What is the infinite game? Here’s your cheat sheet
Tweaking my decision-making with the infinite game mindset.
I have found it to be a key to imagining (and building) a world of abundance and opportunity vs a world of scarcity and conflict.
James Carse first articulated the idea in his book Finite and Infinite Games.
Here are the main principles.
Finite vs Infinite Games
Finite games end. There is a winner and a loser. Infinite games never end. They exist to play.
In finite games, the rules don’t change. In infinite games, the rules must change to keep the game in play.
Finite games play within boundaries. Infinite games play with boundaries.
Finite players are serious. Infinite players are playful.
Finite players win titles. Infinite players have nothing but their names.
Finite players play to be powerful. An infinite player plays with strength.
Finite players are theatrical — they take a role in someone else’s script. Infinite players are dramatic — they become the protagonist.
Finite players consume time. Infinite players generate time.
Finite players want eternal life. The infinite player wants eternal birth. They know they will never finish the game which will go on without them.
What decision do I need to make today and how could it be different?
I find that book by Carse maddening and compelling. Some things that infinite games remind me of:
- "yes and" games in improv. Resisting the urge to cut to a punchline.
- DJ mixing with 2 copies of the same song. Looping. Crossfading. Making it last forever.
- Sitcoms and soap operas. The changing same of characters and plots. Altho these can sometimes feel like comfort food. Too much same, not enough changing.
In some senses, the infinite game confounds our ideas of narrative that emerged in the West (the happy ending, the point of crisis and resolution, redemption, resurrection, the hero's journey). It echoes other, cyclical views of history.