Cooperative Games for Adults

Adults playing silly games? That can’t be right. Oh, but it is! Not only can adults play cooperative New Games, they do so joyfully. How can this be so? Aren’t games for kids? As we grow up, games become increasingly organized and competitive. Fewer kids can keep up with the competition and they drop out of organized sport and games. They keep dropping out until their late teens when less than 10% are participating.

By the age of 14, only 24% of boys and 12% of girls in the UK have reached the standard level of fitness.

Most people miss out on the pure joy of playing because competition forces them out. Co-operative games allow adults to remember again the joy of play. I have met people who say they NEVER played, even as children. I find this hard to believe, but they insist that it’s true. Maybe it was so long ago that they can’t even remember it. I find almost all people love playing just for fun at any age. The trick is to create the conditions where they have permission to do so, and that’s why cooperative games works so well for adults used to competing. I run co-operative New Games sessions for a living. I create a safe environment for silly play and fun games.

Playing is still fun for adults

Playing cooperative New Games is just as much fun as an adult is it was when you were a kid (with all my experience, it might even be better!) People often come up to me and say things like “I haven’t done this in 30 years! I’ve forgotten how much fun it is!” One time when I was introducing the games in a park in Stockholm, Sweden, I saw an older gentleman watching us intently from across the street. I shouted out to him that he could join us if he liked. He shook his head “No.” A bit later, he was on the same side of the street, still looking interested. “I again welcomed him to join and this time he said, “No.” The next time I noticed him, he was enthusiastically playing a game with us.

I can’t imagine not playing and being playful in many, maybe most, situations. For me, it makes life more fun. New Games are just a starting point for making my life more playful, it just makes it more fun to be alive.

When does the fun start?

I travel the world delivering New Games at festivals, business conferences and meet-ups of all kinds. Playing co-operative games is a great way for business groups to start a conference or meetup with a positive spirit. I’ve even taken New Games to trouble spots such as a mixed race group in apartheid South Africa and I’ve helped Palestinians and Israelis play together. So if you are organising an event, get in touch, or if you know someone who is, do suggest New Games to them. You could invite them to like the New Games Facebook Page or follow the Twitter account.

I also run training courses so you can learn how to run New Games sessions too. I consider having the ability to get a room to play and have fun to be my superpower, and you can have that too! Get in touch if you would like to become a certificated New Games leader.

Want to try it yourself? Get hold of my FREE cooperative new games starter kit and try it on your friends. The world needs more play, help me make it happen.