What is even game anymore in 2026 and beyond ♾️?!

[mellow_yellow]

From what I observe, things are ultra-competitive across the board, not just in the dating realm. It's difficult finding a well-paying job you can build a career into. It's equally, if not more difficult, to find a decent woman to date and get into a long-term relationship with. Everything is fleeting; everything is transactional where the value must be exchanged at that moment or else it's worthless.

I've read many threads talking about the current state of society along with how entitled and unrealistic women are...yet it lines up with my experience of how women changed for the worst once social media really took off. Yes, of course we know that women will always behave as women so that won't ever change as the biology never changes. However, a man today has to put up with a LOT more yet is still expected to maintain his cool, which I think is absurdly unreasonable. Sure, you can "walk away" as a man, but that isn't effective unless you are the highest value male in that woman's eyes; she could care less when she's getting DMed by an endless supply many thirsty simps ALONG WITH the Chads she's pursuing. The modern woman has no lack of options regardless of how awful she may be.

So here's where I pose my question: WHAT IS EVEN GAME ANYMORE? The Old Testament of the DJ Bible is obsolete. We desperately have needed a New Testament that can address this intense short attention-span, late-stage capitalistic game within society. And we as a community haven't figured it out. I want your thoughts. I want your proposed solutions.

Here's what I understand:

• Women, as a whole, will no longer give a man a chance unless he's already established with great looks, great career, and great social life. You need all 3 or extremely strong 2 that offset the weakest of the 3. You must be a 'perfect product' that meets her needs right here, right now or she goes, "NEXT!"
• It's harder than ever for an individual man to become stable and established as the economy sputters from not properly dealing with the 2008 Financial Crisis and addressing U.S. national debt ($38.5 trillion, which will never be paid off). Right now, impossible to find any decent job across all sectors.
• Because women's standards are so high from holding unrealistic expectations, many men are giving up in life as they don't have anything to live for. The statistics show that the majority of men are sexless and turning into incels, our modern-day American herbivore men just like what they have in Japan. I feel bad for Gen Z men and younger...at least I got some experience in my 20s.
• You can't criticize women for their double standards as they call you a racist, anti-LGBTQ+/gender-fluid misogynist + any other names they can think of.
• Woman complain about F*ck Boys yet they keep f*cking them because that's what turns them on. Biology > Proper, Social Gender Norms
• Dating apps are worthless since it's all about maxing out SMV like I said above. Approaching in real life is better, of course, but difficult to sustain the meetups with the girl.
• Cold approaches are far less effective because now people, especially women, don't like meeting strangers and are socially anxious.
• We're in a social deadlock where women don't know how to be approached, men don't know how to approach, dating apps are complete sh*t, and many people are having trouble getting ahead in life.

Besides the men who have their entire lives together with high-*ss SMVs, how are men surviving and dating in this environment? This upside down, clown world will eventually collapse, but it's taking way longer than expected. In the meantime, how are you boys handling this new game? I don't plan on ever getting married. I will ride the pony of society as a horseman until it collapses into the ground.

 

[Clockwerk50]

This post touches on a lot of different topics and opinions, which makes it hard to find a single, clean angle to respond to.

That said, using your job market analogy, it’s usually easier to move laterally or upward when you already have experience and are currently employed. Dating works in a similar way. It’s generally easier to meet and date new women when you already have some dating experience momentum and a girl, and over time, you can move up in SMV brackets. To get there, though, standards often need to be lowered a bit at first, and you have to give a chance to women who are actually giving you the time of days since, more often than not, men date within their bracket or slightly down, while women tend to date up.

What I usually don’t understand, and this is more about opinion and how I frame things, is why men hate and blame women so much for how the dating game has changed. Instead of bowing out, why don’t they just break a few hearts in the process, just like real players do, if they have such strong animosity toward women?

 

[Bible_Belt]

We started killing education 25 years ago, and now, suprise!, everyone's a moron. We graduate illiterate kids. The typical American reads at about a 5th grade level. And that's an average 5th grader, not a smart one.

Young people are also not taught critical thinking skills or god forbid exposed to constructive criticism. Everyone can't be a winner, but we tell kids the opposite.

Give it ten more years and chatgpt will have accelerated these problems. Whatever passes for homework these days, they don't even have to do that themselves. Their chat bots will always tell them they are great. You're a winner because everyone else is too.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

What is love? Baby don't hurt me...don't hurt me...no more....

 

[Bokanovsky]

• Cold approaches are far less effective because now people, especially women, don't like meeting strangers and are socially anxious.
• We're in a social deadlock where women don't know how to be approached, men don't know how to approach, dating apps are complete sh*t, and many people are having trouble getting ahead in life.

This is spot on.

I will add that even men with seemingly high SMV (i.e. decently good looking and financially successful) are often struggling due to a lack of effective avenues for meeting women.

