to select a treat for the person sitting next to them in the circle.

* Kids fill a treat bag with donations from their own Trick-or-Treating booty. Donate the bag of treats to a local food back, or homeless shelter.

* Kids sit in a circle and tell a progressive spooky story. Start it out with a Halloween theme such as this “The night was black, the moon was full, and an old house was very dark. An owl perched in a crooked tree and a cat with green eyes sat nervously on the porch. Suddenly, the door to the house creaked open…†The game is over when everyone has had a turn adding to the story.

• Make or go to a haunted house. Appreciate how much cooperation it took to create such a spectacle!

How do you summon Spirit of Cooperation on Halloween. Share your ideas with us at CooperativeGames.com!

How to Encourage Cooperation Through Board Games

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This blog was written by Tiffany Malloy who writes a beautiful Mommy blog  at Eat, Play, Grow. A grateful acknowledgment to Tiffany for sharing her blog with me–and you!A person holding an animal board game.

“Beat you to the door!”

“Beat you upstairs!”

“Look, I have the biggest carrot stick!”

“She has 8 grapes, but I only have 7….”
Competition is everywhere we look. The other day I was at a parent’s meeting for a (non-sport) evening activity, and the coordinator talked about the importance of teaching our kids to compete well, and how part of their program was designed to do just that. While I’m sure that holds some amount of water in some parents’ minds, I began to wonder- why can’t we intentionally be teaching our kids to cooperate well too?

My husband and I have set out to do our best to help our kids’ reflex be to cooperate instead of compete. One way we are starting to do this is through board games. Our family really loves to play games (of course, there are those times when game night goes bad… :)), so we’ve decided to turn our play time into a time of cooperation and collaboration instead of competition.

As we set out on this quest, I stumbled across a website called www.cooperativegames.com. This website is an EXCELLENT resource if you are curious about the idea and value of cooperative gaming. I spent several nights on the website, reading and learning more about the various cooperative games that are on the market. The owner of Cooperative Games, Suzanne Lyons, is a mom and an educator who cares deeply about this as well, and has written a great free ebook that you can find on the website here.

Board Games
To help give us an encouraging start in our cooperative board game experiment, Suzanne not only sent me a list of her favorite cooperative games, but a couple of the games themselves. One of the games is called Max the Cat, and is intended for elementary kids. In this game, the players work together to get squirrel, mouse, and bird to their homes before Max the Cat eats them. Players have to work together (making decisions, etc.) in order to succeed!

Not only did we LOVE to hear our kids play a game together without yelling (or pouting at the end when they lost), but they had a great time playing it. It’s fun to hear them strategizing together, and all being excited at the end if they get all the critters to their homes safely. If they aren’t successful as a team, they are determined to do better the next time, and talk about what they should have done differently.

We’ve become a bit of cooperative board game evangelists with this one– we’ve played it with family, friends, neighbors, and each other. 🙂 I was a bit concerned that perhaps cooperative games wouldn’t really be…well, fun. But the kids love it and don’t mind not competing! 🙂

Turn your Existing Board Games into Cooperative Games
While all board games cannot be turned into cooperative games, Jake and I have been working on doing just that with a few of the games we already have while we slowly build our cooperative game closet.

MEMORY: Instead of seeing who can get the most matches, we see how many tries it takes (collectively) for us to find all the matches. We use an abacus to help us easily keep track.

CANDYLAND: This game is a staple in most game closets, and actually lends itself quite well to collaborative gaming if you read the story on the inside of the box before you play. The kids are working to find King Candy– not competing, but together! So, we play according to the rules, but instead of cheering when someone gets a card that sends them back, we encourage them that they can catch up! Then, whoever wins invites the other players to come up and feast on King Candy’s castle.

BLOKUS: We use the gameboard and pieces to complete various challenges together, such as
Can we place all the tiles in such a way that no colors are touching themselves?
Can we place all the tiles on the board so that there are no holes?

Play Freestyle
There are lots of games that do not have to be bought, but can just be played freely! Cooperative Games lists a lot of them, and most of these I got from them. 🙂

Doing puzzles
Charades
Building with blocks or making a sandcastle
Sardines
Going on a scavenger hunt
Story dice
Crafting

Even if your family is a fan of competition, a little break from it every now and then would probably do everyone a bit of good! 🙂 Be sure to check out Cooperative Games’ website for some of the games that are out there. You might be really surprised! AND stay tuned for another game review on Wednesday, Preschooler in the Kitchen as well as some reflections on cooperation and the Kingdom of God on Friday.

