Carse’s Finite and Infinite Games is a thin book that is at once so obvious and so profound I could barely believe it when I read it.

The book begins with a simple axiom: “There are at least two kinds of games, finite and infinite games. A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, and infinite game for the purpose of continuing the play.”

Simple and obvious enough, no? He goes on to define the two types a bit further, as well as how the players of them behave in general. Then the good part begins.

He describes how the two types of players engage situations. The result will be positively paradigm shifting to many. In many ways my attitudes to life were fairly similar, so it wasn’t as much a shift for me, it was more an elucidation and extension.

One friend related that he had given copies of the book to a few friends and in a couple cases it was too much of a shift for them – though he (as you might guess since he was giving copies away) enjoyed the book a great deal.

The best summation of book is a quotation from the book iself:

“The finite play for life is serious; the infinite play of life is joyous.”

So the question you must ask yourself is, “How do I want to live my life?”

I anyone that knows me knows my answer to this.

It’s not easy to approach every situation as a set of possibilities, and not potential change to be feared; and every idea as a gateway to discussion, and not a tangent to be cut off – and that is essentially how you make life an infinite game and not a series of finite competitions to be won or lost. It’s may not even be possible, or at least not always the best approach. Though this might only be the case in a world where the majority of people seem to be primarily engaged in finite play (which I think ours is).

As I read it, I found myself subconsciously making choices which abetted infinite play, and typically the people I was engaged with responded in kind. It was quite amazing actually.

The only thing I think detracts from the book is the large number of aphorism along the lines of “To be prepared against surprise is to be trained. To be prepared for surprise is to be educated.” Which makes me think of The Sphinx from Mystery Men. Still they are illustrative, and serve a purpose in the book.

It probably goes without saying (though obviously I’m going to say it anyhow) that I recommend this book unreservedly to anyone willing to take a look at how they approach life. The book’s not for everyone, for example I don’t think that this book is going to go down well for someone who is super competetive.