Book Review

GAMES PEOPLE PLAY New York, 1964 184 cover, $5.00.

by E. Berne, M. D. Grove Press, Inc., pp + Appendix and Indicies. Hard-

If we seem a little late in reviewing a 1964 book, I can only comment that the whole history of this book is out of step. Appearing without much pub- licity nearly two years ago, its rise to the best- seller list was due mainly to word-of-mouth communi- cation. Obviously, its popularity indicates it has filled a gap in the popular psychiatry field.

Dr. Berne's approach is novel, and startlingly effective. His first problem was that of communicating new ideas, and he has wisely chosen not to coin new words to fit them as have so many social scientists. Instead, he has fitted special definitions to colloquial and common words (and done it very neatly too). This entails the risk of being quoted out of context; I shall try to avoid such an injustice. "Games", to start off on the right foot, do not include parchesi, golf or marbles; a game is defined as a series of moves (i.e. social interactions) with a snare, or "gimmick". The important point is that the snare be an ulterior motive, concealed by the superficial plausibility of the moves. It is inherent in game- playing that the player practicing this duplicity is not fully aware of it. The motivation is rarely to- wards money or other tangible reward, but for psycho- logical satisfactions (self-castigation, freedom from guilt, avoidance of punishment, etc.) Another essen- tial feature of a Game is that it is played over and over with rigid repetition except for minor details. Thus a Game is similar to what has been called a "neurotic pattern".

With this concept must be carried a whole battery of new tools (new, at least, to most of us). One of the most important is the triple nature of each person;

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