# Games People Play by Eric Berne

2 Hacker News commenters recommended Games People Play by Eric Berne and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended as a solid explanation of social games and the Gametalk ideas Rao cites, with one reader singling out the Indigent section for close attention.

## Why people recommend it

- Solid entry alongside Gametalk references (1 comments): "The Berne books Rao cites as explanations of Gametalk are solidly good entries in of themselves" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47322091))
- Specific section worth close reading (1 comments): "Focus particular attention on the section on the game "Indigent."" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48070879))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi](https://hackerapproved.com/p/courage-to-be-disliked.md): 7 recommend
- [Influence by Robert Cialdini](https://hackerapproved.com/p/influence.md): 7 recommend
- [The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey](https://hackerapproved.com/p/inner-game-of-tennis.md): 4 recommend
- [The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt](https://hackerapproved.com/p/happiness-hypothesis.md): 3 recommend
- [Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert](https://hackerapproved.com/p/stumbling-on-happiness.md): 3 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0345410033?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780345410030) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Games People Play by Eric Berne", https://hackerapproved.com/p/games-people-play/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).