The weekend is arriving, and you’ve probably been wondering about ideas to do with your kids and have a bit of bonding time. In our previous article, we talked about the benefits of video games to foster and nurture positive relationships with your children.

We know that free time is something very valuable, even more if it’s related to your children. That’s why cooperative games could be a great way to build bonding experiences on the couch while learning important skills they can use beyond gaming. The cool thing about this is, they don’t even realize they are learning things because they’ll be having so much fun with you!

So, if you’re looking for some games to play with your child -or you’re a gamer and want to introduce your child to video games – don’t worry we got you covered. Here are 10 coop games that we recommend you for your next family game night.

Cooperative games: One for all and All for one

Overcooked 2

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PC

PEGI: 3

If you’ve ever worked in a kitchen, you will know it is probably one of the most chaotic places on Earth. In this co-op cooking game you’ll have to coordinate to prep order while overcoming hilarious obstacles such as fire, collapsing floors, overbearing waiters and of course, the classic kitchen problem of floating work surfaces.

Up to 4 players, here you have a game that the whole family can play together. Without any doubts it will improve coordination, communication and team playing skills among your kids.







Mario Kart 8

Platforms: Wii U, Nintendo Switch

PEGI: 3

Who didn’t hear anything about one of the most famous plumbers on Earth? In Mario Kart 8, you and your kids will have a blast racing and throwing banana peels and flying turtles to each other.

With its user-friendly control options and the option to play locally in up to 4-player multiplayer with the TV mode, Mario Kart 8 is a great game to introduce your kids to video games. Besides, as a study published in the journal Psychological Science found that Mario Kart can significantly sharpen visual motor skills.







LittleBigPlanet 3

Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3

PEGI: 3

Meet the cute Sack Boy, who lives in a tiny world full of invention, imagination and spearheaded a movement that’s become an everyday part of video games today. LittleBigPlanet 3 is a puzzle-platformer that places a heavy emphasis on creation: Make your own levels, download levels published by others worldwide, and enjoy its lovely art style with your children.

A perfect game for creative kids, and grownups too, where you create levels, characters, objects… The game of design thinking that embrace tinkering and learn by doing. LittleBigPlanet 3 was even used in classrooms to explore social emotional learning (SEL), concepts, design thinking competencies, and digital literacy skills.







Rocket League

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PC

PEGI: 3

Rocket League it's a game that combines cars with soccer. No joking: you play rocket-powered cars where two teams (up to 4 players, each game) try to get a giant ball into the net.

A great game for quick play sessions. Each game has a time limit of 5 minutes. It’s easy to pick up and play mechanics allow anyone at any level to go full throttle and have some fun. The game has split screen and it’s crazy gameplay help your kids to improve coordination between incoming visual cues and muscle responses.







Just Dance 2019

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Wii U, Xbox One, PC

PEGI: 3

The benefits of dancing are known by everybody: it improves fitness, flexibility, motor skills, coordination among other perks. Just Dance 2019 is a dance rhythm game where all the family can participate, just holding one cell phone – no extra controllers needed. Children and adults will have as much fun dancing to older titles such as Take On Me as moving to the rhythm of recent songs “Un poco loco” from the Pixar movie, Coco.

Just Dance 2019 is just right for all audiences, forcing gamers to stand up and promoting active playing. A perfect game for everybody to shake off a little stress and exercise body and mind.







Rayman Legends

Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch, PS3, PS4, PS Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One

PEGI: 7

Rayman Legends is a platform video game, up to four players sharing a single screen at the same time, so you -or another family member- can help your child through the hard parts. You can either play together or take turns on some of the more difficult levels.

Platformer games proved to boost changes in parts of the brain associated with spatial navigation, strategic planning, working memory and motor performance and Rayman Legends is one of the best platforming video games ever made, so grab a controller and show it to your kids.

Snipperclips

Platforms: Nintendo Switch

PEGI: 3

Easy to pick up and easy to understand, Snipperclips is an action puzzle game where you’ll play as Snip and Clip, who need to cut and paste onto each other, literally, in order to solve imaginative puzzles.

With this game, you and your kids will be screaming instructions at each other, laughing and high-fiving as you solve cooperatively inventive levels. If you’re looking for a fun game made for team problem-solving which builds communication, Snipperclips is your game for your family gatherings.



Portal 2

Platforms: PC

PEGI: 3

Portal 2 was acclaimed as one of the best games ever made. It’s fun, it has a good narrative, but above all it’s a puzzle game that helps the children to improve the limits of their spatial reasoning. It forces you to use portals and cubes in order to solve imaginative puzzles in interesting ways.

Portal 2 has a great co-op mode. It’s a game with challenging puzzles that require creative thinking, focus and logic. Portal 2 is an absolute must-play for parents and children alike that help to develop cognitive skills better than game developed as a brain training software.

Minecraft

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Wii U, Xbox One, PC, Mobile

PEGI: 3

It’s no secret that Minecraft become wildly popular. The open-world building-block game, or like some people said, the LEGO for a new generation is so good for kids that it has been used in school to boost creativity and problem solving.

Its core design appeals to kids – including the kid buried in most grown-up gamers. You and your kid can cooperate to bring imagination to life, with infinite digital LEGOS to create any wild architecture piece you want.

Melbits World

Platforms: PS4 (More Platforms coming soon! Stay tuned!)

PEGI: 3

Melbits World is a cute puzzle-platformer where you and your kids will have to guide a group of Melbits, digital pixies meant to spread good vibes who keep the good functioning of the Internet, through different platforms, obstacles and traps, so all of them can make it safely to the other side

Up to four people can play at once, so there’s no reason not to gather a whole family party for this game. Melbits World creates a sense of accomplishment through a high level of teamwork. Pure entertainment for the whole family. A couch coop experience where you’ll coordinate and communicate back and forth with your family in order to guide the cute Melbits to the end of each level.



Family-friendly gaming for everyone

As you have already realized, video games aren’t just for kids or for older audiences. The great thing about video games is that they can appeal to everybody. And cooperative games are great to build bonding experiences on the couch, letting parents and children work together toward a common goal. Besides, if you are a gamer, introducing your child to video games and playing with them can be one of the great joys of parenthood.

If these 10 recommendations are not enough and you’re looking for something more special and innovative, we’re developing a digital toy connected to a video game that helps to get kids active and balance screen time: the Melbits POD.

If you want to know more about this toy designed to spark creative thinking and imagination, subscribe to our newsletter and you’ll receive the latest news and exclusive perks from us and the Melbits themselves!