 

[Bokanovsky]

We started killing education 25 years ago, and now, suprise!, everyone's a moron. We graduate illiterate kids. The typical American reads at about a 5th grade level. And that's an average 5th grader, not a smart one.

Young people are also not taught critical thinking skills or god forbid exposed to constructive criticism. Everyone can't be a winner, but we tell kids the opposite.

Give it ten more years and chatgpt will have accelerated these problems. Whatever passes for homework these days, they don't even have to do that themselves. Their chat bots will always tell them they are great. You're a winner because everyone else is too.

We started killing education long before 2006. The education system was highjacked to left-wing nutjobs in the 1960's or possibly even earlier. They went after post-secondary education first, followed by primary and secondary. Look at old photos and videos of college students from the 1950's and earlier eras. Read old books and magazine articles that describe college life. It's incredible that our overlords have managed to dumb down young people to such an extent. We may well be witnessing the beginnings of the reversal of human evolution.

 

[Gamisch]

Bruh...

Game is literally a book series that can go on for 1000 episodes, 10000 pages per book.

Game = endless. Game = you being the absolute best version you can be, combined with extensive experience and knowledge about women, money, fitness, bizz, other men, friendships taste, social dynamics ect.

It will NEVER be about women . Women are just surface level outcomes of Game.


This is like asking " how to become rich". What's rich?

 

[Divorced w 3]

Game hasn’t changed since caveman days. You find a reason to speak, look into her eyes and smile. Works equally well when trying to get a table night of.

 

[MatureDJ]

From what I observe, things are ultra-competitive across the board, not just in the dating realm. It's difficult finding a well-paying job you can build a career into. It's equally, if not more difficult, to find a decent woman to date and get into a long-term relationship with. Everything is fleeting; everything is transactional where the value must be exchanged at that moment or else it's worthless.

I've read many threads talking about the current state of society along with how entitled and unrealistic women are...yet it lines up with my experience of how women changed for the worst once social media really took off. Yes, of course we know that women will always behave as women so that won't ever change as the biology never changes. However, a man today has to put up with a LOT more yet is still expected to maintain his cool, which I think is absurdly unreasonable. Sure, you can "walk away" as a man, but that isn't effective unless you are the highest value male in that woman's eyes; she could care less when she's getting DMed by an endless supply many thirsty simps ALONG WITH the Chads she's pursuing. The modern woman has no lack of options regardless of how awful she may be.

So here's where I pose my question: WHAT IS EVEN GAME ANYMORE? The Old Testament of the DJ Bible is obsolete. We desperately have needed a New Testament that can address this intense short attention-span, late-stage capitalistic game within society. And we as a community haven't figured it out. I want your thoughts. I want your proposed solutions.

Here's what I understand:

• Women, as a whole, will no longer give a man a chance unless he's already established with great looks, great career, and great social life. You need all 3 or extremely strong 2 that offset the weakest of the 3. You must be a 'perfect product' that meets her needs right here, right now or she goes, "NEXT!"
• It's harder than ever for an individual man to become stable and established as the economy sputters from not properly dealing with the 2008 Financial Crisis and addressing U.S. national debt ($38.5 trillion, which will never be paid off). Right now, impossible to find any decent job across all sectors.
• Because women's standards are so high from holding unrealistic expectations, many men are giving up in life as they don't have anything to live for. The statistics show that the majority of men are sexless and turning into incels, our modern-day American herbivore men just like what they have in Japan. I feel bad for Gen Z men and younger...at least I got some experience in my 20s.
• You can't criticize women for their double standards as they call you a racist, anti-LGBTQ+/gender-fluid misogynist + any other names they can think of.
• Woman complain about F*ck Boys yet they keep f*cking them because that's what turns them on. Biology > Proper, Social Gender Norms
• Dating apps are worthless since it's all about maxing out SMV like I said above. Approaching in real life is better, of course, but difficult to sustain the meetups with the girl.
• Cold approaches are far less effective because now people, especially women, don't like meeting strangers and are socially anxious.
• We're in a social deadlock where women don't know how to be approached, men don't know how to approach, dating apps are complete sh*t, and many people are having trouble getting ahead in life.

Besides the men who have their entire lives together with high-*ss SMVs, how are men surviving and dating in this environment? This upside down, clown world will eventually collapse, but it's taking way longer than expected. In the meantime, how are you boys handling this new game? I don't plan on ever getting married. I will ride the pony of society as a horseman until it collapses into the ground.

IOW, it's OVER for HumanCels.

 

[Solomon]

OP your observations are spot on, I've said it before: the new game is all about lifestyle.Sure, your mouthpiece, that slick charisma, is still crucial. But if you've got your stuff together as a guy, you're already smoking 80% of your competition.What do I mean by lifestyle?

