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The Theory and Practice of Gamesmanship: Or the Art of Winning Games Without Actually Cheating
"What is gamesmanship? Most difficult of questions to answer briefly. The Art of Winning Games Without Actually Cheating that is my personal working definition . What is its object? There have been five hundred books written on the subject of games. Five hundred books on play and the tactics of play. Not one on the art of winning. "
Stephen Potter has used his extensive experience as a master gamesman to compile this instructional text on the techniques, strategies and etiquette of gamesmanship. Here you will learn how to win games you have no idea how to play, and manoeuvre your opponents into losing when they really should be winning. This funny, charming book is brought to life with helpful diagrams, anecdotes and hilarious conversations. A must read for any sporting chap or chapette. It was first published in 1947."
Stephen Potter has used his extensive experience as a master gamesman to compile this instructional text on the techniques, strategies and etiquette of gamesmanship. Here you will learn how to win games you have no idea how to play, and manoeuvre your opponents into losing when they really should be winning. This funny, charming book is brought to life with helpful diagrams, anecdotes and hilarious conversations. A must read for any sporting chap or chapette. It was first published in 1947."
103 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1947
45 people are currently reading
524 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Potter
143 books18 followersStephen Meredith Potter was a British author and broadcaster. He popularised the term 'Gamemanship'.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
July 18, 2011
An idea that I'm surprised hasn't been imitated more: a satire masquerading as a self-help manual. While pretending to instruct you in the various tricks you can use to make your opponents feel uncomfortable, Potter takes generally quite successful pot-shots at all sorts of targets. The most obvious one is, of course, the ridiculous lengths people will go to in order to win games, but there are few aspects of British society that escape unscathed. He's completely deadpan throughout; in fact, when I first came across this book at age 10 or so, I didn't realize it was a satire.
My favourite section, you will not be surprised to hear, is the one on chess. Potter sensibly points out that there is no way a person unversed in chess theory will be able to beat a chess expert. Instead, he recommends the Potter Gambit: you play any three moves and then resign, after which you use some version of the following script.
"Very nice! Well, I must resign of course."
Your opponent will have no idea what's going on, so you elaborate a little:
"Oh wait! When you exchange, I could perhaps recapture with the bishop... ah... no, it doesn't work, does it. Your queen comes in and it's all over."
You shake your opponent's hand vigorously and add:
"Would you mind if I made a note of it? Interesting position. I suppose I should write it up for The British Chess Magazine, they usually publish these things."
My favourite section, you will not be surprised to hear, is the one on chess. Potter sensibly points out that there is no way a person unversed in chess theory will be able to beat a chess expert. Instead, he recommends the Potter Gambit: you play any three moves and then resign, after which you use some version of the following script.
"Very nice! Well, I must resign of course."
Your opponent will have no idea what's going on, so you elaborate a little:
"Oh wait! When you exchange, I could perhaps recapture with the bishop... ah... no, it doesn't work, does it. Your queen comes in and it's all over."
You shake your opponent's hand vigorously and add:
"Would you mind if I made a note of it? Interesting position. I suppose I should write it up for The British Chess Magazine, they usually publish these things."
January 13, 2023
This book is like a time capsule from a gentler time, when amateurs and gentlemen played sports, and satirists could write with their tongue firmly in their cheek about the players who indulge in gamesmanship in all manner of sports from chess to rugby.
Gamesmanship doesn't just occur during the game. It can start if the two players are driving to the golf course and one player can't accidentally-on-purpose read the map, so the driver is flurried when they arrive. Gamesmanship can occur at lunch and during the game especially when the person winning admits he's 'lucky' today or 'the balls are running my way' and hence the other player feels that Fate is against him.
Losemanship is fairly straightforward in that the person who's losing has to break the flow of the person winning and turn the winning vein into a losing streak, not just by tying a shoelace or blowing your nose extensively, but also by engaging the person who's winning in conversation about whether some spectators are bothering them or are in their line of sight, when no such spectators exist.
My favourite is clothesmanship where if the opponent wears clothes correct and suitable for the game, by as much as his clothes succeed in this function, by so much should the gamesman's clothing fail. The corollary is that if the opponent wears the wrong clothes, the gamesman should wear the right.
Gamesmanship doesn't just occur during the game. It can start if the two players are driving to the golf course and one player can't accidentally-on-purpose read the map, so the driver is flurried when they arrive. Gamesmanship can occur at lunch and during the game especially when the person winning admits he's 'lucky' today or 'the balls are running my way' and hence the other player feels that Fate is against him.
