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| The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists | 
 enlarge | Author: Neil Strauss
Publisher: William Morrow
Category: Book
List Price: $35.00
Buy New: $20.64
You Save: $14.36 (41%)
New (46) Used (21) Collectible (5) from $20.64
Avg. Customer Rating:  584 reviews
Sales Rank: 135
Media: Imitation Leather
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 452
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 5.9 x 1.3
ISBN: 0060554738
Dewey Decimal Number: 306.73
EAN: 9780060554736
ASIN: 0060554738
Publication Date: September 1, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
Are you just another AFC ("average frustrated chump") trying to meet an HB ("hot babe")? How would you like to "full-close" with a Penthouse Pet of the Year? The answers, my friend, are in Neil Strauss's entertaining book The Game. Strauss was a self-described chick repellant--complete with large, bumpy nose, small, beady eyes, glasses, balding head, and, worst of all, painful shyness around women. He felt like "half a man." That is, until a book editor asked him to investigate the community of pickup artists. Strauss's life was transformed. He spent two years bedding some fine chiquitas and studying with some of the North America's most suave gents--including the best of them all, the God of the pickup "community," a man named Mystery. Mystery is an aspiring Toronto magician who charges $2,250 for a weekend pickup workshop. He is not much to look at: a cross between a vampire and a computer geek. But by using high-powered marketing techniques he's turned seduction into an effortless craft--even inventing his own vocabulary. His technique sounds like a car salesman's tip sheet: his main rule is FMAC--find, meet, attract, close. He employs the "three-second rule"--always approach a woman within three seconds of first seeing her in order to avoid getting shy. Other tricks: Intrigue a beautiful woman by pretending to be unaffected by her charm; also, never hit on a woman right away. Start with a disarming, innocent remark, like "Do you think magic spells work?" or "Oh my god, did you see those two girls fighting outside?" And finally, the most important characteristic of the pickup artist--smile. After two years, Strauss ends up becoming almost as successful as Mystery, but he comes to an important realization. His techniques were actually off-putting to the woman he ended up falling in love with. And they never prepared him for actually having a relationship. After a while, he ran out of one-liners and had to have a real conversation. Still, The Game is a great read that may help some AFCs come out of their shells. --Alex Roslin
Product Description
Hidden somewhere, in nearly every major city in the world, is an underground seduction lair. And in these lairs, men trade the most devastatingly effective techniques ever invented to charm women. This is not fiction. These men really exist. They live together in houses known as Projects. And Neil Strauss, the bestselling author, spent two years living among them, using the pseudonym Style to protect his real-life identity. The result is one of the most explosive and controversial books of the year -- guaranteed to change the lives of men and transform the way women understand the opposite sex forever. On his journey from AFC (average frustrated chump) to PUA (pick-up artist) to PUG (pick-up guru), Strauss not only shares scores of original seduction techniques but also has unforgettable encounters with the likes of Tom Cruise, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Heidi Fleiss, and Courtney Love. And then things really start to get strange -- and passions lead to betrayals lead to violence. The Game is the story of one man's transformation from frog to prince -- to prisoner in the most unforgettable book of the year.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 579 more reviews...
 Fascinating ... and not a little creepy October 19, 2005
654 out of 744 found this review helpful
First, a disclaimer, because of the sniping going on about this book: I don't know any of the people portrayed in "The Game." I have no biases in either direction regarding any of them. In fact, I'm a straight (and married) female, so I really have no vested interest in ANY pick-up strategies.
I read "The Game" after seeing a review of it in the newspaper. I was amused and a bit intrigued at the idea of a whole subculture centered around seducing members of the opposite sex -- at the idea of guys who honestly had NO other goals in life.
In a way, it's almost an inspirational story in the beginning. Everyone likes an underdog, and the short, bald guy who's suddenly able to get all the babes is no exception. But it wouldn't be much of a story if there wasn't a dark side to the success. Strauss describes how he loses interest in everything EXCEPT picking up women and in fact feels compelled to hit on them almost constantly. He holds seminars on seduction. He posts to message boards about seduction. He lives in a house full of guys whose sole interest is seduction -- some who spend thousands of dollars attending seminars around the country.
Of course, at the end, he realizes that all the tricks and one-liners he uses to get a woman into bed won't help him when he meets The One. And maybe I'm a bit naive, but isn't that what most of us really want in the end?
Strauss is a fine writer, though not a highly remarkable one. I think the story itself, rather than the writing, is what carries the book. The characters are truly compelling -- especially Mystery, who I almost want to meet to see if he's as irresistable as everyone seems to think. (You have to wonder, though, if his techniques work half so well when the women already know about them.)
