Noam and Hannah ran to the table. It was game night! They loved playing games. And they loved winning.

“It’s my turn to pick the game,” said Noam. He liked to play Monopoly. He always won.

“No, it’s my turn,” said Hannah. She usually chose to play Yahtzee. She was a very lucky roller.

“Actually,” said Mom, “I’ve chosen the game for tonight. It’s called Sinking Island.

Noam and Hannah looked at each other. They had never heard of Sinking Island.

“I bet I’ll win,” said Noam.

“No chance,” said Hannah. “I’m going to win.”

Mom opened the box and took out the pieces. “Actually,” she said. “We’ll all win. Or lose.”

“Huh?” asked Noam.

“What do you mean?” said Hannah.

“Sinking Island is a cooperative game,” said Mom. “We’re all on the same team. So we’ll win or lose together.”

Noam and Hannah looked at each other again. That didn’t sound like much fun.

But they were wrong. Once they started playing, it was pretty exciting. Noam rolled a 4 to keep one side of the island afloat. Then Mom rolled a 2 and a huge wave took out half the shore. It was up to Hannah. Could she roll a 4?

She could! Noam, Hannah, and Mom all hugged and cheered. They beat the waves. And they won the game. Together.