After playing so many games, I began to wonder if there are any universal principles that can be applied to winning all games, including the game of life. Hence I began my study into different game and sport strategies, theories, psychology, philosophy etc. This book is the distillation of all the wisdom I learned from playing and studying games.
What is a game?
A game is a system in which players engage in an artificial conflict, defined by rules, that results in a quantifiable outcome, i.e. winning and losing. No other human activity apply the concepts of winning and losing, success or failure in such a quick and direct manner. Hence, if we want to study how to win or become successful, there is no better medium than games.
There are all kinds of games in this world. RPG, puzzle, racing, strategy, abstract, sport etc. This book will focus on expounding principles for winning games that are more strategy-centric rather than chance-centric, and how to apply the same principles to the Game of Life.
Why is life a game?
Why is life a game?
In this sense, we can compare life to a game. We make strategic decisions from day to day, managing limited resources such as time and money to achieve the best possible results. Life is also a series of mini-games - the game of getting good examination results, the game of courtship, the game of making money etc. This book will take the strategies and wisdom learned from games and apply them to the Game of Life and its mini-games.
"A good cook changes his knife yearly since he uses it to cut. A decent cook changes his knife monthly since he uses it to chop. However, there are gaps between the joints and the edge of the knife is paper-thin. By inserting the paper-thin blade into the empty space between joints, the meat can be separated with no effort at all. That is why even after nineteen years, my knife is still as good as new!"
How will this book help you?
Another memory I have with my father is that he told me: "Work hard, but more importantly, work smart". In all endeavors, including games, there always exists the Tao, i.e. the Way that allows you to achieve your aim efficiently, serenely and seemingly effortlessly, i.e. the "smart way". As explained by Zhuang Zi's story about Cook Ding:
"A good cook changes his knife yearly since he uses it to cut. A decent cook changes his knife monthly since he uses it to chop. However, there are gaps between the joints and the edge of the knife is paper-thin. By inserting the paper-thin blade into the empty space between joints, the meat can be separated with no effort at all. That is why even after nineteen years, my knife is still as good as new!"
The principles in this book are carefully distilled from years of studying and playing games, designed for you to master the Way to win games with maximum efficiency.
What are principles?
Principles are fundamental truths that serves as mental models which help you win all kinds of games. They shape what we think, how we understand and the opportunities we see. We use these principles to simplify the complex into understandable chunks, priorities more important things over less important things, and quickly come up with strategies that give us advantages in games. In this book, I have curated the most powerful ideas from different disciplines and studies and intricately weaved them into a coherent framework of principles that will guide you in all the different games you may encounter.
Whoever have a better understanding of winning principles, wins.
This book is divided into three parts.
Part 1 - The Inner-Game Principles, will tell you the eleven mentalities that you must develop within you in order to win.
Part 2 - The In-Game Principles, will show you the most powerful and effective mental models you can use when playing games.
Part 3 - The Meta-Game Principles, will be about how to see and play the games outside the game. Yes, there are always games outside the game.
Part 3 - The Meta-Game Principles, will be about how to see and play the games outside the game. Yes, there are always games outside the game.