• Living in a sleek apartment smack in a target-rich zone, where opportunities swarm like bees to honey.
• Dressing like a 1996 Polo model straight out of the catalog (kidding, but you catch my drift, timeless, sharp, and turning heads).
• Rolling in a vehicle that's five years old or newer no rust-bucket clunkers cramping your style.
• Building a killer social circle that amplifies your vibe.

You don't have to be a millionaire you don't have to be rich, but depending on your area your comptiton may be weaker than you think, as you mentoned it's harder to become finacially stable, you have a lot of guys even on here that don't even have the funds to go on a date (if a $100 or even $50 will set you back you have bigger fish to fry than dating)

Overall the game is tougher but the cream will always rise to the top, I think, dating now is and has been for the last decade or a bit longer in a "niche" area. If you can find your niche, whether it be arts, sports, anime etc there are always women in those communities/hobbies. It's always been work, now it's just more work. Online dating has made everyone complacent and lazy to a point.

Personally, while complaints are valid, what you gonna do, go on grinder???

I think the tides are turning men are tired of women's crap, eventually, there will be a major shift back to the center again. I'm optimistic for the future but it's going to be crappy for a little bit before we get there

 

[Manure Spherian]

Sure, you can "walk away" as a man,

Few men can actually walk away from women because even womanless men yearn for women. They might have given up on being with women, but the anger, sadness, and loneliness from lack of women is still there.

• Cold approaches are far less effective because now people, especially women, don't like meeting strangers and are socially anxious.
• We're in a social deadlock where women don't know how to be approached, men don't know how to approach, dating apps are complete sh*t, and many people are having trouble getting ahead in life.

Hardly any couples ever met from cold approaching anyway.

 

[TheGambino]

You guys forget about IoIs. A woman will give you a hint, look in your eyes, smile, looking more often, glancing. It means im interested come and talk to me. Then You go talk and see if it clicks and number close her or keep talking if your in a social avenue like a bar or a coffee shop.
If Your dont get enough IoIs it means your fat, unhappy, not confident enough so you just need to work on yourself. Women feel your vibe.

This is the best way.

 

[BillyPilgrim]

Game hasn’t changed since caveman days. You find a reason to speak, look into her eyes and smile. Works equally well when trying to get a table night of.

Game is about being smooth, always has been and always will be.

 

[We_ArE_VeNOM]

• Cold approaches are far less effective because now people, especially women, don't like meeting strangers and are socially anxious.
• We're in a social deadlock where women don't know how to be approached, men don't know how to approach, dating apps are complete sh*t, and many people are having trouble getting ahead in life.

Respectfully, this is bullshiit.

I honestly don't believe that men who share these^ sentiments, are men who are actually out in the field trying to make shiit happen.

If you ain't out there attempting to make shiit happen for yourself; by actually putting in the work and gaining the experience to be able to come on here to share your knowledge, insight, and wisdom on the situation...then you simply don't know shiit.

All you have is theory.

I don't mean you personally (unless it applies to you), but generally speaking.

If you ain't out there putting in work, you don't know shiit.

 

[BaronOfHair]

The definition of "game"(just like the definitions of The Red Pill or Being Woke)has ALWAYS been less precise than typical drone strike in Afghanistan or/and Yemen was

It's wise to get rid of all that gobbledygook, start thinking in Plain Language

 

[Barrister]

I’m venturing that there has been a contingent of men throughout human history who have always claimed that “game” is changing or “women are so different now than they used to be back then.” The truth is that while there might be some changes, they’re overall very minor. At their core, women are who they always have been. They want security, and they’ll use any tool to get it they can.

Most of us despise social media with good reason, and it certainly has changed things for the worse for both men and women, but in the end it’s just another tool women are using to exert their influence to obtain security. Women are no different now than they ever were, and the same things that attracted them to men 20, 30, or 100 years ago are the same things that attract them now. Social proof, charisma, confidence, etc.

EDIT: I also strongly disagree on OP’s position on cold approaching. I find it to be the opposite that many women enjoy a good cold approach as well as you know what you’re doing — even if they’re taken.

 

[Cheeky_James]

OP your observations are spot on, I've said it before: the new game is all about lifestyle.Sure, your mouthpiece, that slick charisma, is still crucial. But if you've got your stuff together as a guy, you're already smoking 80% of your competition.What do I mean by lifestyle?

• Living in a sleek apartment smack in a target-rich zone, where opportunities swarm like bees to honey.
• Dressing like a 1996 Polo model straight out of the catalog (kidding, but you catch my drift, timeless, sharp, and turning heads).
• Rolling in a vehicle that's five years old or newer no rust-bucket clunkers cramping your style.
• Building a killer social circle that amplifies your vibe.