Losemanship is fairly straightforward in that the person who's losing has to break the flow of the person winning and turn the winning vein into a losing streak, not just by tying a shoelace or blowing your nose extensively, but also by engaging the person who's winning in conversation about whether some spectators are bothering them or are in their line of sight, when no such spectators exist.
My favourite is clothesmanship where if the opponent wears clothes correct and suitable for the game, by as much as his clothes succeed in this function, by so much should the gamesman's clothing fail. The corollary is that if the opponent wears the wrong clothes, the gamesman should wear the right.
May 27, 2014
There is something melancholic reading about a world that no longer exists but that was real to you. To think that when this was written everybody played games all the time. It’s what we all did for fun. If this were written now nobody would read it and I guess the fact that such a big seller in its day has all of 88 ratings on goodreads just goes to show the likely truth of that. My copy is inscribed ‘To Davis, in anticipation of another keen contest on the tennis court. Kathryn’.
What might Davis have learned in advance of that contest? Perhaps he took note of the pages on
rest here:
http://alittleteaalittlechat.wordpres...
What might Davis have learned in advance of that contest? Perhaps he took note of the pages on
rest here:
http://alittleteaalittlechat.wordpres...
April 21, 2013
This was on my dad's bookshelf when I was a kid, but I didn't discover it until late in high school. If Monty Python were to trace the roots of their art, they end up here. Potter is a brilliant, dry wit, and understatedly so. This is the only book I know where the text reads itself in a British accent.
Potter teaches the sometimes-subtle art of "one-upmanship", expanding on a philosophy dedicated to winning in sport and applying it to life at large. In one thousand years, Potter's The Theory and Practice of Gamesmanship will stand alongside Sun-Tzu's The Art of War, Machiavelli's The Prince, and Musashi's The Book of Five Rings as the crowning socio-literary achievements their respective nations have given to the world.
January 7, 2023
What I especially liked was all the fake references to other books, pamphlets, authorities- droll
August 25, 2025
Quite interesting, quite witty.
February 6, 2017
This is a very tongue in cheek book about gamesmanship. Or how to win without actually cheating.
It was written in the late 40s and it's pretty absurd in a proto-Monty Python way.
It does however have some serious points to make about getting the upper hand without being obvious. Many of the examples are clever but there's always a germ of truth in them.
Despite the content, I just couldn't give it more than three stars. Glad I read it though.
It was written in the late 40s and it's pretty absurd in a proto-Monty Python way.
It does however have some serious points to make about getting the upper hand without being obvious. Many of the examples are clever but there's always a germ of truth in them.
Despite the content, I just couldn't give it more than three stars. Glad I read it though.
July 11, 2024
Концентрированная доза всего английского: сатирическая книжка 1947 года о нечестных способах выигрывать в гольфе и многочисленных других играх, одна из первых в жанре псевдобизнес-литературы. В отзывах отмечают, что ее популярность могла объясняться в том числе ностальгией по старой довоенной Англии, когда джентльмены могли считать свои любительскими занятия спортом важнейшими вещами в жизни.
Цитаты:
«Do not attempt to irritate partner by spending too long looking for your lost ball. This is unsporting. But good gamesmanship which is also very good sportsmanship can be practised if the gamesman makes a great and irritatingly prolonged parade of spending extra time looking for his opponent’s ball.»
«His plan was simple. If he found, at the club-house, that his opponent was rather humbly dressed, he would wear the smart outfit. If the conditions were reversed, out would come the frayed pin-stripe trousers, the stringy clubs, and the fair-isle sweater.»
«At Oxford, though never a blue, I used to wear a blue’s tie – particularly when playing games against nicemen who knew I had no right to wear the honour. This simple trick, which is said by psychologists to induce the ‘pseudo-schizophrenic syndrome’, or doubt, was most effective in moving-ball games.»
«Better than ten books on the theory of bridge are the ten minutes a day spent in practising how to deal. A startlingly practised-looking deal has a hypnotic effect on opponents.»
«In general, the rule holds – LET YOUR ATTITUDE BE THE ANTITHESIS OF YOUR OPPONENT’S; and let your manner of emphasizing this different attitude put him in the wrong.»