So, should guys who can't meet women pick up this book? I don't think so. I -do- believe that some of the advice here could work, such as "negging" -- giving a good-looking girl a subtle put-down to make her want to win you over. I know that, in my single days, I was more intrigued by the guys who weren't under my spell, so to speak. Still, it doesn't make putting people down a nice thing to do.
My problem with this book is that it might be overly seductive to single guys, and draw people in to a rather twisted subculture -- which I think is NOT the author's intent. I also think that the techniques described encourage objectification of women to an extreme, and aren't particularly healthy for guys, either.
It's easy to see how becoming an expert in seduction would sound, well, seductive. But these "expert" philosophies all have one thing in common: They treat women as the enemy. And we're not, I swear!
To summarize: If you're looking for a good read, pick up "The Game." If you're trying to meet women, get some fashion advice and learn how to boost your self-confidence, because magic tricks and insults aren't going to get you into a relationship worth having.
 Fascinating!!! September 23, 2005
256 out of 302 found this review helpful
I'm 52, married, don't know the author, have never heard of this secret society and still found this book fascinating. I say this because so many reviewers seem to have an agenda. From the arrival of this book b4 a business trip where my wife asked if I was going through another mid-life crisis, to the enjoyable but staccato writing style of Strauss, I read this book in pure fascination but half the time wondering if it was fiction. From reading these reviews it is clear there is basis for this book. But a Project Hollywood with male drama and Courtney Love thrown in for humor? Well, evidently it was true.
This book should be read by all young men. Yes, some have the ability to approach women in some manner, but most DON'T have the ability in ANY manner. This book will help. Does it give contrived starting lines? Sure, but the point of the book is, "men need it" and when most people think of pick-up lines, these are actually exactly the opposite as more fully explained in the book. We are not conditioned to know the appropriate way to approach women! But apparently, we can learn.
This book is educational on talking to women but also an interesting story about the crazy, neurotic lives these guys live. As to the author, his writing style is much too young for me but I did enjoy watching him weave this story and predict a bright journalistic career for him. I had previously read his biography of Jenna Jamison and enjoyed it also. I have not seen much publicity about this book. I heard about it from the short story in Esquire. I would love to read the NY Times article referenced in the book. I recommend this book for both men and women in their dating years but also recommend others read this that just want to learn about interpersonal relationships or read a zany life of needy men.
Learn the Rules, but Don't Play "The Game" October 30, 2007
160 out of 163 found this review helpful
"The Game", at first, appears to be an informative, eye-opening, entertaining and DANGEROUS MANUAL ON HOW TO SEDUCE WOMEN. Deep within this controversial book, however, lies one of the best self improvement books available to man... as long as he understands and embraces the fundamental reality that the acquisition of confidence and personal worth are strictly required in order to succeed at the Game. A lot of low self esteem individuals will read this book and become, I believe, better men.
And I completely understand the threat many women would feel by this material. But intelligent women are insulated from the manipulation at which many of the individuals featured in this story are so inept. Only the naive are at risk, as they always have been.
Many people refer to this book as a manual on how to seduce women. But Neil Strauss, its author, never made such a claim. It was merely his honest and humorous account of his experience in the PUA (pickup artist) community. But Strauss is a talented writer. And, as such, he not only managed to make this the very entertaining and insightful manual everybody said it was, but has also given an extremely valuable tool to goodhearted men with benign goals - a tool that can be used with mutual benefit, without anyone getting hurt or played. In spite of other reviewers' claims to the contrary, Strauss does disclose the nature and vivid examples of the emotional and spiritual consequences PUAs reap when they manipulate people for narcissistic purposes.
This endeavor began when Strauss, a writer for the New York Times, was given an assignment to write about the underground pickup artist community. Strauss was a skinny, balding intellectual who felt awkward around women and hadn't had much success with them prior. He immediately homed in on a character named Mystery and hit the mother load. Mystery was a modern day Casanova and widely considered, by the cumulative underground community of PUAs, to be the preeminent pickup artist in the world. Tom Cruise's seduction guru character in "Magnolia" was supposedly based on Mystery. By the time Strauss finished his assignment, he had transformed himself and assumed Mystery's title as tenth degree pickup master of the universe.
As I began reading the book, I felt uneasy. Knowing this knowledge was out there felt akin to suddenly discovering a bunch of troubled kids figured out how to make nuclear weapons.
