Fair Play
Fair Play by Eve Rodskyby Eve Rodsky
Shares rank 9 of 22 self-help books by recommenders
Recommended as a system for splitting household and parenting work fairly, using task cards that give each chore one owner. Its most common caveat is that it can turn into score keeping.
Recommended as a system for splitting household and parenting work fairly, using task cards that give each chore one owner. Its most common caveat is that it can turn into score keeping.
6 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 83%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Assigns each task to one owner
“The system / cards is not about keeping score: each card is a task, and whomever holds the card is responsible for it from start to finish.”
Comment from 26 Sep 2026 in “I'm the mom in that viral Giants clip. Let me tell you about my husband” “examines the problem and puts forward a system where people are assigned various personal tasks”
Comment from 26 Sep 2026 in “I'm the mom in that viral Giants clip. Let me tell you about my husband” Works well with a partner
“it was a great read for our relationship and really made both of us look at how we lived our lives”
Comment from 26 Sep 2026 in “I'm the mom in that viral Giants clip. Let me tell you about my husband” “I had no problem with the cards or the system, I like and have tried them with my partner.”
Comment from 19 Aug 2026 in “Being Ambitious and Being a Dad”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Can turn into score keeping
“As soon as it turns into score keeping, the relationship will almost certainly go sideways.”
Comment from 26 Sep 2026 in “I'm the mom in that viral Giants clip. Let me tell you about my husband”
Other self-help books people recommend
The four most recommended other self-help books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| How to Win Friends and Influence Peopleby Dale Carnegie | 67 | 25 | 73% | 11 | — | Approved |
| Atomic Habitsby James Clear | 20 | 2 | 91% | 11 | — | Approved |
| The Easy Way to Stop Smokingby Allen Carr | 9 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| Feeling Goodby David D. Burns | 8 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| Fair Playby Eve RodskyThis page | 5 | 1 | 83% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
All 8 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“The system / cards is not about keeping score: each card is a task, and whomever holds the card is responsible for it from start to finish.”
“As soon as it turns into score keeping, the relationship will almost certainly go sideways.”
“it was a great read for our relationship and really made both of us look at how we lived our lives”
“examines the problem and puts forward a system where people are assigned various personal tasks”
“I had no problem with the cards or the system, I like and have tried them with my partner.”
“I still feel like it's the best available resource for this problem.”
“it starts with an unrealistic view that the average man is a lazy slob”
“I do think that it's a good starting point if you want to genuinely try to contribute equally.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.