Research shows that rich people have increased their income and wealth faster than other people in recent decades. The rise in economic inequality raises important questions:

  • Why are rich people gaining an increasing share of income and wealth?
  • What is needed to reduce economic inequality?
  • How could the growth in income and wealth be more balanced so everyone participates?

Although the answers to these questions are complex, answers start with concern. If we don’t care about inequality, we won’t look for answers. Another essential for answers is hope – the expectation that answers are possible.

EnTeam Games are grounded in a belief: both the concern and the hope that we can create a more balanced growth in income and wealth depend on social connections – friendships – among people with differences.

  • If we have friends who are being left behind, we stop and help them stay with us.
  • If we’re not friends, we pay less attention to those left behind.

Anthropologist Mary Catherine Bateson asserts “What most builds bonds between strangers is discovering ways to play together.” EnTeam facilitators add that what we play impacts how we play. If we play win-lose games, we treat the “other side” as our opponent: if they win, we lose.

When strangers play EnTeam Games, both sides lose – or both sides win – depending on whether they can get better at scoring goals collaboratively. EnTeam Games require that players from different sides talk together and figure out how to work together more productively to get a higher score in the next game. That interaction between different sides requires listening to each other and sharing ideas for improving their combined performance.

Of course, much more than a shift in mindset is needed to reverse the slide toward greater economic inequality, but nurturing the ability to think together about how to improve our future interactions is a positive step. EnTeam Games show players whether they are getting better at helping each other succeed.

We hope you will try out the EnTeam games. If you do, please share what you see when you play.