The Six Games Deep Dive

Introduction

The Six Games are modes of coordination and cognition, not personality types, not career ladders, and not moral rankings. Each game answers a different question about how humans orient, act, learn, improve, make meaning, and connect.

Most frustration comes from mixing games, playing the wrong one for the season you're in, or being evaluated by the rules of a different game than the one you're actually playing.

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The Six Games

G1 — Identity / Canon

Question: Who should people become—and who should they study?

Creates: Lineage, taste, belonging Outputs: Heroes, texts, archetypes, norms Value: Authority through curation, trust through consistency

Roles: Curator, canon-builder, tradition-keeper

Failure modes:

• Dogmatism
• Gatekeeping
• Rejecting valid outside perspectives

Key insight: G1 stabilizes identity after exploration. Starting here too early freezes growth.

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G2 — Idea Mining

Question: What can we extract and apply right now?

Creates: Actionable insights, portable tactics Outputs: Plays, frameworks, how-tos Value: Compression (long → short), transfer (then → now)

Roles: Extractor, translator, tactical advisor

Failure modes:

• Vague inspiration
• Shallow remixing
• Loss of concreteness

Key insight: G2 is exploration and scavenging. It feeds everything—but cannot stand alone.

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G3 — Model Building

Question: How does this actually work?

Creates: Understanding, explanatory coherence Outputs: Models, maps, causal structures Value: Reduced confusion, better reasoning

Roles: Systems thinker, model-builder, framework designer

Failure modes:

• Over-abstraction
• Detachment from reality
• Analysis paralysis

Key insight: High G3 produces clarity—and eventually ego death when clarity exceeds direction.

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G4 — Performance / Coaching

Question: How do you get better results?

Creates: Measurable improvement over time Outputs: Practice systems, feedback loops, coaching Value: Capability building, transformation

Roles: Coach, trainer, performance optimizer

Failure modes:

• Generic advice
• Loss of accountability
• Optimizing the wrong goal

Key insight: G4 converts understanding into embodied skill—but without values, it drifts.

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G5 — Meaning / Sensemaking (Emergent)

Question: What does this mean for how I want to live?

Creates: Orientation, coherence, values clarity Outputs: Narrative, interpretation, reflection Value: Emotional grounding, direction in uncertainty

Roles: Sensemaker, interpreter, philosopher

Failure modes:

• Vague therapy
• Spiritual bypassing
• Loss of rigor

Key insight: G5 is not chosen—it emerges. It acts as a values-based attractor that filters G4 practices and determines G6 alignment.

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G6 — Network / Coordination

Question: Who should be connected—and how?

Creates: Trust transfer, collaboration, coordination Outputs: Communities, introductions, orchestrated work Value: Access, leverage through network position

Roles: Connector, matchmaker, community architect

Failure modes:

• Shallow networking
• Status optimization
• Coordination without depth

Key insight: Healthy G6 depends on G5 filtering. Without it, networks implode.

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Core Principles

These Are Not Personality Types

You can play different games in different contexts. Skill in one game does not predict skill in another.

High G2 does not imply G5 depth. High G3 does not imply G4 effectiveness.

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Most People Play Too Many Games Poorly

Platforms fragment attention across games:

• G2 snippets
• G3 abstractions
• G5 vibes
• G6 status

The result: shallow competence everywhere, mastery nowhere.

Better to play one game well than four games badly.

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The Natural Progressions

• G2 exploration → G3 model building → G4 deliberate practice
• G3 coherence → ego death → G1 identity re-formation
• Sufficient development → G5 values attractor → G6 network integration

Understanding the progression prevents stagnation.

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Developmental Seasons (How the Games Show Up Over Time)

Season 1 — Explorer (G2 → early G3)

"I need more inputs."

• Consumes widely
• Collects tactics
• Samples many domains

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Season 2 — Synthesizer (Developing G3)

"I'm seeing patterns."

• Consumes frameworks
• Builds models
• Reduces confusion

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Season 3 — Crisis (High G3 → Ego Death)

"I see everything but can't choose." The Hitchhiker Threshold

• Old identities break
• Direction collapses
• Consumption either stops or spikes chaotically

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Season 4 — Practitioner (Post-Crisis G4)

"I need to practice, not think."

• Seeks coaching
• Commits to routines
• Builds capability

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Season 5 — Aligner (Emergent G5)

"This works—but is it right for me?"

• Values become active filters
• Repulsion from misaligned success
• Attraction to specific people and practices

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Season 6 — Coordinator (G5 → G6)

"I want to build with others."

• Stops consuming content
• Consumes people
• Coordinates aligned work

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Diagnostic: What You Consume Reveals Your Season

• Explorer: tactics, many sources
• Synthesizer: models, frameworks
• Crisis: existential content or nothing
• Practitioner: coaching, training systems
• Aligner: values clarification, reflection
• Coordinator: conversations, collaborators

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Why Starting With G1 Is a Trap

Canon without exploration becomes brittle. Identity must be earned through traversal, not adopted upfront.

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Why High G3 Forces G1 Flexibility

When models outgrow identity, ego collapses. Survival requires returning to G1—but this time with humility and permeability.

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Conclusion

The Six Games are not a ladder. They are a coordination ecology.

Knowing which game you're in—and which one comes next—is the first step to playing well.