From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Game
A player announcing her loss of The Game |
| Designer |
Unknown |
| Players |
Everyone |
| Setup time |
None (or as long as it takes to explain the rules) |
| Playing time |
Ongoing since its creation |
| Random chance |
Partially |
| Skills required |
Thought suppression, Strategy |
The Game is an ongoing game, the objective of which is to avoid thinking about The Game itself. Thinking about The Game constitutes a loss, which, according to the rules of The Game, must be announced each time it occurs. It is impossible to win the game; players can only attempt to avoid losing for as long as possible. The Game has been described alternately as pointless and infuriating, or as a challenging game that is fun to play.[1] As of 2010, The Game is played by millions worldwide.[1][2][3][4][5]
Gameplay
Rules
There are three rules to The Game:[1][2][6][7][8]
- Everyone in the world is playing The Game. (Sometimes narrowed to: "Everybody in the world who knows about The Game is playing The Game",[4] or alternatively, "You are always playing The Game.")
- Whenever one thinks about The Game, one loses.
- Losses must be announced to at least one person[6] (either by using a statement such as "I lost The Game" or by alternative means).
Some players allow a grace period of 30 seconds to half an hour after someone has lost, during which a player cannot lose The Game again, or is not obliged to announce a loss.[1] This is done in order to prevent a perpetual loss of the game. Under a literal interpretation, one has to announce every loss of the game. However, announcing the game amounts to thinking about it, which constitutes a loss and another announcement. Such a chain continues indefinitely. The common rules do not define a point at which The Game ends. However, one reported variation states that The Game ends when the British Prime Minister announces "The Game is up" on television.[6]
Strategies
Some players have developed strategies for making other people lose, such as writing about The Game on hidden note, saying "The Game" out loud, as graffiti in public places, and on banknotes, or writing two words that when said phonetically equal "The Game" out loud (e.g. Thug Aim)[4][5]
Self-reference
The Game is an example of ironic processing, also known as the White Bear Phenomenon, in which attempts to avoid certain thoughts make those thoughts more persistent.[9]
Origin
The origins of The Game are uncertain. One theory is that when two men missed their last train and had to spend the whole night on a platform, they tried not to think about their situation and whoever did first, lost.[2] Another is that it was invented in London in 1996 "to annoy people".[1] The reported earliest known reference on the Internet is from 2002.[1]
See also
References
External links
Reference
Search
