Reason to Join a Co-op

Loyalty points

Very useful for buying extras in the game, most notably dog bones, fertilizer, humus, feed and expansion materials. There is also an upgradeable decoration - the Wellspring of Charity, that can only be bought and upgraded with loyalty points.

Rewards

Every tournament has 6 stage rewards and rewards upon tournament finish. There are also 1 time rewards for reaching a tier.

Experience (Player XP)

Participating in projects tend to increase playing time which helps you level faster.

Purpose

It gives you another reason to jump on and play because you are helping your team out

Belonging

Maslow's third human need - Belonging and love needs - everyone has a basic need for relationships and to be part of something

Esteem

Maslow's forth human need - prestige and feeling of accomplishment - hitting a milestone with your co-op doubles the impact of meeting this need inside the game.

Knowledge

There is a lot of knowledge inside a co-op if you ask. Most people naturally want to help when asked.

Challenge

When you have a few people together working towards a common goal, natural competition pushes you a little. Example would be trying a higher level theme event.

Encouragement

Being surrounded by people who understand the game challenges that can encourage or congratulate you for overcoming obstacles or meeting goals. (Your husband may not understand why you are so happy about catching a Mahi Mahi, but your co-op understands.)

Larger Focus

We all benefit from looking outside ourselves and to the need of others (should I add another goat?)

Relationships

You get to be with a large group of people from different cultures and backgrounds, in different stages of life who are often very much like you. There is also safety in people only knowing what you want them to know. I went 4 months waking up to log on and read good morning from one co-op member. I went scouting and woke up to no good morning; it surprised me.

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As a leader, you should be mindful and actively trying to build your culture to meet these needs. The more needs you can fulfill, the higher your player engagement and the more successful/happy your co-op will be.

From a friend

Rewards and loyalty points are great, but they are the least important benefits from a coop in my opinion. Most important is the sense of camaraderie, a group of people who may be so different in so many ways, but who are there for you when you just need a “hi”. I have a busy life with lots of friends in the real world. But sometimes, I just want to be comfortable in my own bed, maybe I’m sick or having a bad day, or I have insomnia, or my kid just told me she hates me, or whatever. And there is almost always someone there, ready to be a friend. And, the common goals bring you so much closer. I’m a firm believer that the game is a game, but your coop is made of people who you see at all points in their life, so it is most important to make people feel welcomed and wanted, especially when they may be falling down on coop and life goals. I feel very lucky that I have such an awesome coop!