I've always had great interest in psychology and what makes people do the things they do. I discovered my knowledge of psychology was pale in comparison to these guys. They (the serious ones) study contemporary literature on psychology and ancillary subjects, many of which involve some sort of self-improvement. The young, horny ones operate with one laser-focused mission: Bed women... bed as many "9+" women as possible! The more they bed, the more they validate themselves. But some, more enlightened ones, were simply looking to find the best wife/partner they possibly could.
Strauss began as Mystery's student. After a few successes, he began to catch the eye of other PUAs to whom he quickly acclimated himself. He soaked up their knowledge like a sponge. At the end of two years, Strauss had studied, one-on-one, the methods of all the world's alleged greatest pickup artists and took that which best suited his own personal style and made it his own. In the process he became an underground, worshipped legend - Code Name: Style. But in the process, he also greatly strengthened his core person and acquired the Holy Grail: self-esteem. This book doesn't just contain the cumulative knowledge of the PUA community, but one hell of an entertaining story.
It must be stated that the Game's contribution to much of Strauss' unstoppable success is mitigated by the fact that he was a writer for one of the most respected publications in the world, living in a mansion in the Hollywood Hills over Sunset Boulevard (a consequence of rising to the top of the PUA community), regularly interviewing celebrities and driving a nice car; most men with these assets aren't having issues dating. Still, I believe the majority of what he achieved was aided by his mastery of the basic principals of "The Game". And those are:
1. You can only "game" a woman with whom you are prepared to fail (if you find yourself wanting her too badly, you'll never have her)
2. Exude extreme confidence
3. Demonstrate some kind of value, skill or talent NEAR your target, but not directly to her. Initially, pretend you don't even notice her.
4. Win over her friends
5. Be hard to get
6. Be fun
7. Handle challenges from competing men intellectually and psychologically. Never fight.
8. Respond to any signs that she's not interested as if it were "no big deal"
9. Once you have your target's attention, playfully insult ("neg") her. For example, "I like your hair, is that your natural color?" The more beautiful the woman, the more effective the neg is in garnering interest as they rarely hear comments of that nature.
10. Once attraction has been established, punish any unwanted behavior by withdrawing and disinterest, but do not pout or have an attitude.
11. Alternate between attraction and disinterest signals in a push-pull fashion until rapport is established
There are many other rules, but those are the ones that stuck out to me.
As I read, I found myself subconsciously adjusting my behavior, according to Game theory... and getting surprising results. Women that used to intimidate me with their "presence" were suddenly acting goofy/nervous around me. Could this be real? After I got over the initial excitement of my newfound knowledge, I began to get disappointed that the women that made ME goofy/nervous for so long could be so easily manipulated. I feared that I would start to lose respect for women. Who wants someone they don't respect?
But by the time I got to the end, I realized that I wasn't manipulating anyone. I was simply carrying myself with more confidence. I found myself initiating conversations with strangers. There were no signs of neediness or social anxiety. I realized a man with a conscience can take a small portion of the knowledge shared in "The Game" to simply get over that first, most difficult hurdle of establishing rapport with a woman to whom he is attracted. I realized all anyone reading this book is really looking for is confidence. And many individuals that happen to gain a skill or talent as a result of his quest for a better sex life might just get some self esteem in the process. And that, I believe, is the greatest good of this material. The greater one's self esteem, the higher his goals.
Knowledge is power. And it's only how that power is used that can reveal the nature of its possessor. The only real dangerous "players" out there are the ones whose cognitive reasoning and emotional maturity never fully develop and, at the same time, possess Oscar-worthy acting skills. Yeah, there are a few out there. But an intelligent woman knows when she's being played. And as Strauss saw repeatedly, manipulating and seducing a woman, in and of itself, is a victory that invariably leaves one hollow, still unfulfilled. In the end, your true self is what counts and is the only thing that can find and keep love.
 Pure BS, But It Has A Nice Cover September 30, 2005
56 out of 115 found this review helpful
I have been writing for men on women for some time now, [...], so naturally I was curious to see what made this book so "great."
I knew from the get go that this book was going to be pure BS, but I had no idea it was going to be this bad. Sorry, Mr. Strauss, but come on. For us writers who have been around, you aren't fooling us.
For those of who who still aren't sure about this book, whether you bought it or not, here is the reality of it all:
1. Mr. Strauss tells tale tales about him being able to talk to a woman, and then, within minutes, he is able to make out with her.
He also tells about "pick up artists" who can take women in the back room of a club and start making out with them. Read page 10 for an example.
