Cooperation Games: Dynamics of Conflict and Negotiation in Educational Materials for University-Age Youth
Technological Innovation

Cooperation Games: Dynamics of Conflict and Negotiation in Educational Materials for University-Age Youth

A box of games and educational materials that translate classic dilemmas of cooperation theory into playful experiences, awarded by UFF, Faperj and CNPq.

  • Status: Concluded
  • Period: 2013–2017
  • Funding: FAPERJ — APQ1 Call; awarded at UFF's Technological Innovation Week (2014) and the CNPq Highlight in Scientific and Technological Initiation Award (2015)
  • Principal Investigator: Viktor Chagas
  • Team: Viktor Chagas, Luan Dutra (PIBITI/CNPq) and Daniel Rios (PIBITI/CNPq)

The Cooperation Games box is a playful experience with deep reflections on philosophical dilemmas. The project aimed to translate classic problems of cooperation theory, a specific branch of game theory, into games and educational materials, giving rise to a series of games that make use of elements such as boards, cards and dice. Situations such as the Prisoner’s Dilemma and the Tragedy of the Commons were translated into games aimed at a university audience, with no restriction on field of study, given the application of these problems in fields such as Political Science, Biology, International Relations and Psychology.

Developed between 2013 and 2017, the project consolidated an experience within the so-called “serious games” — games designed not only to entertain, but to stimulate reflection on situations of cooperation, trust and shared responsibility. In 2014, it was recognized with the award at UFF’s Technological Innovation Week and was selected in Faperj’s APQ1 Call; in 2015, it received the CNPq Highlight in Scientific and Technological Initiation Award, the country’s main scientific initiation award.