Cooperative games and games for playing together: planning, coordinating and winning together

In cooperative games, the players do not compete against each other but play together against the game: the whole group wins or loses together. In Pandemic, for example, the team looks for cures for four diseases; in Bomb Busters, it defuses a bomb together. Most games in this selection work this way. Not all of them: in Dixit, Concept and Pictures, points count and you have to judge how the others think. In Codenames, two teams play against each other, and in Skull, Diamant and Hanamikoji, the challenge is to read the other players.

They are a good way in. Because the group wins or loses together, nobody triumphs over another child, and a defeat can be talked through together: what will we do differently next time? In a study with four- and five-year-olds, children showed more cooperative and less aggressive behaviour during cooperative games than during competitive games. Short games such as Bandido or The Game: Quick & Easy are good for getting started. However, this does not practise losing against others; for that, this selection includes Dixit.

In the preschool years, children grasp that someone can believe something that is not true. At around five or six, they increasingly understand what someone thinks about another person's thoughts; depending on the task, this happens earlier or later. Language and executive functions are linked to this. Hanabi, Just One and Belratti, recommended from age 8, require exactly that: which clue will the other person understand?

One person ending up deciding for everyone is considered a pitfall of cooperative games. Let each child choose their own move, and hold back on advice. In Hanabi, Just One and Sky Team, the rules themselves limit how much players may tell each other; that makes it harder to decide for others. If there is an argument about a move, simple methods such as tossing a coin or drawing straws help.