Cooperative games also arose from the fundamental human need to live together with others. From an early age, many of us were taught that games mean competition, and competition means games. Yet a game does not need to be played like a war to be interesting and challenging.
Ancient Roots, Modern Application
Cooperative games are not a new invention. According to researcher Terry Orlick, they began thousands of years ago when members of tribal communities gathered to celebrate life. Ancient peoples such as the Inuit of Alaska, the Aborigines of Australia, the Tasaday of Africa, the Arapesh of New Guinea, and various indigenous communities across North and South America still practice cooperative living through dance, games, and other rituals.
These games have always existed, but began to be systematized in the 1950s in the United States through the work of Ted Lentz, who not only worked on the front lines of peace research, but was also a pioneer in the field of cooperative games. From there, studies and programs expanded to many countries, particularly Canada, Venezuela, Scotland, and Australia.
What Cooperative Games Offer
The pioneers of cooperative games believe that they can provide valuable opportunities for togetherness and care, developing trust and mutual support, creating a sense of community, ensuring that everyone feels included, participates equally, works together, and has fun. One of the most prominent figures in the field is Terry Orlick, a psychologist and professor at the University of Ottawa in Canada, who in 1978 published "Winning Through Cooperation," recognized worldwide as one of the primary sources of inspiration for understanding cooperative games.
Cooperative Games in Brazil and Beyond
From 1980 onward, the first steps were taken to integrate cooperative games in Brazil, where USP professor Fabio Otuzi Brotto became the leading representative of the movement. Initially, these games gained greater traction within Physical Education undergraduate and graduate programs. Today, the approach has been applied across many fields: sports, pedagogy, business administration, psychology, philosophy, community movements, NGOs, health, human potential development, and many others, reaching very diverse groups of people of all ages.
Why Organizations Need Cooperation
Cooperative games can be used in organizations to prevent isolation and facilitate interaction among people. The value of cooperation is increasingly important both inside and outside organizations, precisely because broader society tends to produce more competitive and technically focused individuals.
Organizational models are increasingly moving away from individualized work toward team-based approaches. As researcher Batitucci notes: "teamwork is not merely a utopia or an option more in tune with management models, it is one of the few possible paths to the survival of those organizations themselves."
The importance of cooperation in organizations grows every day. Cooperative games can serve as an instrument and tool for building more cooperative organizational cultures, forming teams of people and groups that are truly integrated with one another. Beyond that, these games modify and affect the way a person sees themselves and the world, potentially altering organizational results as people begin to learn and reshape their own reality with the common good in mind.