The book is best categorized as a Philosophical Logic work.

The premise of the book is to define what finite and infinite games are, differentiate the two, and then apply those patterns to many aspects of everyday life to surprising consequences.

For example, imagine a suburban neighbourhood where a group of kids gather for baseball games every afternoon during the summer. Anyone can play, and teams are divided so that they are evenly matched. Players are implicitly ranked by their peers from performance over past games.  Poor players are welcomed to play, even if it makes a team perform worse.  The point is to keep playing and keep changing the game.

Next, imagine a little league team from a nearby neighbourhood. They had to try-out, and poor players are screened out. Practice games are required several times a week. Players are ranked against each other according to various stats, and players are encouraged to perfect various skills for the betterment of the teams performance.  The point is to win as many games in the little league series that summer.

Now, imagine what would happen if the two groups were to play together. If the daily neighbourhood game players had the little league team come over, two things would happen: the little league would insist on playing against each other, not mixing the teams, and would adhere to their strict rules, and likely the neighbourhood kids would loose since they don’t play this way. Eventually the neighbourhood kids would get bored and stop playing the little league game.

Finally, image the little league team hosting the neighbourhood kids in a game. As part of the invite they mix members like the neighbourhood kids games do. The little league players would become immediately frustrated because the neighbourhood kids haven’t seriously practiced and each team doesn’t work efficiently together. They would perceive the neighbourhood kids as not playing seriously, perhaps making a parse of the whole enterprise, and would not enjoy the game at all.

Although a contrived scenario, ( kids learn early on which style they enjoy, and that these are two fundamentally different activities, ) this demonstrates the two styles of play and how they compare to each other.

The book also has an almost lyrical component: James chooses words which we’d normally use as synonyms, but in the context of finite and infinite games become antonyms or complementary terms. Notable examples were “powerful” / “strength” and “theatrical” / “dramatic”. I found this amusing and thought provoking, as I tend to obsess on the connotations of words in certain works.

Overall, I didn’t agree with all the points of the book, but it’s premise, it’s style, and ability to inspire make me give it 4 of 4 possible stars.