Happy Playing!

The World’s First Printable Cooperative Board Game: Preschooler In the Kitchen

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A board game with apples and children playing.

CooperativeGames.com is thrilled to announce our very first printable cooperative board game: Preschooler in the Kitchen! Preschooler in the Kitchen just might be the world’s most inexpensive cooperative board game at just $2.99!
In the game, young children (ages 3-7) take turns drawing cards that describe a kitchen skill such as eating healthy food or using good manners at the table. When the child does the skill he collects a fruit card and advances around the game board. There are short cuts and possible set-backs along the way, but players cooperate to overcome set-backs together. Everyone wins when they reach the kitchen table with their fruit cards and make a yummy fruit salad together. A recipe for fruit salad is included so players can make a real fruit salad if the game perks up their appetite—as it surely will!
Preschooler In the Kitchen is not just a cooperative game, and not just a printable cooperative game, but it is a PRNTABLE COOPERATIVE FRIDGE GAME! What does that mean? This is a game concept we are pioneering and it works great! You simply download the game from CooperativeGames.com for a mere $2.99. You get the cooperative game board, game cards, and envelope templates for holding the game cards. Post everything on the refrigerator and use your own kitchen magnets as playing pieces. (Be carful though. Kids 3 and under should not play this game without adult supervision because they sometimes put small things like magnets in their mouths!)
With your cooperative game posted on the fridge you can play it over the course of a couple days and use it to teach good kitchen habits as well as cooperation. Note: You can also play the quick version of this game by just playing it on a table top like a regular board game. Whether you play the long version or the quick version, Preschooler In the Kitchen promotes a cooperative kitchen and a love of good healthy food!
Kids and parents agree Preschooler In the Kitchen is a delicious way to have fun. Here are a few reviewer comments:
• … a great way to develop a cooperative attitude about tasks in the kitchen and organically connect that to overall health and safety. Also, the fact that it is non-competitive is a great addition, particularly for the preschool child.
–Amanda
• …we would recommend the game [Preschooler In the Kitchen] It was fun! (and the 8-year-old enjoyed it as much as the 4-year-old)
–Annette
• I was very intrigued by the game…honestly, I was confused how there was not a “winner” when I first read through it. Then I loved it!… I loved how it made my boys work together and help each other…my sister’s boys need that practice as well!!! LOL!
-Ashley

There Are Cooperative Games to Play in Practically Any Setting…from the Classroom to the Cocktail Party

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There’s a world of cooperative games out there. There are cooperative board games for kids from 3 years to teens (e.g. Snail’s Pace Race to Choices); board games for mixed ages (e.g. Save the Whales); and board games for adults (e.g. Untrivia). Family Pastimes even makes a cooperative board game about RV travel specifically for senior citizens! I search the world for great cooperative board games, and bring them to you…all wrapped up in recycled packaging of course!

For free games that don’t require any materials at all check the Fun and Free tab on my website CooperativeGames.com.

There are some fantastic books on cooperative games too. For example, Cooperative Games and Sports by Terry Orlick is marvelous. Terry Orlick, by the way knows what he’s talking about when it comes to cooperative games. He’s aCanadian Professor of Education. He was inventing cooperative games for PE—and documenting their benefits—beginning in the 1980’s. His books are full of active games that help kids strive to do their personal best in PE rather than strain to beat their classmates. Wonderful stuff! You can look for cooperative PE games on the Web and you’ll get quite a few ideas. For example, go to http://www.cwu.edu/~jefferis/unitplans/cooperativegames/index.html

And then there’s another genre of cooperative games—cooperative games that facilitate group dynamics. Some of these games are great ice breakers. Some are useful for focusing a restless class. Others build trust. Cooperative games that enhance group dynamics and build trust are used in classrooms, at camps, in corporations and other workplaces, in activist groups, and yes, even at parties. One New Year’s Eve, I played “Therapist” among a woosey group of revelers. It was silly and fun and got everybody laughing.

There are instructions on how to play all kinds of cooperative games in my upcoming book Cooperative Play, Antidote to Excess Competition. I am working on it now, gathering and testing great games to bring to you soon! For a sneak peek, you can download Part I for free as an illustrated e-book. Enjoy!