Games People Play
Games People Play by Eric Berneby Eric Berne
Shares rank 8 of 9 psychology books by recommenders
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.
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.
2 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 2
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 2 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 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
Solid entry alongside Gametalk references
“The Berne books Rao cites as explanations of Gametalk are solidly good entries in of themselves”
Comment from 10 Mar 2026 in “The Gervais Principle, or the Office According to "The Office"” Specific section worth close reading
“Focus particular attention on the section on the game "Indigent."”
Comment from 9 May 2026 in “The Disappearance of the Public Bench”
Other psychology books people recommend
The four most recommended other psychology 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Courage to Be Dislikedby Ichiro Kishimi | 7 | 0 | 100% | 7 | — | — |
| Influenceby Robert Cialdini | 7 | 1 | 88% | 5 | — | — |
| The Inner Game of Tennisby W. Timothy Gallwey | 4 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| The Happiness Hypothesisby Jonathan Haidt | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Games People Playby Eric BerneThis page | 2 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
2 of the 3 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Focus particular attention on the section on the game "Indigent."”
“The Berne books Rao cites as explanations of Gametalk are solidly good entries in of themselves”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.