Most games these days allow competitive play, an experience carried over from the longstanding tradition of tabletop gaming. In video games, though, playing side-by-side remains relatively rare, although the number of co-op games is increasing. That's why I'm here to talk about tabletop gaming today. Cooperative gameplay has a proud lineage in tabletop games with games such as "Dungeons and Dragons."
I'll admit, I'm a competitive person. I like to win. As a corollary, I like other people to lose. At times, that can lead to more aggressive game and wordplay than is really necessary. I have friends with similar tendencies, and that can make competitive gaming, both on the board and on the screen, somewhat less than ideal. That's why I want to talk about the side-by-side, cooperative experience.
I've been playing in the same Pathfinder (a cousin to the now-defunct D&D 3.5) campaign for two and a half years. I can honestly say that that experience is the best one I've ever had in gaming. Now, some of that is due, of course, to the incredible amount of work put into the world by our Game Master (GM), who has spent something close to 20 years crafting every detail of the "Mesoamerican" fantasy playground.
But, the fun of it is in large part because of the cooperative nature of the gameplay. My friends and I can sit down with our GM and hash out silly plans to be executed against the numerous and colorful non-player characters inhabiting the world.
We have enemies who have been with us for the last two years, full of personality and color, and our conflict is with them. Thus, we still get to have all the fun of competition and trash talk, but it's all directed at fake enemies instead of each other.
Moreover, that kind of cooperative gaming lends itself well to camaraderie. Instead of being divided by the experience, we are united in our quests to defeat enemies. Outbursts of the toxicity I discussed previously are much rarer in this kind of game, and when they do occur, they are almost universally directed at fake people, rather than any of the players, or even the GM (despite the fact that he crafted and controls the many enemies that we face).
Certainly, I still enjoy traditional, competitive games, but I often prefer the more peaceful and cooperative experience in games such as "Pathfinder," especially with my more intense gaming companions.
If you find yourself overwhelmed by the competition of a more traditional experience, try out a cooperative tabletop adventure. "Dungeons and Dragons," "Forbidden Island," "Sentinels of the Multiverse" and "Legends of Andor" are all excellent choices to give it a try. As for video games, "Left 4 Dead 2" is my personal favorite cooperative experience. All of these are definitely worth a shot!
