Cooperative games are a form of game or sport in which players work with each other to achieve a common goal.
The objective of a cooperative game is to reduce the focus on competition and increase collaboration to achieve a satisfactory result for everyone in the group.
1. the pilot and the plane
age group: from 7 years old - group of 7 people or more.
objective: test communication and trust between people in the group.
Choose one person to be the pilot and one person to be the plane. The other people in the group will be the obstacles. Also set aside an area that will be the airstrip.
In it, put the people who will be the obstacles arranged in different places. It can be with a distance of one meter between each one, in different positions.
The person chosen to be the plane will be blindfolded. Then place the person-plane at the beginning of the “runway” and ask the pilot to analyze the area and think about how he will guide his blindfolded gamemate.
The pilot cannot touch the plane, he must stay in an area close to the runway, but not inside it. His goal is to have a clear communication to guide his colleague (plane) to the end of the airstrip, without him bumping into the people who are the obstacles.
In turn, the person chosen to be the plane, will not be able to ask anything and will not even know how the people are willing on the track, will just trust your pilot's communication and follow their guidelines. The goal is for everyone to participate, whether it's the pilot or the plane.
Observation: It is important to delimit an area with a specific size, if the plane steps outside it, it will have to go back to the beginning.
2. Don't drop the ball!
age group: 5 years or more - group of 5 people or more.
objective: team collaboration, good communication and quick solution together.
Ask all players to form a circle and hold hands. If the group is very large, divide into two or more circles.
One person will be outside the wheel watching the players. He will drop a ball full of air, like a birthday balloon, into the middle of the wheel and time it for 1 minute or more on the timer.
The aim is for players not to let go of their hands and, once the ball is in the air, not to let it fall to the ground or leave the circle. You can use any part of your body to keep you airborne.
It is important to have a large space to play the game. Thus, participants can walk with the circle formed so as not to let the ball fall out of it.
The intention is for players to help each other and communicate strategically to act quickly and not drop the ball.
If the group's ball stays in the air and no player releases their hands within the allotted time, the whole group wins.
3. War heroes
Age group: 12 years and over - Two groups of 4 people or more in each.
Objective: introduce the importance of helping people in difficult times.
Imagine a war scenario where a group is in need of help with supplies to survive. This is the Heroes of War game!
Divide participants into two groups. Also divide the area where the game will take place in two parts.
In a small area, at the end of the space, the group that is in need of the supply will be, in the other (larger area), it will be the path to be taken by the group that will take the supply to the other.
The group that is in need of supplies will have an empty basket and the other group will have a basket full of supplies. These supplies can be represented by balls or other objects, for example.
The main objective is that each participant assigned to the mission, takes the greatest number of supplies for the group of players that is in need of the supply, at a time determined by the mediator of the Just kidding.
However, there are two rules: all party members with supplies must be blindfolded and the The mediator of the game should place obstacles along the way, such as cones, ropes, balls and others goals.
These obstacles represent the danger the party will go through to take the supplies that will help their friends.
To help, the group that is in need of supplies will be able to communicate with the blindfolded people, guiding them on the best way to go along the way. If someone steps on or touches an obstacle, they will fail to take the supply to the other group.
5- Tell us a story
age group: 12 years or more - group of 5 people or more.
objective: focus on creativity.
To start, get a box and put different objects in it.
Ask the group to sit in a circle and place the closed box in the middle. Choose a person to start the game. This person will close their eyes, take an object from the box and start a story with it.
After telling your part of the story, you will hold your object and the next participant will close their eyes and will take yours and continue the story your friend told before, adding the object you took in the box.
One of the main rules of this game is that each participant continues the story based on what their friend said before and improvise their part, adding the object they took.
At the end of the game, you can have a story that is not only fun, but also very creative! The intention is for participants to let their creativity flow and decide the direction of the story through improvisation.
6- Walking together
age group: 8 years or more - group of 6 people or more.
objective: cooperation to achieve a common goal.
Divide the group into pairs. Use a rope to tie the left foot to the other person's right foot.