Цитаты:
«Do not attempt to irritate partner by spending too long looking for your lost ball. This is unsporting. But good gamesmanship which is also very good sportsmanship can be practised if the gamesman makes a great and irritatingly prolonged parade of spending extra time looking for his opponent’s ball.»
«His plan was simple. If he found, at the club-house, that his opponent was rather humbly dressed, he would wear the smart outfit. If the conditions were reversed, out would come the frayed pin-stripe trousers, the stringy clubs, and the fair-isle sweater.»
«At Oxford, though never a blue, I used to wear a blue’s tie – particularly when playing games against nicemen who knew I had no right to wear the honour. This simple trick, which is said by psychologists to induce the ‘pseudo-schizophrenic syndrome’, or doubt, was most effective in moving-ball games.»
«Better than ten books on the theory of bridge are the ten minutes a day spent in practising how to deal. A startlingly practised-looking deal has a hypnotic effect on opponents.»
«In general, the rule holds – LET YOUR ATTITUDE BE THE ANTITHESIS OF YOUR OPPONENT’S; and let your manner of emphasizing this different attitude put him in the wrong.»
July 7, 2018
Potter gives an introduction to winning games despite lesser skill without being unsporting. This is done either by winning the mental game, such as by putting the opponent on edge or dissecting their form. If that fails, one can fall back to trying to win the gamesgame (winning despite losing, by convincing the opponent that you are the superior player but lost for a fluke, or by winning the favor of the spectators, etc). Potter gives the example of how he has never won a chess match, but is considered to be an excellent player by his friends. He does this by, for example, resigning a few moves into the game saying "well, I suppose I have no choice to resign. You'll take my queen in 16 moves... my rook in 20. Unless you sacrifice your bishop... well you'd never do that. Good game."
It's humorous and clever, and I am excited to try a few gamesmanship gambits the next time I have an opportunity. I read it because it's old and offbeat. It's a very quick read with lots of nice illustrations. Not extraordinary but good. If the title and subject matter grabs you, and if you can get a free copy, I'd suggest you read it. Otherwise you're not missing out if you skip it.
It's humorous and clever, and I am excited to try a few gamesmanship gambits the next time I have an opportunity. I read it because it's old and offbeat. It's a very quick read with lots of nice illustrations. Not extraordinary but good. If the title and subject matter grabs you, and if you can get a free copy, I'd suggest you read it. Otherwise you're not missing out if you skip it.
January 12, 2025
Successful “Gamesman” Stephen Potter takes us through the “ploys” of Gamesmanship, the “art of winning without actually cheating”, via a series of anecdotes and illustrated demonstrations presented as a faux peer-reviewed text book.
It’s a one-joke premise of course, but beautifully sustained throughout, and robust enough to support a number of follow-up books (“Lifemanship”, “One-upmanship”, “Supermanship”, even “Christmas-ship”), a classic comedy film in “School For Scoundrels” (1960) with Alistair Sim and Terry-Thomas (itself rather less successfully remade in the US in 2006) and a BBC TV series from 1974-78…
It’s a slim volume, and more full of chuckles than belly laughs, but most sports players will enjoy a wry smile at some of the gambits described, such as “Losemanship”, the ability to lose in such a way that any observers, and indeed the victor themselves, might be left in doubt as to the actual outcome. I also especially enjoy the frequent references to other supposedly legendary Gamesmen such as “F. Meynell”, “H. Farjeon”, and (my favourite) “G. Odoreida.”
A somewhat dated pleasure, but a fond one nonetheless.
It’s a one-joke premise of course, but beautifully sustained throughout, and robust enough to support a number of follow-up books (“Lifemanship”, “One-upmanship”, “Supermanship”, even “Christmas-ship”), a classic comedy film in “School For Scoundrels” (1960) with Alistair Sim and Terry-Thomas (itself rather less successfully remade in the US in 2006) and a BBC TV series from 1974-78…
It’s a slim volume, and more full of chuckles than belly laughs, but most sports players will enjoy a wry smile at some of the gambits described, such as “Losemanship”, the ability to lose in such a way that any observers, and indeed the victor themselves, might be left in doubt as to the actual outcome. I also especially enjoy the frequent references to other supposedly legendary Gamesmen such as “F. Meynell”, “H. Farjeon”, and (my favourite) “G. Odoreida.”
A somewhat dated pleasure, but a fond one nonetheless.
November 24, 2017
Almost as funny as it used to be. It was a huge bestseller in 1947 and it still sells today. In a way I think it fits in with English middle-class feelings of insecurity after the Second World War, with the welfare state and trade-union power building up around them. Ignore it all and play croquet as slily as possible.
