Contents

 

Foreword xi
  1. People’s Protective Bubbles Are Okay    3
  2. How to Make Friends in a New City    4
  3. The Uniqlo Game    6
  4. Going to the Gym    7
  5. How to Be Good at Playing Charades    9
  6. Don’t Pretend There Is No Leader    12
  7. The Chairs Are Where the People Go    15
  8. How to Teach Charades    17
  9. Miscommunication Is Nice    20
  10. The Gibberish Game    21
  11. The Residents’ Association    23
  12. There Are Some Games I Won’t Play with My
    Friends    36
  13. Social Music    37
  14. Manners    39
  15. How to Improvise, and How Not to Not Improvise    42
  16. The Crazy Parts    46
  17. Charging for My Classes   48
  18. What Is a Game?   50
  19. Spam   51
  20. Margaux    55
  21. Charades Homework    56
  22. Harvard and Class    59
  23. The Rocks Game    66
  24. Some Video on the Internet    68
  25. People Who Take My Classes 70
  26. Shut Up and Listen 71
  27. Is Monogamy a Trick?    72
  28. The Conducting Game    75
  29. Sitting on the Same Side of the Table    78
  30. Seeing My Friends Drunk for the First Time    81
  31. A Decision Is a Thing You Make    84
  32. All the Games Are Meant to Solve Problems, but Problems
    Are     Unpleasant    89
  33. Home Maladies    90
  34. Keeping Away People Who Would Be Disappointed    92
  35. The Happiness Class    93
  36. 36. The Converge / Diverge Game    98
  37. Going to Parties    101
  38. Kensington Market    103
  39. Keeping People Quiet    108
  40. Feeling Like a Fraud    110
  41. Negotiation    111
  42. Fighting Games    113
  43. What Experimental Music Is For    118
  44. These Projects Don’t Make Money    119
  45. Seeing Your Parents Once a Week   122
  46. Asking a Good Question    123
  47. A Mind Is Not a Terrible Thing to Measure    125
  48. Doing One Thing Doesn’t Mean You’re Against Something
    Else   128
  49. Get Louder or Quit    129
  50. Why Robert McKee Is Wrong About Casablanca   130
  51. Conferences Should Be an Exhilarating Experience   132
  52. Improvised Behavior   139
  53. Storytelling Is Not the Same Thing as Conversation    140
  54. Introducing People in the Classes   141
  55. Making the City More Fun for You and Your Privileged
    Friends Isn’t a Super-Noble Political Goal    143
  56. Seeing John Zorn Play Cobra    145
  57. Impostor Syndrome    148
  58. Nimbyism    149
  59. Conducting from the Center of a Circle    151
  60. Why Noise Music?   153
  61. Absenteeism   154
  62. Failure and Games    155
  63. Why a Computer Only Lasts Three Years    156
  64. What Are These Classes For?   157
  65. Who Are Your Friends?   159
  66. Neighborhoods Change    160
  67. Atheism and Ritual    162
  68. Social Capital    164
  69. Sitting Down and Listening as a Role    165
  70. Everyone’s Favorite Thing and Unfavorite Thing Are
    Different    167
  71. Finding an Ending    168
  72. Wearing a Suit All the Time Is a Good Way to Quit
    Smoking   169
Acknowledgments   175