Finite and Infinite Games

Systems thinking

Life is an infinite game. We should stop playing it like a finite one.

  • The rules of the finite game may not change; the rules of an infinite game must change.
  • Finite players play within boundaries; infinite players play with boundaries.
  • Finite players are serious; infinite games are playful.
  • A finite player plays to be powerful; an infinite player plays with strength.
  • A finite player consumes time; an infinite player generates time.
  • The finite player aims for eternal life; the infinite player aims for eternal birth.
  • The choice is yours.

via Finite and Infinite Games – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.


Ed Dowding

Ed Dowding

Founder, strategist, writer, gadfly, TED talker, world-record holder, and (foolishly) reality-TV farmer. DOES: Innovation, Product, Advocacy THINKS: Regenerative Systems, Institution design, 300 year horizons

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