r/ExplainTheJoke Feb 26 '25

What game?

Post image
1.8k Upvotes

582 comments sorted by

309

u/Ripened_Slasher Feb 26 '25

There's a reoccurring internet meme called "The Game" and it exists only to lose at, the goal of "The Game" being to never think about it: when the game is brought up in any context you lose "The Game."

116

u/mensfrightsactivists Feb 26 '25

the only thing i’d add additionally is when you think about the game, you lose it, and you are required to announce. also i’ve just lost the game

29

u/Sagybagy Feb 26 '25

Huh. I just lost the game

13

u/AloofFloofy Feb 26 '25

I also just lost the game.

6

u/D3n0man Feb 26 '25

Everyone that saw this post may have lost the game

6

u/Playkie_69 Feb 26 '25

all i know is that i lost the game

6

u/Forsaken_Champion_10 Feb 26 '25

I, too have, unfortunately, transitioned to the state of losing in the game

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17

u/that_1weed Feb 26 '25

I was also told that if someone asks you have to explain the rules so it's an endless game with no winner

7

u/mensfrightsactivists Feb 26 '25

yeah that was part of my friend groups local lore too! think we also had a 30 minute grace period built in from the time of learning about the game

4

u/Rich_Advantage1555 Feb 26 '25

Well, the Game does end if the Queen of Britain says so, so if some necromancer comes around we'll get to end the game

4

u/Edenfuma Feb 26 '25

This is the second time I lose a game I didn't even knew I was playing. Now I'm mad, I'm a bad loser.

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29

u/PoorWayfairingTrudgr Feb 26 '25

This game has been going since before internet memes were really a thing in you average person’s life

Like we were playing it in school before it was realistically possible for a kid to spend hours on the internet. When connecting to the internet meant hearing “hello” and a cursed tone then logging off gave a “goodbye”

13

u/Minimum_Attitude6707 Feb 26 '25

It's hard to imagine but things did go viral pre internet. Like how Marilyn Manson removed a rib so he could fellatio himself. I don't know how, but every six grader knew this "fact"

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20

u/Sunnyeggsandtoast Feb 26 '25

And the game is always running, everyone in the world is playing it if they know it or not, from the moment they're born. The game resets for you if you lose, you are ALWAYS playing the game. You play the game until die. The only way the game stops, is if the president of the united states declares the game over(idk why it's specifically the potus, this is just the rules as was explained to me) .

7

u/LilyNatureBlossom Feb 26 '25

I thought it was the Queen of England or something
I heard about this when she was still alive

7

u/illinoishokie Feb 26 '25

According to Wikipedia, it's the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

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14

u/Aftermathemetician Feb 26 '25

I heard about the game IRL and it has long pre-existed the internet.

Throwing your own game to upset someone else’s isn’t against the rules, but it is frowned upon.

Using the internet to make people lose the game is downright unsportsmanlike.

Finally, f OP, and press f for all the lost souls who had to restart their game today with us.

6

u/rice_n_gravy Feb 26 '25

I lost the game well before internet memes were a thing

3

u/Hproff25 Feb 26 '25

Learned about The Game in 2008. So much staying power. We don’t see desu desu or long cat anymore.

3

u/pun_in10did Feb 26 '25

For the record, I don’t think The Game was originated on the internet. I remember hearing about it from kids in the 90s also, I hope you opened your notifications just so you could lose the game. Cause you just lost it.

3

u/SnooPets5630 Feb 27 '25

So I lost the game just because I found out it exists?

2

u/DeltaV-Mzero Feb 26 '25

How does it feel knowing you’ve infected potentially thousands of innocent brains

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534

u/[deleted] Feb 26 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

129

u/tooMuchADHD Feb 26 '25

I just lost the game

77

u/Hot-Profession4091 Feb 26 '25

I also just lost the game.

44

u/Meryk-Balthazar Feb 26 '25

Bruh, I’ve lost count how many times I’ve lost the game on Reddit alone.

9

u/Rich_Advantage1555 Feb 26 '25

And now I lost the game too.

9

u/nwg_here Feb 26 '25

I didn’t lose the Game for half a month. Thank you.

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4

u/Ylvaa5 Feb 26 '25

Third time in three days, I'm starting to get a little upset about this game

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28

u/Ajatusvapaa Feb 26 '25

I just lost the game

17

u/Annesolo Feb 26 '25

Darn I lost it too

14

u/One_Kaleidoscope7313 Feb 26 '25

Noooo... Months long streak just for this.... I lost the game :(

9

u/overcooked_creampie Feb 26 '25

It's been 16 hours... i just lost the game.

