Coherent Cooperative Game — The Board Game

Build Trust, Intimacy, Peace, Empathy, Reciprocity, Autonomy

14 min readOct 12, 2024

“Coherent Cooperative Game — The Board Game” Concept. Royalty Free Image DALLE-3 and Victor Morgante. ‘Coherent Cooperative Games — The Board Game’ © Victor Morgante

Coherent Cooperative Games are useful to build or rebuild trust, intimacy, peace, empathy, reciprocity and autonomy.

“Coherent Cooperative Games — The Board Game” (© Victor Morgante) is an idea born from the creation of Coherent Cooperative Games (CCGs) and as I define them. CCGs have their genesis in mathematics and logic, but apply equally well to the language of peace, love and cooperation. Their playing can be immensely rewarding and within them each player learns more about their co-player, because Coherent Cooperative Games are defined where:

If you play, there is only one sort of move, and that move is that on each move you play such that the other player wins.

Probably one of the most counter-intuitive games on the planet, the notion of win-win hardly seems like a game at all, certainly not one of triumph. One might say from the outset, “Well you win”, but it is in the process of actually getting there that you win.

Coherent Cooperative Games are equally applicable to law, war, politics, legislation, issue-resolution, building peace and harmony as they are to logic and games. In fact, Coherent Cooperative Games, as I define them, position all of logic within a game, with the intention/intension of coherent cooperation with the rules of a Coherent Cooperative Game.

Disagreements are not excluded from the definition of Coherent Cooperative Games, and can form a formative part of a larger (arrived at) Coherent Cooperative Game. The broader definition (outside the boardgame at this stage) allows for and accepts those who do not play a CCG or who digress from the rules, called a Differential Interpretation Game, and these are dealt with by way of the sanction and punishment that comes with digression from a CCG. With genuine desire for resolution and making sure the other player wins, active participation within a CCG provided a framework for emotional and pragmatic rewards.

In essence, what a Coherent Cooperative Game boils down to is being a good sport, and actively engaging within the process of solving a problem. The learning that comes within playing a Coherent Cooperative Game can be very rewarding and provide insight into the strategies employed by your fellow player to effectively be there for you, in as much as they learn from you being there for them.

Turning Coherent Cooperative Games into a board game makes all the sense in the world. Without being altruistic, Coherent Cooperative Games provide the language and framework for peace where it might not otherwise exist. More importantly CCGs provide a mechanism to learn from each other as to how others get to the finish-line, the Victory circle at the centre of the game.

The benefits of playing Coherent Cooperative Games

Before we dive into the basic strategy of the board game, let us first look at how Coherent Cooperative Games can benefit you.

The psychological impact of playing a Coherent Cooperative Game (CCG) is distinct from traditional competitive or purely cooperative games because of the balance between cooperation and individual decision-making. Here are some key psychological elements that CCGs are employed to effect:

1. Change of Mindset — Enforced Cognitive Dissonance:

Players may experience internal conflict between helping the other player and their ingrained desire to win. In most games, the focus is on individual success, so players might struggle to shift their mindset to prioritize someone else’s victory.
This tension creates moments where players must reconcile their instinct to advance their own position with the broader goal of making the other player win.

2. Empathy and Perspective-Taking:

The game encourages players to engage in empathy by constantly thinking about what is best for the other player. This requires perspective-taking, where one must predict how certain moves could impact the other player’s success.
As players learn to think about the game from the other person’s viewpoint, it can foster deeper connection and cooperation.

3. Delayed Gratification:

Since players are focusing on ensuring the other wins, the rewards are delayed. There’s a sense of building towards something, which taps into the psychology of delayed gratification. A player may feel satisfaction from small, incremental steps toward the end goal, knowing that patience will be rewarded.

4. Reciprocity:

Mutual support builds trust and can make each player feel more invested in the other’s success. The game designed to provide a framework for a reciprocity effect, where each player feels the benefits of helping the other in return for being helped. This mutual support builds trust and can make each player feel more invested in the other’s success.
Players will experience the emotional highs of being helped and the responsibility to give back, creating a positive feedback loop of support.