Guys, are you this dumb to believe this? You've read past books and articles on such lame and VERY bad advice. Let me ask you, have they worked for you so far? I already know the answer.
2. The whole book reeks of images of little boys who sit in a treefort, exchanging ideas on how to "hit on hot chicks," when the reality is that it blows up in their faces.
As a writer and researcher on this subject, I have known many many men who think they are this "pick up artist," and they are lucky if they can pick up their dirty socks without straining their back muscle.
3. Mr. Strauss talked to several "pick up artists," and these guys call themselves ridiculous names, like "Mystery." Remember that treehouse I was telling you about? How old are these guys, 16???
4. On page 22, this "Mystery," gives Mr. Strauss one of his openers to use after the ice is broken: "If I weren't gay, you'd be so mine."
Yeah, uh-huh. Try that and see how that works for ya.
See what I mean when I say this book is beyond the point of being BS?
5. This book also advocates touching, and smelling her hair within minutes after breaking the ice. Yeah, try that too and see how that works for ya.
6. Mr. Strauss constantly tells tale tales of his experiences. One of them being on page 61, when he said that he got a number from a Playmate the Year. On page 157 he tells how Hedi Fleiss wanted to meet him. Why, of course she does!
He is a blowhard who makes stuff up, and in addition, he says that other PUI's want to be like him. They follow his every word. On page 214, he brags that all over the world people were using his jokes, comebacks and lines to meet, kiss, and f--k girls.
Yeah, uh-huh, ok.
Again, I'm sure you have been around such blowhards like him.
In conclusion, this book is basically filled with dellusional nerds who think they are a success with women, but in reality they are not. They instead tell tale tales and other such BS.
They gather in groups, sharing stories. It's pretty laughable, if you think about it.
Many guys, who don't know any better, seem to think that these "PUA's" (Pick up Artists. But they call themselves "PUA's." Yeah, I'm laughing as I type this) are the talk of the town. They aren't. For instance: Go to their message boards, one of them being at [...], and it is a ghost town that you can hear an echo in.
There is no "secret underground," and there is no othe rsuch ridiculous stuff lie that. All it is is a bunch of dellusional guys who think they are a success with women.
I wonder what name they gave their treefort where they hold their secret meetings that women won't be able to find.
Why am I being so hard on this book, and the little boys who call themselves a "pick up artsist" or the ever so laughable, "guru"? Because I get so sick and tired of guys who are looking for good advice, only to run into bozos like these. I talked to one guy who spent $500 on a seminar. He got ripped off. Just about everything he tried on women failed.
Be very cautious out there guys, and don't believe everything you hear.
Thomas
[...]
 You're not missing much if you miss this book! September 14, 2005
54 out of 89 found this review helpful
Reading this book was like eating a BBQ steak that the chef forgot to season! It looked good from a distance, but once I got into it, I wanted to throw it up and send it back. That said, I want to give this book its due credit: It paints a VIVID picture of the 'player's' (pathetic) lifestyle (It describes in detail the P.U.A.s methods for approaching women, getting their numbers, and tricking them into letting themselves be screwed by the P.U.A.s, despite not having any REAL connection with them). If that's all you're looking for, then go ahead and buy this book. You WILL get laid, but it won't make you happy!
What "The Game" doesn't do is teach you how to become a REAL ALPHA male (a fake one, maybe, but a real one..NO). Add to that, I sense that few, if any of the characters in the book really even know who they are or what they want out of life. The feeling I get from hearing all of the anecdotes in this book is that the P.U.A. community is really just a bunch of insecure losers who are going out and trying to screw as many women as possible in a desparate attempt to fill some other void in their life. Gentleman, if you really want to succeed with women, try this simple formula:
1. Don't buy this book. Try these instead: "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" (Stephen Covey), "What To Say When You Talk to Yourself" (Shad Helmstetter), "Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude" (Napolean Hill).
2. Get in shape.
3. Figure out your career goals (which hopefully involve contribution to something more than just yourself)and take action to achieve them.
4. Figure out who YOU really are and learn to like yourself.
5. Learn how to be assertive - stand up for yourself (don't confuse being assertive with being a jerk)
6. Learn the difference between screwing girlS and making love to A woman.
7. Once you've become a REAL ALPHA MALE by completing steps 1 through 6, you won't need any of the tricks and schemes described in "The Game". Women will be instantly attracted to you by you just being yourself. Once you find the right girl, treat her with the respect, care about her, and MAKE SURE YOU KEEP HER EXCITED. That's all it takes -- Become what you want to attract, and you'll get what you want!
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