A lifelong educator on a mission to show that when we play together, we learn and grow, at any age.
About Suzanne and Coopeartive Games
You’ve discovered the world of Cooperative Play.
Welcome!
Our mission is to provide products and resources that foster cooperative play. It’s also our goal
to promote understanding and circulate information to the public about the benefits
of playing together in the spirit of cooperation.
CooperativeGames.com is a small, independent business in California owned and operated by me, Suzanne Lyons. Here is the story of how this business came to be:
As a parent, I watched our kids play competitive sports and participate in competitive activities throughout childhood. While soccer, spelling bees and races in P.E. have an upside, I noticed they can also create stress, envy, and emotional melt-downs. Likewise, competitive board games could be fun but also could trigger feelings of anger, defeat, selfishness, and even aggression.
It seemed to me that kids have more than enough exposure to competition. What’s needed is better exposure to the joys of cooperation! Further, as an educator and textbook author, and of course as a former student, I had seen too much competition in the classroom. I observed that it can disadvantage lots of kids, create toxic emotional environments, and take the focus off real, self-motivated learning and discovery.
Then, in 2009, something serendipitous happened. While attending a workshop for nature educators near my home in Northern California, I met a play therapist from the Netherlands named Anne Mijke van Harten. Anne Mijke was a big advocate for cooperative games and distributed them through her shop Earth Games (www.EarthGames.nl). Cooperative games are quite popular in Europe. Brilliant I thought! After our workshop, Anne came to stay at my house for a few days. While there, we discovered that I lived close to Ken and Jann Kolsbun. The Kolsbuns were two of the early pioneers of cooperative games. We arranged to meet.
We learned that Ken and Jann had a business called Animal Town that produced a catalog of beautiful toys and games for many years. Animal Town was later named Child and Nature. During Ken and Jann’s career, they invented Save the Whales, Nectar Collector, Dam Builders and other classic cooperative games. Many people grew up playing and loving those games—and I still hear from you through this website!
How did CooperativeGames.com get started?
Our Story
Long story short, Ken and Jann were looking for someone to take over the business. I took the plunge and here I am today. Though I created CooperativeGames.com as a new company focusing only on cooperative play and games, it is a direct descendant of Animal Town, owned and operated by the Kolsbuns. I am forever grateful to Ken and Jann.
A note from Ken and Jann Kolsbun:
After owning and operating Animal Town for over two decades (1976-2000) and Child and Nature (2003 to 2009), we are tickled pink that Suzanne is making a new business inspired by Animal Town that highlights cooperative games. Suzanne is an educator, author, and public speaker. She and her husband are parents of two children and are keenly aware of the needs of families and children in this very competitive society. We wholeheartedly offer them our support and blessing. We have passed word of Suzanne to the great and loyal customers we have had over the years. We want to thank you, our customers, for your support over several decades. It has been a great ride– Ken and Jann Kolsbun.
Games That Bring Us Together
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Kindness in Every Play
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Games That Bring Us Together - Kindness in Every Play -
Meet the Founder
Suzanne Lyons is an author, educator, former classroom science teacher, illustrator, and game designer passionate about science education as well as social-emotional learning. Her degrees are in Physics (UC Berkeley), Earth Science (Cal State Sacramento) and Education (Stanford University.) She also holds a California teaching credential.
In 2009, Suzanne founded CooperativeGames.com as a public service project, with the intention of educating the public about cooperative games. Back in 2009, cooperative games were a little-known phenomenon. How things have changed! Today, in 2025, Suzanne focuses on cooperative games in education because she is an educator herself and recognizes their great potential. Besides, the rise in cooperative games as an educational vehicle has sky-rocketed since 2009! No need for Suzanne to promote the concept in the gaming world. It’s the education sphere where cooperative games need help now.
Suzanne’s most recent book is Cooperative Games in Education, Building Community Without Education, PreK-12. It is published by Teachers College Press. Fittingly and coincidentally, it was released on February 14, 2022.
Prior to this newest book, Suzanne designed and manufactured The Baby Beluga Game, a cooperative board game that teaches STEM as well as SEL. It is the winner of Parents Choice and Dr. Toy Awards. The project was done in collaboration with Raffi, singer and songwriter of the well-loved children’s classic Baby Beluga.
Prior to The Baby Beluga Game, Suzanne wrote The Cooperative Games Bullying Prevention Program. It is a self-published book that teaches teachers a research-based approach to preventing bullying with cooperative games.
Suzanne’s work in science education includes authoring over 30 books on science and science teaching. She is co-author of Conceptual Integrated Science, a textbook program published by Pearson and now in its third edition. Paul Hewitt, the legendary physics educator who wrote Conceptual Physics, is co-author. Conceptual Physics revolutionized physics education by making physics fun. Working with Paul Hewitt was a life lessons that taught Suzanne the educational power of fun. Suzanne’s other books include Young Voices for the Planet, a climate change teaching manual, co-authored by film make Lynne Cherry and Joanna Textley, past President of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). Other works include children’s nonfiction science books such as Pete Discovers Gravity and Oops! Why Did I Do That? Both are published by Benchmark Education.
Currently, Suzanne enjoys teaching teachers by providing professional development. She gives webinars, speaks at conferences, does University lectures, provides school site visits, and does media appearances. She researches the history of cooperative play, does grant-funded classroom research on fruitful applications of cooperative games, and designs active cooperative games and board games. She is also still writing books, some of which she illustrates. She also creates posters for children to communicate the value of cooperation, which you can buy on this website.