Berne clearly explains what games are and goes through clear examples of some of the more popular ones that people may play.

After I read it I immediatatly realised several "games" that people had been playing with me and that I had been playing with them. This is pretty easy to do after you actually think about things and is also very satisfying.

If I were to level a slight criticism it would be that I had to use the dictionairy every third page as he does tend to use alot of "big" words and I had to read it twice or three times to take it all in.

Well worth a read, it will change the way you think!


Oh so true...   July 16, 2003
 102 out of 105 found this review helpful

I had heard of Transactional Analysis as part of a self-development training course at work, where TA was used to explain how conflicts in the workplace occur and what can be done to prevent them.

With some serious relationship problems outside the workplace, I bought Games People Play with the hope it could help to explain some of the things that have been going wrong. I wasn't disappointed, and quite apart from help me do some self-analysis, it has allowed me to see just how many "games" are played by others.

As well as being of great personal benefit, I found descriptions of some of the games (such as Alcoholic and Courtroom) very interesting. Alcoholic, in particlar, is given several pages, as one of the most complicated and destructive games that people play - and even goes some way to explaining how and why AA are effective in helping people.

If the book has a down side, it's perhaps only that it doesn't work as a self-help title without some serious thinking, honesty and soul-searching by the reader. However, it is really not meant as a self-help title and it would be wrong to judge it as one.

On the whole, though, a very interesting study of human behaviour and a good set of "worked examples" for anyone trying to understand Transactional Analysis.


Eye-opening   December 19, 2002
 155 out of 159 found this review helpful

Years ago I chose not to pursue an education in psychology, but I retain a strong interest, if only to make sense of a world where motivations are often misguided and true intent is hard to perceive.

'Games People Play' explains and analyses, with pertinent real-life examples, the continual stuggle between our inner child, parent and adult to dominate a social situation, colloquially termed as 'games'. It explains that the outcome of these games are a fundamental human requirement, and by understanding the way these games are played we learn to understand the motivations of ourselves and our peers.

The first time I read this book, I instantly recognised real life occasions where the information contained was relevant and useful. If you have only a passing interest in psychology, you will still occassionally sit upright while reading and say to yourself - 'So this is why people act like that'.

Some of the passages are eminently quotable - "Everyone carries a little boy or girl around inside of him", and at the very least by remembering some of these key phrases, you will begin to understand the desires and reactions of others.

This is no pop-psychology rubbish - it is clinical psychology explained at a fundamental level, and crafted to be accessible and useful for everyone. The book is rarely dry and monotonous, and I was pleased to find some extremely humorous passages.

I challenge anyone to read this book and not find a revelation or two inside.


Thought provoking but not always convincing   July 30, 2002
 48 out of 66 found this review helpful

Illuminates the alterior motives that people have as they play their role in relationships. In some ways very dated, especially regarding gender roles. But this also shows that the more things change; the more they stay the same, despite its age this book still has a lot to say and is not hindered by political correctness!
Some of the analyses are worrying - the analysis of the 'Alcoholic' is especially dubious as games transactional analysis consciously ignores this behaviour as a disease. This is understandable as it is for bio-chemists and genetisists etc to understand the physical causes, but it does warp the understanding of that behaviour as a disease. This belittles how serious a disease it is. Indeed some of the interpretations of games behaviour are verging on sophistry. Simply clever logic to support the theories that there is always an alterior 'payoff' being sort by such behaviour.

Also the style of the book is interesting. Games are given colloquial titles and much of the examples are anecdotal. At one point the author mentions that a beetle is running across his desk and relates this to the 'Debtor' game example. This created an ambivalent reaction in me to the book as it makes the book more accessable but at the same time makes it seem a little 'flakey'!

Never-the-less, this is a book that encourages and trains you to think twice and read between the lines when considering the real motives of people in social situations and relationships. Which is no bad thing, just don't get paranoid! Well worth the price. Well worth reading.