March 20, 2021
The humor of this book might have worked well in England in the 1940s and -50s, but it mostly fell flat on me. I like the premise of treating gamesmanship as a competitive event in its own right, but not enough to sustain the whole book.
August 27, 2017
Klein maar fijn! Boekje barst van de ironie, is fictieve non-fictie. Psychologisch scherpe analyses ook en heel herkenbare situaties 😃
September 10, 2017
Despite being 70 years old, it could have been written this morning. Hilarious.
April 30, 2018
Funny and quick read!
August 7, 2018
Not as delightful as it was when I was 10, but what is? Still, as a satirical guide for combining immaculate politeness, Machiavelli, and applying them to fundamentally trivial matters, it excels.
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October 9, 2021Read this because it was Marlon Brando's favorite book.
January 1, 2023
Very British.
August 28, 2024
Definitely of its time. I always find that books written at this period seem to be written with a whole different set of reference points, they seem to be written in another language
September 16, 2024
Seems like an instruction guide on how to be a horrible person
November 30, 2024
Fantastic! It’s a classic but well worth the time for anyone who plays or has an interest in sports
September 17, 2021
This type of book doesn't exist anymore. Dry humour at its best.
November 25, 2017
Full review and highlights at https://books.max-nova.com/gamesmanship
Bruce Boyer put me onto this little gem with a mention in his sartorially sardonic "True Style". "The Theory And Practice Of Gamesmanship" is a wickedly dry satire dressed up as a self-help manual. Published in 1953 by British Gamesman Stephen Potter, this tiny book covers all phases of a game, from the pre-game disorientation with bad driving directions to "luncheonship" and "losemanship" (how to win, even if you lose). It's classic understated British wit through and through. I laughed out loud a few times and this book is going to make it into a few of my fellow gamesmans' stockings this Christmas.
Bruce Boyer put me onto this little gem with a mention in his sartorially sardonic "True Style". "The Theory And Practice Of Gamesmanship" is a wickedly dry satire dressed up as a self-help manual. Published in 1953 by British Gamesman Stephen Potter, this tiny book covers all phases of a game, from the pre-game disorientation with bad driving directions to "luncheonship" and "losemanship" (how to win, even if you lose). It's classic understated British wit through and through. I laughed out loud a few times and this book is going to make it into a few of my fellow gamesmans' stockings this Christmas.
February 8, 2009
Stephen Potter was all the rage in the late 1950s, and there was a film based on his books starring Terry Thomas. Leslie Philips and co. They are all about how to manipulate people and put them down. I thought the book a bit too small-minded, sadistic and sour for my taste. Machiavelli rewritten for the golf club. Indeed, the makers of the film seem to have shared my opinion, coming off the manipulation at the end in favour of such values as generosity, honesty etc, just so the film could have a happy ending.
May 16, 2011
While his subsequent books didn't delight me as much as this one, Gamesmanship is a hilarious send up of British theories of sports. Or something. It's not like I know great examples of the thing he's spoofing, but he's so good at it. The "Art of Winning Games without Actually Cheating" doesn't begin to get at the various methods--and the absolutely delightful names of said methods--for getting into your opponents head. Light, and oh, so much fun. Loved it.
September 15, 2015
This is very funny. Gamesmanship, or more fully, The Theory and Practice of Gamesmanship: or, The Art of Winning Games without Actually Cheating, is all about interrupting the flow of your opponent while maintaining all the aspects of good sportsmanship. For example, if you can't return volleys in tennis, Potter counsels you to wear velvet socks. Click here for a sample.
November 21, 2014
I enjoyed this when I first read it back in the 70's and it is just as good re-reading it today. Of course a lot of it is considerably dated, but I think it alongside "1066 and all that" should be part of the school curriculum - helping people to understand what was a key part of British culture around the time of the two wars.
October 19, 2016
The book passes as humour for most but the fact of the matter is, I personally take it very seriously. I think the advice contained therein is useful in games as it is in all matters of life. If you play any type of game competitively, and we all do, then the tricks in this book can prove most convenient if not for winning, at least to make the opponent lose.
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December 31, 2009I encountered this book in my mid-teens, when I haunted the library in order to avoid bullying (by faculty mostly) at school. I thought it quite funny, but I fear some people have taken it all too seriously.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews