The Game must be the simplest game in the world. It all comes down to: "the moment you think about it, you lose". Psychology for beginners: try very hard not to think about something and you will think about it.

A player who loses The Game by thinking about it is obliged to state out loud that he has lost. One version says that all other players in the vicinity lose as well, other versions give other players a short amount of time - ten minutes or half an hour, the rules are vague - to forget about The Game again. Whichever version is played, for the losers not all is lost: the moment that The Game is out of their head again, they are playing it once more.

In the US and UK The Game is, mainly in schools and university, a modest hype. In Brazil, Australia and Japan, more and more youngsters follow. Nearer to us, The Game is starting to appear as well - slowly at the moment, but unstoppable all the same. The first rule determines that whoever knows of The Game, is playing it - so there's no escaping it.

In the UK, fanatics have developed several strategies to make their fellow players lose. They write "The Game" in big letters on the chalkboard in front of the class, they hide little notes saying that the founder of the note has lost. The ultimate strategy is, of course, to remind the competition of The Game as often as possible, without being reminded of it yourself.

But every victory is short, for it is always temporary. Ultimate victory does not exist, The Game never ends. Even for expert players, it is not known what the origins of The Game are. On the internet, several websites are dedicated to finding those origins.

Those of you who were not paying close attention might have missed it, but there can be no misunderstanding about it: all those who have read this article, play The Game now, whether you like it or not. Sorry.