In one space, place a basket with balls at one end and an empty basket at the other. The objective is for each pair to take the ball from the full basket and bring it to the empty basket in the shortest time possible.
If one person in the pair falls, the other person needs to help him up and they must return to the beginning, at the end of the space where the basket with the balls is.
7 - Hit the ball!
Age group: 10 years or more - group of 6 people or more.
Objective: work on motor coordination and joint game strategy.
For this game, you'll need some ping-pong balls and a cardboard box. In the lidded cardboard box, drill a hole a little larger than the size of the Ping-Pong ball.
In the area chosen for the game, place a basket with the balls at one end and at the other, place the box with the hole.
Participants need to stand in single file, next to the basket with the balls. Each player must place the ping-pong ball between their knees and deposit them in the box, passing through the hole.
The path can be done by jumping or walking, as the participant prefers.
If the participant drops the ball along the way or fails to place it in the hole, he/she returns to the end of the line. Whoever manages, leaves the Indian queue and helps other colleagues indicating the best strategy.
The game only ends when all participants manage to place the balls in the box.
8 - Next step
Age group: 10 years or older - group of 4 to 6 people.
objective: cooperation until the end of the game and good game strategy.
This game is super fun and needs the help of all participants! Take two pieces of cardboard and cut each into a square shape, with an area that can fit 4-6 people.
If you are with a very large group, divide them into smaller groups. Each group will have two cardboards. One will be used as a delimited “floor” where all participants are expected to stand. The other will be placed in front of the group.
Choose a large location to have a start and end tag. The group will start on top of a cardboard and the other cardboard will be in front. The objective is for everyone to move from one cardboard to another without stepping on the ground and that they remain together in the square.
One person will take the cardboard that was left behind and give it to another person to put it forward and everyone will take another step together.
The objective is to reach the final mark without any participant having stepped outside the cardboards.
9 - What did he say?
Age group: 12 years or more - group of 4 people or more.
Objective: work the joint logic of the group.
Choose one person from the group and give him any phrase. Afterwards, ask her to speak the sentence in the order of the words exchanged.
Example: imagine that you chose the phrase "I love physical education class and I wanted it to last longer."
The person could say something like "Physics who wanted more education I love time for classes to last."
The goal is for the other participants to unscramble the sentence together and be able to unravel as quickly as possible what the person said.
10 - Ball on top and ball on bottom
Age group: 6 years or more - group of 4 people or more.
Objective: fast physical response and good listening.
Choose a space to make this game. All participants will have to stand in a single file, one after the other.
Choose a ball, preferably light. Position participants and give the ball to the first in line. A chosen leader, or the educator, may be responsible for shouting "ball over!" or “ball underneath!”.
The goal is for participants to pay attention to what was said and be able to act and respond in a way fast, passing the ball over (over the head) or under (between the legs) to the participant from behind.
11- Group mime
age group: 10 years or more - group of 4 people or more.
objective: good communication through body language and cooperation.
The mime game is already well known, but its group version can be even more fun.
Separate two groups of four or more people. Set a theme such as movies, series, songs, celebrities, and more. Each group will decide a topic (a song, a movie…) to mime for the other group.
The group in turn will have to choose two or more representatives to mime for the other group. The goal is for the people doing the mime or the group trying to find out do it all together.
12 - What is the imitation?
Age group: 12 years or more - group of 4 people or more.
Objective: to present how information can be interpreted in different ways by people.
This is a game in the style of the old cordless phone, but enhanced for imitation. The goal is for participants to understand how poor communication can change initial information.
Place the group in single file. Choose a person from the group or a leader to think of an imitation of anything you want.
No player can look back to see what is being imitated. So, as soon as the leader chooses the imitation, tap the person in front on the shoulder and do the imitation for them.
That person will repeat the process. You will call the person in front of you when you tap him on the shoulder, he will look back and repeat the imitation he saw.
It's interesting to see that the last person to imitate might do something completely different than the first person did.
See too:
- What are cooperative games?;
- What are competitive games and examples;
- What are recreational games?;
- What are pre-sports games?.