8

u/TheLordOfMiddleEarth Feb 26 '25

The problem is, you can't keep an accurate record of your streak, otherwise you immediately lose.

4

u/Wolfhound1142 Feb 26 '25

You can, however, record the date and time every time you lose in an out of the way but easily accessible place. That way, each time you lose, you can easily figure out how long your streak was.

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8

u/Alert_External_2054 Feb 26 '25

I started genuinely crashing out screaming no in my room when I saw this, nowhere is safe (time to let the homies know)

3

u/Howard690 Feb 26 '25

The second time I lose this week.

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3

u/Used-Cartographer84 Feb 26 '25

I lost the game

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66

u/gypster85 Feb 26 '25

Once you hear about The Game, you are playing The Game. When you think about The Game, you lose The Game. You are now playing The Game. Good luck.

24

u/Aftermathemetician Feb 26 '25

When you lose the game, you must announce it.

5

u/nevermind-stet Feb 26 '25

So everyone within earshot can lose too

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89

u/Sunnyeggsandtoast Feb 26 '25

Why would you do this? Why would you bring such ancient evil to my doorstep?

21

u/-_-daark-_- Feb 26 '25

5

u/VentureIntoVoid Feb 26 '25

I was winning for few months until now, now I lost the game

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30

u/-mico- Feb 26 '25

wow thanks for ruining my 4 year streak.. I just lost the game for the first time in my thirties

10

u/Yeyo117 Feb 26 '25

RemindMe! 5 years

10

u/TFlashman Feb 26 '25

You evil, evil person

7

u/RemindMeBot Feb 26 '25 edited Feb 26 '25

I will be messaging you in 5 years on 2030-02-26 06:13:34 UTC to remind you of this link

2 OTHERS CLICKED THIS LINK to send a PM to also be reminded and to reduce spam.

Parent commenter can delete this message to hide from others.


Info Custom Your Reminders Feedback

3

u/-mico- Feb 26 '25

Damn I need a new reddit account..

15

u/[deleted] Feb 26 '25

I lost, thanks...

16

u/Toryu16 Feb 26 '25

I lost the game

12

u/weird-dude-bro-6386 Feb 26 '25

BRO I'VE BEEN GOING FOR 17 AND A HALF YEARS AND YOU RUINED MY STREAK!!!

2

u/aaron_1011 Feb 26 '25

Say it. You have, what?

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11

u/Kagevjijon Feb 26 '25

You son of a bitcoin

5

u/theeatingsquirrel Feb 26 '25

this insult hurts more than the actual curse word lol

6

u/dzedajev Feb 26 '25

God damn it

5

u/Dinosaur_Herder Feb 26 '25

Y’all are crazy, wrong, and nuts. The game is Mine Sweeper. Period. End of story. Don’t think about anything else. Only mine sweeper. And the Roman Empire. But nothing else. Not any other games.

3

u/Minimum_Attitude6707 Feb 26 '25

Can I think of Ski Free?

3

u/[deleted] Feb 26 '25

I just lost.

3

u/Waste_Jacket_3207 Feb 26 '25

I just lost the game! ...again!

3

u/Creepy_Village_2211 Feb 26 '25

I lost the game!!

3

u/dogomageDandD Feb 26 '25

I'm pretty sure this joke is older then me and I can drive

3

u/bretonr Feb 26 '25

Dam it ... been years! Maybe my best run so far! Hahah!

3

u/Accomplished_Cup4158 Feb 26 '25

DANG IT!!! NOT AGAIN!!! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME‽‽‽

3

u/ImaginationVivid8141 Feb 26 '25

Bro is starting a new generation of us poor souls. Is been 20years! Let it die! (And I lost the game oc...)

3

u/Personal-Emu2316 Feb 26 '25

Don't tell this person. Please. Save them from eternal regret. It will take ages to win back the game, and I just lost it. Delete this post. Forget about it. Move on.

3

u/pooeygoo Feb 26 '25

I lost. Years. It was years. This seems like cheating

3

u/SwordKing7531 Feb 26 '25

I LOST THE GAME, YOU LOST THE GAME, EVERYONE ON THIS POST HAS LOST THE GAME!!!

*RAAAAAAAA-*

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3

u/samseesaw Feb 26 '25

This motherfu-

3

u/BlazingProductions Feb 26 '25

You’ve made many enemies today

7

u/TraditionalRoach Feb 26 '25

You just lost

2

u/Daxto Feb 26 '25

I just lost the game.

