Normally, those who win at games do so because they know how to triumph, succeed and outwit others. But this is a game with a difference: those who win it are great at losing; they know all about frustration and difficulty and how optimally to respond to it.

The Loser Game invites us to answer a range of fascinating questions about the challenges we’ve faced (in love, work, etc.) – and rewards players willing to speak with particular frankness and good humour about their lives.

As we play, we laugh, sympathise, learn about ourselves and feel newly and reassuringly certain that we're far from alone. In a world often obsessed with success, The Loser Game gently suggests that losing isn’t some freakish anomaly, it’s an inevitable part of being human – which bonds us warmly to others.

As the game implies, life’s goal isn’t to avoid losing altogether (no one can do that), it’s to learn how to fail well.