Finite and Infinite Games Quotes by James P. Carse

Early on in my journey, I realized that my entire goal was to stay on the pathless path indefinitely. This is what author James Carse calls the “infinite game”: “A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game for the purpose of continuing the play.”⁠2 By working backward, I realized that the biggest risks for me are spending m

The joyfulness of infinite play, its laughter, lies in learning to start something we cannot finish.

Finite players play within boundaries; infinite players play with boundaries.

The rules of an infinite game must change in the course of play. The rules are changed when the players of an infinite game agree that the play is imperiled by a finite outcome—that is, by the victory of some players and the defeat of others. The rules of an infinite game are changed to prevent anyone from winning the game and to bring as many pers

Infinite games are the opposite. They have no clear winners or losers, no established time frame for play, and no fixed rules. In infinite games, the field of play is mutable, the number of participants keeps changing, and the only goal is to keep on playing. Art, science, and love are infinite games. Most important: so is peak performance.

Where the finite player plays for immortality, the infinite player plays as a mortal.