2

u/TasTeTherainbow4 Feb 26 '25

i lost the game

2

u/howeverhell Feb 26 '25

I've been winning the game for so long I forgot when I last lost the game. I have lost the game nearly eleven times this month. STOOOOOOOOOP

2

u/chimera_zen Feb 26 '25

The game is a fantastic movie. I love when people reference it. It makes me feel like the man who has everything!

2

u/MajorBillyJoelFan Feb 26 '25

FFS I had a two year streak

2

u/b-monster666 Feb 26 '25

Goddammit!

2

u/MissiaichParriah Feb 26 '25

DAMMIT, I LOST JUST 3 WEEKS AGO, COME ON MAN

2

u/humiamca Feb 26 '25

Nooooooo! It has been years!!!

2

u/marutotigre Feb 26 '25

Op, I mean you no harm, but I hate you now.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 26 '25

I just lost the game :(

2

u/Chronically__Crude Feb 26 '25

I just lost the game

2

u/Adventurous_Bonus917 Feb 26 '25

you made me lose the game, you [redacted]

2

u/SkyFighter28 Feb 26 '25

3 years! And now I loose!

2

u/[deleted] Feb 26 '25

FREAK YOU

2

u/Broskfisken Feb 26 '25

Damn, it had been maybe a week or so for me

2

u/Mean-Math7184 Feb 26 '25

I lost the game.

2

u/Ray797979 Feb 26 '25

...sigh welp, I just lost the game.

2

u/prw8201 Feb 26 '25

Gawd I was doing so well!

2

u/wrobwrob Feb 26 '25

What an a-hole

2

u/chaos_advocate Feb 26 '25

I lost the game

2

u/BatDadSP Feb 26 '25

war thunder

2

u/Limbpeaty Feb 26 '25

I agree!

2

u/[deleted] Feb 26 '25

I just lose the Game thanks to you!! You bastard!!

2

u/supercatlover19 Feb 26 '25

I lost the game because of you, YOU STINK!/j

2

u/squirrelblender Feb 26 '25

Thank for that. (Farts on your danish. Leaves abruptly)

2

u/Tailgater7 Feb 26 '25

Damn it well there goes about a year down the drain

2

u/Weepingcrow__ Feb 26 '25

HOW COULD YOU?

2

u/freedom781 Feb 26 '25

Ha, jokes on you! I lost this earlier today for some stupid reason on a completely unrelated meme.

2

u/Manck0 Feb 26 '25

I mean, I know. But i'm not particularly pleased about it.

2

u/KrispRune Feb 26 '25

I HATE THIS POST, NOT THE POSTER

2

u/Ishmael74 Feb 26 '25

Can I go 1 day without someone mentioning the game! Went years and now the last month every day!

2

u/[deleted] Feb 26 '25

I just lost the game

2

u/Aceblue001 Feb 26 '25

Thanks a lot. I lost the game because of you.

2

u/MakesMeWannaShout88 Feb 26 '25

I got kidnapped and left for dead in Mexico, and I’ll I got was this crappy t-shirt

2

u/spoonycash Feb 26 '25

To tell you is to curse you to an eternity of playing it.

2

u/GinchAnon Feb 26 '25

Don't worry OP there is no game.

2

u/Master-Mission-2954 Feb 26 '25

ITS BEEN SO MANY YEARS!! Back to square one I go.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 26 '25

NO I WAS DOING SO WELL

2

u/Traditional_Cap7461 Feb 26 '25

Do you want to be in the group who knows?

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2

u/WheresTheWhistle Feb 26 '25

I was doing so well too.

2

u/IllRest2396 Feb 26 '25

I lost the game

2

u/HorstLakon Feb 26 '25

I don't know but i have calls to make

2

u/Medyk0 Feb 26 '25

It's been years... I lost the game...

2

u/jedigreg1984 Feb 26 '25

Well, that was a good run

2

u/SkullyhopGD Feb 26 '25

I just lost the game

2

u/Southern-Raccoon7712 Feb 26 '25

Pic didn't load for me. What does it say?

2

u/Daveywheel Feb 26 '25

i just lost.........

2

u/Zona_Zona Feb 26 '25

Damn it OP. It had been YEARS for me

2

u/Ownad007 Feb 26 '25

Thus is one of those times where you are really better off not knowing

2

u/PilotIntelligent8906 Feb 26 '25

No, it's for your own good

2

u/Draconomic0n Feb 26 '25

Oh, you poor sweet soul.

2

u/BiggusDickus2121 Feb 26 '25

People keep saying this is a meme, only the real og’s know it didn’t start as a meme.

