When I was a kid, every game involved inter-player competition, whether it be a race to the finish (like Chutes and Ladders or Candy Land), or a struggle for resources (like Monopoly) or a zero-sum strategy game (like Battleship). Every game had a winner and a loser (or losers).
That seems to be changing. More and more board games are based on cooperative play, rather than competition between players. Games like Busytown, Lost Puppies, or Count Your Chickens (don’t worry…I had never heard of them either) require players to work together, or at least in parallel, towards an objective. If the objective is reached, everybody wins. If not, try again.
Some might decry this trend as more touchy-feely, P.C. nonsense; I’m not so sure. Learning to work together and be mutually supportive are great skills for young kids to develop. And the results – less fighting, more fun – speak for themselves.
Yet I wonder if we lose something in practicing real sportsmanship – how you treat another person in competition. The thrill of relying on your own strategy, your own decisions, or your own skills is a unique experience. So is learning to cope when your best efforts don’t always achieve the outcome you want.
And so today’s Count Your Chickens ally is tomorrow’s Connect Four adversary. Maybe there’s a good lesson in that, too.
I think both types of games would be great for kids. For one, it's important to establish good sportsmanship and help kids understand in some instances there will be a winner and a loser - and the appropriate response to being each. However it's equally important to learn how to work effectively as a member of a team and consult the opinions of others. I think it's great that there are games like this out there that encourage kids to work on their team building and cooperative skills at a young age!
ReplyDeleteThese posts made me think about the games I liked most as a kid and what that might reveal about my personality. I mixed it up quite a bit between winner-take-all and team efforts. Both were valuable as Erin points out, although in retrospect I leaned toward the take-no-prisoner variations.
ReplyDeleteAs a father, I've encouraged and watched my own children (and nieces and nephews) play games. I discovered that each gravitates toward games that reflect their personalities as well. One son wanted always to play the game to win, the other to explore ideas along the way, and still another somewhere in between.
The lesson I had to learn, and it took me a long time by the way, was to not superimpose my attitudes and experiences with games on them but instead to encourage and expose them to all variations. Oh, and to ALWAYS have fun.