The Score: How to Stop Playing Somebody Else's Game

by C. Thi Nguyen

Overview

A philosophy of games to help us win back control over what we value

The philosopher C. Thi Nguyen—one of the leading experts on the philosophy of games and the philosophy of data—takes us deep into the heart of games, and into the depths of bureaucracy, to see how scoring systems shape our desires.

Games are the most important art form of our era. They embody the spirit of free play. They show us the subtle beauty of action everywhere in life in video games, sports, and boardgames—but also cooking, gardening, fly-fishing, and running. They remind us that it isn’t always about outcomes, but about how glorious it feels to be doing the thing. And the scoring systems help get us there, by giving us new goals to try on.

Scoring systems are also at the center of our corporations and bureaucracies—in the form of metrics and rankings. They tell us exactly how to measure our success. They encourage us to outsource our values to an external authority. And they push on us to value simple, countable things. Metrics don’t capture what really matters; they only capture what’s easy to measure. The price of that clarity is our independence.

The Score asks us is this the game you really want to be playing?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593655658
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/13/2026
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.91(d)

About the Author

C. Thi Nguyen is associate professor of philosophy at the University of Utah, and a specialist in the philosophy of games, the philosophy of technology, and the theory of value. A former food writer for the Los Angeles Times, Nguyen is active in public philosophy, writing for The New York Times, The Washington Post, New Statesman, and elsewhere.

Editorial Reviews

I do not care about games. Or at least, I didn't think that I did. But I was riveted from start to finish by THE SCORE, which made me rethink my relationship with my health, my bank account, and even my writing, in this moment of increasing gamification via substack. Such is the power and scope of this brilliant and timely book.” —Kate Manne, author of DOWN GIRL

“Almost everything you do at work, at home, and in even in your relationships, has been turned into a game with scores that supposedly show how well you’re doing it. And yet, you probably feel punished rather than rewarded by all those measures. The Score explains why and how you can wrest yourself free of the bad games that have captured you.” —Ian Bogost, Professor of Film & Media Studies and Computer Science & Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis and designer of the game Cow Clicker

“The Score isn't an instruction manual for life; it's something deeper. It teaches you to rewrite the rules, so you can live the way that suits you. Thi Nguyen is a mad genius, sharing the secret sauce to his cool.” —Scott Hershovitz, author of Nasty, Brutish, and Short

“This is a book about the quantitative vs. the qualitative: what happens to our sense of humanity when we submit to institutional demands that reduce the world to a set of rules? The Score is a call to reconnect with play—in our leisure time, in our experience of art, and in how we interact with friends and loved ones. And that sounds like fun to me.” —Eric Zimmerman, founding faculty and Arts Professor at the NYU Game Center

“There are certain concepts that, once they’re explained to you, you start to see everywhere. Thi Nguyen’s notion of value capture is exactly this kind of idea—it’s deceptively simple but profoundly insightful. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. This book beautifully encapsulates Nguyen’s thinking on the relationship between our values, our goals, and the metrics by which we measure ourselves and others. Nguyen is one of the rare academics who can render a complex theory accessible and engaging without dumbing it down. The net result is an outstanding piece of philosophy that experts and non-experts can both enjoy. But consider yourself warned: you might not be able to stop thinking about it either.” —Elizabeth Barnes, author of Health Problems

"As a long-time fan of games, I was delighted to find a philosophical look at how we make choices in life. If you love gaming, this is the best book on the topic you’ll ever find." —Steve Wozniak, cofounder of Apple

From the Publisher