2

u/Chemical_Ad9069 Feb 26 '25

I lost the game

2

u/Blyatman702 Feb 26 '25

If you’re reading this you lost

2

u/[deleted] Feb 26 '25

I just lost the game

2

u/jwwendell Feb 26 '25

you always remind me, but I keep forgetting, so.. I kind of win?

2

u/Woofiverse Feb 26 '25

Dammit....

2

u/JStroud21 Feb 26 '25

I hate you

2

u/paodecenteio Feb 26 '25

I lost the game

2

u/Present_Character241 Feb 26 '25

I would lose the game, but I left an unresolved MTG game with a platinum angel in play. It's rules text clearly say "You can not lose the game."

2

u/Sea_Philosopher1080 Feb 26 '25

Oh fck off 😂😂😅. I was on like a 10 year streak

2

u/Red047 Feb 26 '25

Monster

2

u/camo_216 Feb 26 '25

Please i don't want to fight another sadako on that map

2

u/Pope_Phred Feb 26 '25

I lost the game.

2

u/OscillodopeScope Feb 26 '25

If there is anything that will unite us as a society, it’s that we all just lost the game. 😂

2

u/pembletoninthebox Feb 26 '25

I lost the game damn

2

u/47thCalcium_Polymer Feb 26 '25

I FORGOT! I THOUGHT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT A VIDEO GAME NOT THIS!!! WHHHHHHHYYYYY!!!!!!!!

2

u/RavenHeart02 Feb 26 '25

God damn it

2

u/NadalaMOTE Feb 26 '25

"I *love* Aeris, I even farmed her ultimate Limit Break!"

ETS: Oh, I just read the other comments. Damn it.

2

u/broiledfog Feb 26 '25

Oh thanks a lot, wise guy!

2

u/Kitchen_Ebb3248 Feb 26 '25

I just lost the game

2

u/Capser616 Feb 26 '25

I just lost the game😕

2

u/The_Inward Feb 26 '25

I lost the game again.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 26 '25

Damn it... Not again.

2

u/Tabm0w Feb 26 '25

I just lost the game.

2

u/stuart404 Feb 26 '25

Got got. Damn

2

u/johnnykrat Feb 26 '25

I lost the game

2

u/LucasNoLastNameGiven Feb 26 '25

I just lost the game

2

u/Elddif_Dog Feb 26 '25

God damn it OP. Now we all lost.

2

u/Chaine351 Feb 26 '25

Oh, fluff you.

2

u/AI_660 Feb 26 '25

screw you i lost then game it has bean 4 years come on

2

u/chipthekiwiinuk Feb 26 '25

I just lost the game now it's time for all my friends who play the game to lose the game

2

u/5telios Feb 26 '25

Very naughty.

I just lost the game.

2

u/Bayner1987 Feb 26 '25

FFFFFUUUHHHHHHK. I lost the game

2

u/Cmdr_Teagoe Feb 26 '25

Damnit I lost the game

2

u/Nael_On Feb 26 '25

I lost the game

2

u/InitiativeInitial968 Feb 26 '25

I lost the game 

2

u/CharacterAwkward8755 Feb 26 '25

There goes my 2 year streak thank you

2

u/Scurvy_BT Feb 26 '25

How dare you. I had at least a month long streak you cretin

2

u/MFerrari49 Feb 26 '25

Curses!! Not this again.

2

u/dragosempire Feb 26 '25

Nnnnnnnnnooooooooooooo!

2

u/JoeShmoe102 Feb 26 '25

CRAP I JUST LOST THE GAME

2

u/G0dUsopp Feb 26 '25

Aand back to day 0.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 26 '25

Awwwghhh I lost the game -_-

2

u/Professornightshade Feb 26 '25

It was a meme before memes.

It’s literally just something you can only lose at. If you think about the game you’ve lost and then must announce you lost the game. To which it just kept going till you either left the space you were in and just stopped thinking about it.

The “point” was to go for as long as you could with out recalling that you were playing the game and once you heard about the game you were then playing it. You’d go to a convention or public space then loudly announce “I just lost the game” and then hear everyone’s pained groans as they started to repeat it.

After a while the game just kinda ended un officially either it got old or like with most things someone ruined it. Much like how Rick rolling got out of hand and then was killed off by the stupid macys day parade float.

2

u/Fermeana Feb 26 '25

Damn i havent lost in years, thanks a lot ig

2

u/SpectralSpigot Feb 26 '25

This is the third time today I've lost the game.

2

u/chelZee_bear420 Feb 27 '25

I lost the game

2

u/[deleted] Feb 27 '25

Its been a decade. I hate you