5. Sense of Control and Autonomy:

Even though the goal is cooperative, each player still has control over their decisions. This can enhance feelings of autonomy and personal responsibility for the outcome. The player who helps the other win feels that they had a direct hand in crafting the victory, which can heighten their sense of agency.

6. Positive Emotional Reward:

Successfully making the other player win can result in a positive emotional reward, such as pride or satisfaction. This is similar to feelings of altruism in real life, where helping someone else brings personal joy. Even though one player wins the game, both players feel emotionally rewarded due to the cooperative nature.
Rather than altruism, this is real cooperation because each player chooses to play rather than one person or group selflessly helping another. If all players are not playing, they are not playing a Coherent Cooperative Game.

7. Trust-Building:

The game can promote trust-building between players, as each must rely on the other for support at key moments. There’s a strong psychological impact when one player sacrifices their progress to assist the other, creating a bond of mutual reliance.
Over time, players might start to recognize patterns of trust and selflessness, which could deepen their sense of cooperation and increase the stakes of making the right choices.

8. Reflection and Growth:

The game encourages reflection on past decisions, fostering a growth mindset. After the game, players might think, “I could have done better,” leading to self-improvement in future sessions.
Players will likely internalize lessons about strategic thinking, emotional intelligence, and balancing short-term sacrifices for long-term gains.

9. Potential Frustration or Guilt:

Coherent Cooperative Games help deal with feelings of frustration and guilt.
Players might feel moments of frustration if their moves aren’t immediately helpful or if they realize they’ve made a misstep that hinders the other player’s progress.
Guilt could also arise if a player feels they didn’t do enough to help the other win. This emotion could be particularly strong if one player feels overly dependent on the other or if they regret not making better decisions.

By integrating these psychological factors within Coherent Coopertaive Games — The Board Game, the game can create a deep, rewarding, and emotionally engaging experience, where players are constantly balancing their own instincts, empathy, and strategic thinking. The unique challenge of making the other player win will push emotional and cognitive boundaries.

The Idea of the Board Game — Game Play

Players start on the outside ring, and move inwards towards the central Victory circle after having been helped there by the other player/players.

Dice are used to advance game tokens on the board.

The excitement come from the constant trade-off between helping the other player directly or setting up a situation where the other player can help you back, creating a feedback loop of cooperation. Here’s how this plays out:

Board Layout:

The board has various types of spaces that offer different actions:

Direct Aid Spaces: If you land here, you gain resources (like tokens) that can be spent to help the other player in future turns.
Cooperative Boost Spaces: These spaces allow you to move the other player’s piece forward or backward in a way that strategically helps both of you.
Synergy Spaces: When you land on these, both players get a benefit, but only if both of you are aligned in your strategy.

Ring Structure:

The board consists of multiple concentric rings (outer, middle, and inner).
Players start on the outer ring and gradually move inward as they meet specific cooperative objectives, which are necessary to advance to the Victory Space at the centre.

Triggers to Move Between Rings:

A player can only move the other player to the next inner ring once they have spent a certain number of Aid Tokens helping that other player.

This means players need to invest in supporting the other player before they can advance them to the inner rings. The focus remains on cooperative effort, as your advancement depends on how much you help the other person.

Cooperation Milestone (Aid Token Requirement):

To advance from the outer ring to the next inner ring, the other player must have spent a certain number of Aid Tokens helping the other player.
Example: A player can only move to the inner ring after the other player has usef 3 Aid Tokens to assist the other player, representing a threshold of cooperative effort.

Mutual Aid Point Threshold:

Players moves the other player to the next ring and can do so once they reach a specific number of Mutual Aid Points. This encourages players to actively help one another.
Or: Players need to collectively earn 5 Mutual Aid Points (tracked visibly on the board) before either can advance to the inner ring.

Special Space Activation:

Certain spaces (e.g. Synergy Spaces) on the board can act as gateways between rings. When a player lands on one of these spaces, they have the option to move inward if the other player is already inward or move the other player inward.
This introduces strategic tension, as players must decide to move the other player advance knowing that the other player wants them to win.

