The moments I want more of in co-op are the ones where we are both about to lose. We were each a single hit from going down, and instead of taking over I let Evan try to bail us out. Legitimately, I might die. We're in the same boat, bro. It'd be faster if I just did everything myself. It'd also teach him nothing. When I hand him the pressure and let him come through, he stands a little taller for the rest of the night. Losing together and clawing back out of it has done more for us than any easy win. When you play with your kid, do you swoop in and save the run, or do you let them figure the hard parts out?

Something small that turned into a real lesson at our house. In co-op, Evan loves to run ahead and grab every chest while I stay behind and soak up the fight. Then I die, the gear takes a hit, and we pay for it. It's about you looting the chests while I'm getting the tar kicked out of me and then I die. What I've noticed is that saying the pattern out loud, calmly, in the moment, works better than getting frustrated after. He's ten. He isn't trying to leave me hanging, he just really likes treasure. So we're learning to trade off who fights and who grabs. How do you split up the work when you play games with your kid, and does one of you always end up carrying it?

One thing I've learned is that playing with my kid means playing the whole game, including the petty parts. Last time we played, Evan raced ahead to block me from turning in my museum haul, since you can only talk to one villager at a time. He thought it was hilarious. This time he was sprinting to sell his big goods before Jon Shop closed. So I walked in first and started talking to Jon so he couldn't reach him. He broke into his Johnny Shoppy chant to run faster, heard the bell, and realized he was too late. I could have let it go. But getting him back, fair and square, tells him I'm in this with him, not above it. The teasing goes both ways, and he loves that. We laughed for a good 5 minutes about it. What's a bit of playful payback your kid has earned from you lately?

I've come around on getting roasted by my kid. For a long time my instinct was to fire back and win. Now I think letting him have it is the better play. We were fishing and I was explaining how the lure works. Evan took that and ran with it. If you were the lure, no one would ever want you. Ruthless, and I let it go instead of making a direct comeback, but here's what I notice. He only goes that hard when he feels completely safe. The roasting is a sign he trusts me to take it and still be his dad. So I eat it and tell him he got me. Winning the exchange was never really the point. Do you fire back when your kid roasts you, or do you let them have the win?

I've started doing something on purpose. I catch the little throwaway lines my kid says and I repeat them back to him later. It tells him I was actually listening. We were fishing and I kept pulling in one after another. Evan wanted every single one, and he slipped into this baby voice to try to talk me out of them. So I called him excessive. He didn't miss a beat. That's my middle name. Excessive. He said it and moved on like it was nothing, but it stuck. Now it's a running joke between us. Those unscripted lines are more him than anything he'd give me if I asked a direct question. So I collect them, and I'll bring this one back up in a week just to watch him grin that I remembered. What's a line your kid tossed off once that your family still repeats?