# The Thinking Game

15 Hacker News commenters recommended The Thinking Game and 8 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended as an inspiring look at DeepMind's origins, the AlphaFold win and the Move 37 moment. Common caveat: critics call it a puff piece that skips technical depth.

## Why people recommend it

- Inspiring look at DeepMind (2 comments): "absolutely fascinating and inspirational documentary about DeepMind and Demis Hassabis" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46375853)) "I thought the documentary was inspiring." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46098065))
- Captures AlphaFold and Move 37 moments (2 comments): "the way it captured the emotional triumph of the AlphaFold achievement" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46099538)) "They do a great job capturing the "Move 37" moment" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46099673))
- Shows Demis Hassabis at his best (2 comments): "absolutely fascinating and inspirational documentary about DeepMind and Demis Hassabis" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46375853)) "If you really want to see Demis shine watch The Thinking Game" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47953983))

## What people warn about

- Promotional hype and AI-washing (3 comments): "submitting this to a number of film festivals like Tribeca seems a bit AI-washing" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46097956)) "Makes it seem that AI is a one-man show while also feeding the hype cycle" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46098659)) "having finished the film, it's far more propagandic than it began as" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46098152))
- Puff piece that glosses over later events (2 comments): "I would have loved a little more technical depth, but I guess that's pretty much standard for a puff piece." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46098935)) "The movie seems like a fluff piece when you find out what has transpired at DeepMind subsequently" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46142198))
- Light on technical depth and substance (2 comments): "I would have loved a little more technical depth, but I guess that's pretty much standard for a puff piece." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46098935)) "There was nothing to learn, no red thead, just people telling anecdodes from start to finish." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47736435))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [You Can See Everything](https://hackerapproved.com/p/you-can-see-everything.md): 39 recommend
- [HyperNormalisation by Adam Curtis](https://hackerapproved.com/p/hypernormalisation.md): 14 recommend
- [It's Quieter in the Twilight](https://hackerapproved.com/p/it-s-quieter-in-the-twilight.md): 12 recommend
- [BBS: The Documentary](https://hackerapproved.com/p/bbs-the-documentary.md): 11 recommend
- [Listers documentary](https://hackerapproved.com/p/listers-documentary.md): 11 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "The Thinking Game", https://hackerapproved.com/p/thinking-game-documentary/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).