Cooperative Boost Space Condition:

Landing on a Cooperative Boost Space (synergy symbol) provides the opportunity to advance to the next ring, but only if the player also takes an action that benefits the other player on their next turn.
Example: If a player lands on this space and uses an Aid Token to help the other player on their following turn, they unlock the ability to move to the next ring.

Mutual Action Cards:

A deck of Mutual Action Cards are drawn from when players land on certain spaces. These cards offer conditions that, when fulfilled, allow both players to advance together.
Example: A card might read, “Advance to the inner ring if you spend 2 Aid Tokens to boost the other player’s movement in the next 3 turns.”

Moving to an inner ring

As a simpler mechanic, players advance to the next ring when they roll a specific number (or a number higher than a threshold) on the dice. However, for this to occur, the player must have performed a cooperative action (e.g. spent an Aid Token) during their previous turn.
This creates anticipation, where players aim for higher rolls but only after they’ve cooperated sufficiently.

By implementing these cooperative triggers for ring advancement, players are constantly engaging in strategic decisions and cooperation, with the flow of the game naturally progressing as they hit key milestones of helping each other. This layered progression adds depth to the cooperative mechanics while creating excitement around reaching the inner rings.

Choice of Movement:

Every time you roll the dice, you can choose whether to move your piece or the other player’s piece. Moving your own piece might allow you to collect resources or set up future turns, while moving the other player’s piece directly helps them advance.
If you choose to move the other player’s piece, you are essentially setting up opportunities for them to help you in the future, but you also risk missing out on immediate benefits.

Help Loop:

There are strategic spaces or cards that create a feedback loop: by helping the other player in the right way, you put them in a position to help you even more efficiently.
For example, moving the other player onto a “Power-Up” space gives them a temporary advantage that they can later use to assist you.

Moments of Reflection:

There will be moments where, in hindsight, you might realize you could have set things up differently. For instance, perhaps you helped the other player too early and missed an opportunity to let them struggle for a moment before giving them the final push. These moments provide the tension you’re looking for, where players can think, “I could have done better there.”

Endgame Tension:

As the game nears its conclusion, both players will be juggling their options. The final few moves could involve very careful decisions, knowing that one misstep might prevent you from helping the other player enough to win.

This setup offers the balance between making decisions for short-term gain (helping yourself) and long-term benefit (helping the other player win), with that constant trade-off keeping the tension alive throughout the game.

To bring excitement and strategic tension into the game, while preserving the cooperative aspect, there needs to be moments where players are forced to make decisions that have both immediate and long-term consequences.

Further Game Elements

1. Resource Management:

Each player starts with a limited pool of “aid tokens” that can be spent to help the other player progress.
Players must manage these tokens carefully, deciding when to help the other player and when to hold back.
Sometimes, a player might realize they used too many tokens early or didn’t provide enough support in a critical moment, creating the “Ah, I could have done better” reflection.

2. Dual Incentive Spaces:

Some spaces on the board provide opportunities to either:

Help yourself (gain resources or extra moves).
Help the other player (boost their progress).

These spaces force players to make difficult decisions: advance your own position for later, or give an immediate benefit to the other player to ensure they win.

3. Hidden Information and Bluffing:

Hidden cards give each player opportunities to influence the game secretly.
For example, players might be given secret goals or “covert cooperation” cards that provide an edge, like delaying the other player’s victory until certain conditions are met.
There would be moments where a player reveals they had been working toward something unexpected, making the other realize they could have adjusted their own strategy better.

4. Timed Decisions or Traps:

Timed challenges are where players have to make split-second decisions to help the other player or themselves.

Missing out on a quick decision could make a player say, “I should have done better there,” as they see the immediate consequences of their action or inaction.

5. Point System for Aid:

Helping the other player generates points. But there’s a twist: helping too much too early might not be efficient, as the other player might struggle to manage their own resources.
Players need to find a balance between helping and ensuring the other player can maintain their progress independently.
This creates the strategic tension of “Did I do enough, or too much?”

6. Last-Move Tension:

The final stretch of the game are designed with a few spaces where players can make last-minute decisions that tip the balance, such as sacrificing their progress for a dramatic push that ensures the other player wins.
These last moves could carry the weight of the whole game, where players reflect, “I could have made a different decision there.”

