Scroll down for photos and testimonials!

Co-opoly In the News

• “Cooperative Aren’t Charity” – interview with Co-opoly creator on Truth-Out and IPS News
• “Co-opoly: A Board Game for the Co-op Movement” – Shareable.Net
• “Sick of Corporations? Co-op Evangelists Want You on Their Side Evangelists Want You on Their Side” – GOOD Magazine
• “New Game Teaches About Cooperatives” – Interview with Co-opoly creator on ECT.Coop
• “Co-opoly: The Game for Cooperatives” – Young Co-operatives
• “Co-opoly, The Game: Everyone Wins or Everyone Loses” Bollier.org
• “Want to Play a Co-op Game?” – The London Store Blog
• “Playing To Learn: Co-opoly, the game of cooperatives” – CICOPA.coop
• “A More Cooperative Monopoly” – Innermost Parts

Photos

Check out our Facebook page to see more photos of Co-opoly.

Testimonials

Below are testimonials from people who have played early versions of Co-opoly, and their take on it as a game, as well as an educational resource!

Donna Balkan, Communications Manager, Canadian Co-operative Association:

As both a co-operator and a long-time player and collector of board games, Co-opoly is a dream come true. Educational games have a tendency to be long on learning and short on playability, but Co-opoly is a wonderful exception, combining the real-life challenges and opportunities co-ops face with solid game play. The Work cards, which require you to draw, act out a charade or describe a specific word or phrase, give Co-opoly a party game feel, while the roll-and-move mechanics make the game easy for players at all skill levels to learn. Like co-ops themselves, Co-opoly combines principle and practice: an appropriate initiative for the International Year of Co-operatives and beyond.

Taliesin Nyala:

I didn’t know a thing about co-ops and was skeptical it was possible for a game about them to be fun. Then I played Co-opoly, and it was great—not only did I learn about the co-operative movement and get my feet wet running a co-op, I learned a lot about my friends and myself. The game incites both reflection and laughter and was such an enjoyable way to spend time with friends.

Liz McGourty and Gillian Cannon, students at Hampshire College:

Co-opoly is a great game! Admittedly, we were a bit skeptical at first about how fun it would be since it’s intended to be educational. However, once we began playing, it immediately proved to be very enjoyable. It has a lighthearted and social quality that you expect from a game, but also raises real life situations and encourages the players to think about how business and economy work. It incorporates both the positive opportunities and resources that arise for individuals and the entire co-op, as well as presenting everyday challenges that individuals and the co-op are sure to encounter. This helps put into perspective the difficulties of running a co-op, as well as illustrating the huge benefits it can offer. There are always several options provided for how to use the resources or deal with the challenges, and since the game is inherently collaborative, those decisions are always made as a group. Co-opoly is a multilayered game that was clearly very well thought out, but it is not overly complicated. As a first time player, it only takes a few minutes to pick up on the rules. Also, it incorporates other games throughout, such as charades, drawing, and unspoken, which keeps it playful and more accessible for anyone who knows those games. It’s just really fun and totally worth buying!

Matt Attwood, Springfield, MA:

Co-opoly is a fantastic game in which everybody gets to play together as one group with one shared goal.  It’s a combination of other popular games, all brought together on one strategic board.  It is a lot of fun to discuss strategy of how to deal with real-world challenges, and then just as fun to perform for your teammates as they try to guess what the game has asked you to do.  We learn and laugh a lot when we play Co-opoly.  We love the aspects of the game that include learning, brainstorming, and performing, but our favorite part is that we are all competing and playing together.

Becca Koganer, Worker-Owner, Equal Exchange:

Playing Co-opoly was fun and slightly ironic. The challenges co-ops face are pretty clearly felt going through the game, but even when things weren’t looking too bright for us, we were always laughing and having a good time. I think this gets at the heart of what co-ops are: people! People working together for a common goal, sharing risk and return. The game spoke to me on a personal and professional level; you’ll never hear me say that about Monopoly!

Cynthia Lin, WORT Madison Community Radio Host, Madison, WI:

Co-opoly is an innovative and valuable learning tool. During our test-drive session, the game surfaced some nuanced and very real questions about how to practice the art of cooperative work… As the game threw challenges, opportunities, and tough choices at us, we drew from our own experiences to navigate the collective decisions that we needed to make. I was genuinely surprised by how substantive the conversations and the learning process could get with this game!

Ally Sterling, a teacher at the Hampshire Education Collaborative says:

Learning how to play Co-opoly was not only educational, it was also engaging and enjoyable. My understanding of the cooperative mission became much clearer through this innovative game. I found that Co-opoly functioned as a microcosm of democracy. During the game, all the players were encouraged to make decisions together and come to a consensus on multiple levels, professionally and personally. This kind of holistic perspective brought a sense of community to the table that was supported by our own hard work and creative thinking. I think Co-opoly is and will continue to be a powerful tool for the cooperative movement.

Alex Liotta, an engineering student:

[Co-opoly is the] most fun I’ve had playing a board game in a very long time… Why aren’t more board games cooperative?

More Testimonials:

One of the most interesting outcomes of my game play was the interaction with the players outside the game mechanics. Specifically, the discussion around elements and practicalities of [cooperatives]… All in all, Co-opoly was a fun and interactive method to learn about [co-ops]!”

Co-opoly is to co-ops as Rockband for Wii is to actually playing music… it puts you in the roles and gives you a feel for it.”

Co-opoly was a valuable learning experience. By playing the game, interacting with the other players in decision making, and talking with the other players during game play, I received a great introduction to [cooperatives]… This showed some of the major economic benefits of a cooperative to its members.”

Co-opoly is a great game!… Instead of competing as teams or as individuals, we worked together the entire time… Co-opoly really succeeded in teaching cooperation and about cooperatives.”

[Co-opoly is] a multi-player game with a tight framework and balances both the ideals of what a [cooperative] working experience is like along with the real world challenges and bonuses that can effect the [co-op] and individuals.”

I really like the fact that when a “world card” is drawn the players must think about not only themselves but the good of the [co-op]… It produces both an inner conflict for each individual player (what’s best for me? what’s best for the [co-op]? Do I fight for just me or all of us? Is it my turn to fight for what I want or stand back?) and forces the players to talk out these decisions with each other… I learned, I debated, and I had fun. What else could you ask for?”

Photos & Other Media

Coming soon!