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What is The Game?

The Game is an abstract mental game, the goal of which is for players to forget the existence of The Game itself. Play is continuous, consisting of alternating periods of winning (when you are not thinking about The Game) and losing (when you are). Knowledge of The Game is spread to new players primarily via word-of-mouth, and hence there are many variations (Rules 1, 2 & 3). The Game serves as a succinct example of a [[meme?]].

What do I do when I think about The Game?

Whenever you think about The Game, you lose, and must tell as many people as possible. Usually this is done by saying something like “I just lost The Game”, although different groups of players have established numerous loss phrases.

In situations where speech is not possible or appropriate, some players have developed non-verbal ways of announcing loss, including sign language either for “game” or simply just “G”, tracing the letters in the air, passing notes, or subtle actions that have previously had the intended meaning explained, such as rubbing the head or scratching the nose.

Why should I play The Game?

Sod it i lost diddn't I

There is no reward for playing The Game. Like most other games, it poses a challenge that players try to achieve. The various mental associations that result in loss are often of interest to players.

Some players believe that you have no choice to play The Game, as stated by the rules. They would argue that anyone who claims not to play The Game, is playing, but merely breaking Rule 3. Participation in a game requires neither consent to play or awareness of its existence. For example, whoever reads these words wins this example game. You have now won this game even though you were unaware you were playing it.

Is The Game a game?

Although some people would argue otherwise, The Game does fit into most definitions of a game. It involves a number of players trying to acheive an objective; to forget its existence.

How do I win The Game?

Whenever you are not thinking about The Game, you are winning. There is no final victory, although some players add an additional element of competition by keeping score. There are a number of strategies for increasing the loss of others.

Are there any penalties for losing?

The only penalty is having to announce your loss to others. Loss is only temporary, as soon as you stop thinking about The Game you start winning again.

Can I draw The Game?

This can happen if two people think about The Game at the same time. This becomes increasingly common as loss and its various causes become more strongly associated within a group.

Can I cheat?

The only rule that can be broken is Rule 3. Many people choose to break this rule in certain situations, some people never announce their loss.

Why are there 3 rules?

The rules of The Game should be as simple and explainable as possible. The Game could actually be compressed into a single rule:

Whenever you think about this game you have to tell everyone about it. I lost the game… dammit! However, there are three rules for a number of reasons:

Rule 1. You are playing The Game - This emphasises the fact that this is game is played continuously and that (players believe) once you start playing you can’t stop.

Rule 2. Whenever you think about The Game, you lose - This emphasises how The Game is played and gives its objective: to forget that it exists. Some points about the specific wording of this rule (e.g. think about vs remember you are playing) are made here.

Rule 3. Loss of The Game must be announced - This emphasises the consequence of loss and is an important part of how The Game is spread.

Any other rules over-complicate The Game or reduce the rate at which it is lost (which is fundamental to the nature of The Game). The majority of additional rules are actually variations of these three rules.

How many people play The Game?

In fact,everyone is always playing the game and are constantly winning until they become aware of its existence. As you cannot opt out of playing the game, it has about 6.68 billion people playing it at the time of writing. The actual number of people that are aware of The Game, though, is impossible to determine. Hundreds of new people read this site’s main page every day. The counter on the homepage records the number of new people that visit losethegame.com. The Belgian newspaper, De Morgen, with a daily dirculation of over 50 000 printed an article about The Game. Based on these figures alone, a minimum of 100 000 people are aware of the Game, so the actual number could be millions.

There are over 1000 members of The Game Facebook group in Cambridge alone. About 500 people have recorded their details in the Game Tree, and people from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Congo, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Holland, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, UK, Ukraine, USA & Vietnam are recorded on The Game Map. Other Game-related sites that have been set-up include forgetthegame.co.uk and ilostthegame.com.

What is a grace period?

Oops lost again!

Some versions of The Game involve another rule, or an addition to Rule 2, that states you cannot lose for a period of time following loss.

Some players argue that this addition in nessecary to prevent infinite loss. However, it is simpler to play that when you are thinking about The Game you are losing, and when you are not thinking about it, you are winning.

The Game doesn't make any sense.

Some people feel that The Game is purposeless or that it is not even a game at all. Most ‘active’ players find The Game interesting because of the formation of associations that cause you and others to lose. The Game provides an arbitrary thought or idea that no meaning other than that you can become aware of it.

I hate The Game.

I’ve also lost the game now!

Some people seem to find the concept of The Game very offensive, and it can provoke strong reactions, especially in online forums. Discussion of The Game has been banned from SomethingAwful?.com and GameSpy?.com

IM SORRY TO SAY I LOST THE GAME