You don't have to be a millionaire you don't have to be rich, but depending on your area your comptiton may be weaker than you think, as you mentoned it's harder to become finacially stable, you have a lot of guys even on here that don't even have the funds to go on a date (if a $100 or even $50 will set you back you have bigger fish to fry than dating)

Overall the game is tougher but the cream will always rise to the top, I think, dating now is and has been for the last decade or a bit longer in a "niche" area. If you can find your niche, whether it be arts, sports, anime etc there are always women in those communities/hobbies. It's always been work, now it's just more work. Online dating has made everyone complacent and lazy to a point.

Personally, while complaints are valid, what you gonna do, go on grinder???

I think the tides are turning men are tired of women's crap, eventually, there will be a major shift back to the center again. I'm optimistic for the future but it's going to be crappy for a little bit before we get there

but what about pickup in bars and clubs for quick SNL nookie? Things like apartment, vehicle and bank balance lifestyle stuff can’t be assessed thoroughly there really tbh.
Just wondering btw not nitpicking.

For bars and clubs nowadays, is it ‘all over’ for younger guys?

I’m an older guy who moved out of those environs quite a while ago. And now re entering them…so a few things have changed.
First problem is finding age appropriate venues for me… hey I’d like the ripe young ones.. but that’s a tough game.

 

[Solomon]

but what about pickup in bars and clubs for quick SNL nookie? Things like apartment, vehicle and bank balance lifestyle stuff can’t be assessed thoroughly there really tbh.
Just wondering btw not nitpicking.

For bars and clubs nowadays, is it ‘all over’ for younger guys?

I’m an older guy who moved out of those environs quite a while ago. And now re entering them…so a few things have changed.
First problem is finding age appropriate venues for me… hey I’d like the ripe young ones.. but that’s a tough game.

I'm your age I don't bother with clubs/bars anymore don't care for the hangovers and trying to keep my health in check.
But for bar/club/game for SNL it's primarily about your aesthetics, looks etc
If you going for young women and want hot ones you gotta be in great shape etc

 

[mellow_yellow]

This post touches on a lot of different topics and opinions, which makes it hard to find a single, clean angle to respond to.

Yes, fair point! I felt like all of these modern developments have fed into the clown world sh*tshow we're in so couldn't avoid not talking about all the these factors.

To answer your question and to hone in, I'm curious how the guys in our community with solid SMV, masculine frame, and game are handling modern women. I hear of decent to top-notch guys struggling to deal with entitled women so men as a whole are all in the same boat. Besides maxing out SMV (looks, money, status) which honestly takes years to half-decades of consistent discipline to achieve, it seems like we have to employ extreme game. I'm talking spinning more than 5 plates and having a rolodex of friends w/ benefits you can text at any time to have fun. It's been talked about how spinning more than 3 plates is already too much when you have work and other personal obligations.

That said, using your job market analogy, it’s usually easier to move laterally or upward when you already have experience and are currently employed. Dating works in a similar way. It’s generally easier to meet and date new women when you already have some dating experience momentum and a girl, and over time, you can move up in SMV brackets. To get there, though, standards often need to be lowered a bit at first, and you have to give a chance to women who are actually giving you the time of days since, more often than not, men date within their bracket or slightly down, while women tend to date up.

Right, that momentum is important. From my experience, once you get a lay or two in, women start sensing you differently and begin to flirt. I don't know if it's due to pheremones or micro-expressions we give off when we're relaxed, but something I've noticed.

What I usually don’t understand, and this is more about opinion and how I frame things, is why men hate and blame women so much for how the dating game has changed. Instead of bowing out, why don’t they just break a few hearts in the process, just like real players do, if they have such strong animosity toward women?

I think I can answer. Women have changed far faster than the classic dating rules of "being a proper gentlemen" (blue pill) so that cognitive dissonance is messing men's mental health up. Men's idea of what it means to be a proper man, learned from culture, doesn't match up with evolutionary biology's real men f*ck because they DGAF mentality. Even for me, I have a hard time evolving into the cold-hearted player in response to how cruel women are, but I'm finally changing because I'm honestly tired of the BS thrown at me since I was a teenager. The concept of "being a bigger person" or "taking it like a man" are over. I believe men have been turning their shoulder on women so women themselves can act like adult men and fend for themselves like a real adult should.

 

[mellow_yellow]

We started killing education 25 years ago, and now, suprise!, everyone's a moron. We graduate illiterate kids. The typical American reads at about a 5th grade level. And that's an average 5th grader, not a smart one.

Young people are also not taught critical thinking skills or god forbid exposed to constructive criticism. Everyone can't be a winner, but we tell kids the opposite.

Give it ten more years and chatgpt will have accelerated these problems. Whatever passes for homework these days, they don't even have to do that themselves. Their chat bots will always tell them they are great. You're a winner because everyone else is too.

Idiocracy is gonna happen. It was a documentary not a comedy. Humans in America are systematically turning into animals that only react to only their primal instincts. Our ability to reason, judge, and abide by a moral code is what makes us human.