By introducing these elements, the game remains cooperative but also introduces those “I could have done better” moments that make it more engaging and dynamic. The excitement comes from finding the right balance between helping and strategic restraint, knowing the wrong move could mean you helped too much or too little.

Spaces and Points

Here’s a detailed breakdown of the space and points element in the game:

1. Direct Aid Spaces (Helping Hand Icons):

Action: When a player lands on a Direct Aid space, they earn an Aid Token.
Aid Tokens:
Represents a unit of help or support that a player can give to the other player on their turn.
Aid Tokens can be spent on various supportive actions, such as:
Move Boost: Spend an Aid Token to move the other player an additional 2 spaces on their next turn.
Resource Grant: Spend an Aid Token to give the other player an extra resource (like an extra card or token) that would benefit them in some way (e.g., an additional dice roll or advantage).
Protection: Spend an Aid Token to prevent the other player from landing on a harmful space or obstacle (if such spaces are included in the game).

2. Cooperative Boost Spaces (Synergy Symbols):

Action: These spaces allow players to move the other player’s piece or perform an action that boosts both players’ positions.
Cooperative Actions:
Mutual Advancement: When landing on a Cooperative Boost space, the player can move the other player’s piece forward by the same number of spaces as their own dice roll, effectively doubling their movement.
Resource Exchange: The player can choose to exchange one of their Aid Tokens for a Mutual Aid Point, which helps fulfil the game’s cooperative goal.
Shared Reward: Both players receive a resource (like Aid Tokens, extra dice rolls, or cards) that enhances their ability to help each other in future turns.

3. Synergy Spaces (Interconnected Circles):

Action: Synergy Spaces are all about maximizing cooperation. They provide benefits to both players, but only if they coordinate their strategies effectively.
Cooperation Choices:
Shared Gain: When a player lands on a Synergy Space, they trigger an event that benefits both players equally (e.g., each player receives 2 Aid Tokens or moves forward a set number of spaces).
Strategic Choice: The player on a Synergy Space must choose whether to take a small immediate benefit for themselves or a larger, delayed benefit that helps both players. For example, they can either take 1 Aid Token now or wait a turn and receive 2 Aid Tokens for both players.
Trust Test: Some Synergy Spaces require a player to help the other first, with the promise that the favour will be returned in the following rounds. This builds a sense of trust and reciprocity between players.

4. Victory Space:

Objective: The goal is for one player to reach the Victory space. However, the true winner is the player who has helped the other the most (tracked through Aid Tokens, Mutual Aid Points, and cooperative decisions).
Win Condition: When a player reaches the Victory Space, the game checks how much each player contributed to the other’s success.
Aid and Mutual Aid Points are tallied to determine who was the most cooperative.
The player who provided the most help is declared the winner, even if they didn’t reach the Victory Space first.

5. Aid Tokens and Mutual Aid Points:

Aid Tokens:
As described earlier, Aid Tokens represent help that a player can offer to the other.
They are earned by landing on Direct Aid spaces or through other cooperative actions (like Synergy Spaces).
Aid Tokens can be spent during a player’s turn to:
Move the other player’s token.
Give the other player a resource or bonus.
Prevent the other player from encountering an obstacle.
Offer the other player a dice roll boost (e.g., allowing them to reroll or add to their total).
Mutual Aid Points:
These points are a direct measure of how much cooperation a player has contributed to the other player’s success.
Players accumulate Mutual Aid Points by:
Performing actions on Cooperative Boost or Synergy spaces that benefit both players.
Spending Aid Tokens effectively to aid the other player.
Making strategic sacrifices that allow the other player to win.
At the end of the game, Mutual Aid Points are tallied to determine who was the most cooperative.

This is a fun game with learning opportunities, however there is a serious component to Coherent Cooperative Games which extend to law, politics, interpersonal-relationships, formal logic, war and peace. To find out more about Coherent Cooperative Games, a list of reading material below:

….and…

…and…

…and where it all started:

Morphing Conceptual Models.

===========End==========