Playing The Game: Review Of Neil Strauss's "The Game: Penetrating The Secret Society Of Pickup Artists"

A story about a guy who knows next to nothing about girls, then not only meets a secret society of pick-up artists who teach him how to score loads of beautiful women, but also becomes THE master pick-up artist himself, who both his students and his teachers go to for tips on how to deal and score with women. Sounds great, doesn’t it? The best part about it is, It’s true, and documented in Neil Strauss’ excellent book, “The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pick-up Artists.”

If you’ve ever heard of Neil Strauss before, this book provides a fascinating account of what made him Syle, his seduction society pseudonym. And if you have never heard of him, this book will make you WANT to know who he is. Not only does he provide a fascinating look into the many methods of gaining women’s attention—and phone numbers, and panties—but describes in detail the crazy characters who make up this “society of pick-up artists”, as well.

What’s great about this book, as opposed to all the other ones out there for horny guys wanting to get laid, is the way it’s set up. It’s not a lesson-by-lesson tome detailing “forbidden” methods of “tricking” women into going to bed with you. It’s actually more of one man’s personal account of the frustrations and victories of dealing with women. You learn your lessons, as Strauss learns his own. It’s a description of one man’s journey from master loser, to master seductor. And you can benefit from the knowledge Strauss shares, first-hand, in thrilling detail.

It all starts with Strauss’ account of growing up “far from attractive,” and far from satisfied with his sex life. All it took to change that was a call from a book editor, asking Strauss to take the mysterious “Layguide” that existed on the Internet, and turn it into a “coherent how-to book”. Though hesitant at first, Strauss finds himself curious—and you the reader curious, as well. While investigating this patchwork of notes on how to get busy, he finds himself delving into a world he—nor the majority of people out there–hardly knew existed…and becoming one of the biggest parts of it. As he writes, “If the layguide had never crossed my path, I, like most men, would never have evolved in my thinking about the opposite sex.” But thanks to discovering it, Style began his journey of transformation from single loser to a guy commanding thousands for his seduction services and advice.

Along the way, he discovers a host of crazy characters and all their "unique" (to say the least!) methods: Mystery and the Mystery Method; Tyler Durden and Papa, and Real Social Dynamics; David DeAngelo and Double Your Dating; Ross Jeffries and Neurolinguistic Programming. There’s also a range of guys with interesting pseudonyms of their own: Thundercat, Jlaix, Herbal, Jughead. It’s hard not to laugh as you come across some of these crazy characters and their interesting methods of creating attraction: 3-second ATCs, going "kino", negging. It’s funny enough to hear what these methods are; learning about what they are as revealed by the various characters, makes the book often hysterical.

What I find best about "The Game" is the way it’s described as a journey. As I’ve said before in my posts, life really is a journey, and so is the whole process of becoming a better lover. Style’s way of teaching us his lessons isn’t academic, point-by-point lessons. It’s through describing his growth, and letting you grow (and laugh, and groan) with him. If you want to learn what IOIs, 3-sets, negs, ATCs, and peacocking all are, you don’t have to play “The Game”. Just read it!