Games People Play: Strategy, Identity, and Morality

Hey Folks,
From childhood games and board nights to video games, dating apps, office politics, and social media—life is full of games. Some are light-hearted, others high-stakes. Some we enter willingly, others we’re barely aware of. But what do these games say about us—our values, decisions, and the limits we’re willing to cross?
In this session, we’ll explore what play, competition, and strategy reveal about human nature. Do games bring out our best—curiosity, creativity, cooperation—or our worst—deception, domination, and zero-sum thinking?
Are we ever not playing a game? Can we truly be ourselves when the rules are always changing? And what does it mean to “win” if we lose something of ourselves in the process?

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### Discussion Questions

1. Why do we play?
   → Is play just for fun—or does it serve deeper psychological, cultural, or evolutionary functions?
2. What do games reveal about who we really are?
   → Do we become more honest when we play—or more calculating?
3. Can play ever be morally wrong?
   → Where is the ethical line between strategy and manipulation?
4. Is life just a series of overlapping games?
   → Are careers, relationships, and social media just games with high emotional stakes?
5. What happens when people “break the rules” of a game—or refuse to play at all?
   → Does refusing the game make you weak, wise, or revolutionary?
6. How do power and privilege affect the games we play?
   → Are some people born closer to “winning” than others?
7. Are there games where cooperation matters more than competition?
   → What kinds of games mirror the kind of society we want to build?
8. Do we lose authenticity when we’re too focused on playing a role?
   → When does performance stop being playful and become performative?

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### Quotes & Insights

• Plato: “You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.”
  → Is play our most honest form of expression?
• Johan Huizinga (Homo Ludens): “Play is older than culture.”
  → Does play come before structure—and maybe even define it?
• Nietzsche: “In every real man a child is hidden that wants to play.”
  → Is the desire to play deeply rooted in our being?
• Heraclitus (loosely interpreted): “Time is a game played beautifully by children.”
  → Does playing connect us to the present in a way nothing else does?
• Game designer Sid Meier: “A game is a series of interesting decisions.”
  → And each decision reveals something about who we are.

***

This session will blend the light-hearted with the deeply reflective. Whether you're into chess, Dungeons & Dragons, Among Us, Monopoly, or just trying to navigate real life—you’ve probably faced moments where winning and being good didn’t feel like the same thing.
Join us for a playful, provocative conversation about the roles we choose, the rules we follow, and the strategies we live by.

We'll 'meet' here at 19:00 UK time
[https://meet.google.com/wmw-uuwq-xck](https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fmeet.google.com%2Fwmw-uuwq-xck%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR1Nkcl8vw0H4mVLOPoou8P0Rf_08YAcW0dhjtgjGWK0MHjHn40cc8e_dOU&h=AT1esiOjKCcwY6W9xk-eLBwvz-6dmi44eA4qH18ExKTFcypXDHUDT45Mt4cXXJ6X4--MeK00YmiBwcxV684LwLMlUxusnEqz6C99f3XUg0KMQbxrAJXi7f1hd81_ww02KeQeJ9Fk)