Finite and Infinite Games

Strong start, then it fizzles out. One of those books that puts words to things you’ve never had words for before.

I found this book to be a drag, and not very insightful. The author’s writing is unnecessarily cryptic and just painful to get through at times. My (probably wrong summary) 1. Life is one big game 2. It contains smaller games within it 3. It contains many players 4. You are one of those players, and not the others 5. The players interact with each other through the smaller games 6. They have various reasons for doing things 7. You can make your own choices 8. Some players realize the existence of the games, some don’t 9. Enjoy your life That’s it kind of?

About 20% was really good

The book has a lot of good ideas but I feel like Carse gets lost and rambly after the first chapter. The last two chapters were alright and had some good points but it doesn't redeem the rest of the book. If you're interested in the subject matter you're better off with reading a blog post summarizing the book.

I couldn't make it past page 70 of this book. Not only was it incredibly repetitive, it kept making ridiculous sweeping generalizations like every situation was either a finite or infinite game. I skipped to the end to try to figure out if he went anywhere with all the banter but it appeared to be more of the same.

While short, this book is so deep and thought-provoking that it’s hard to define the spectrum of the content. It’s about how to approach life, but it’s also about much more than that. Finite and Infinite Games is a book about everything. A philosophical examination of how we live our lives and how we are to live our lives. Carse presents the world as a playground where you’re either a finite player or infinite. The first group, is focused solely on winning the game – on the outcome, the gains from the end result – whereas the second is more interested in the continuation of the game – the process, doing the actual activity. The difference? While finite players pursue rewards that are solely chased to give them titles so other players can see them as more than what they are. Infinite players, in contrast, focus on doing things that will be remembered even long after their gone. They are not interested in how others perceive them. They are more concerned now the world can benefit from their deeds. Infinite players, also referred to as Master Players, don’t perceive the limitations set by society as obstacles. They see them as part of the game. Therefore, they play with the rules, they don’t feel oppressed by them. But these are just part of the insightful concepts presented in this short, but intriguing book. If you want to carve your own path and find a worthy game to involve yourself in, this book will surely aid you. If you consider yourself an expert, a guru loved by everyone, you’ll surely reject the ideas inside. Not because they are not true, but because they will take away the (false) perception you’ve built for yourself. Key takeaway? A finite player trains to be prepared. He believes that his preparation will be enough to get him the prize he so desperately desires. The infinite player knows that preparation is good but also realizes that you cannot be fully prepared. He is perfectly aware that he will be surprised, no matter how hard he trains. Read the full summary: https://durmonski.com/book-summaries/...