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Game On
How to pick games worth playing
Jaime Solis
03 Oct
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“A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game for the purpose of continuing the play.” — James P. Carse
The Red Thread This Week
Game On
This Saturday, our Philadelphia Phillies take on the Dodgers in the game 1 of the NLDS.
I say “our” because I assume like any self-respecting rational person, you too are completely obsessed with the Phillies the way my family is (although we back the Padres when the Phillies aren’t in town. Sorry to see the Cubs knock them out.)
We're enormous baseball fans. Both my boys play. My daughter would be right at home working in the front office of a ball club.
But bracing for playoff baseball this weekend has me thinking about something deeper. When the Phillies play Saturday, they're playing a finite game.
Set innings, clear rules, someone wins and someone doesn’t.
But when I play catch with my kids?
That's an infinite game.
I'm not trying to "win" catch.
I'm playing because the prize is getting to keep playing catch.
So they can get better. So we can spend time together. So the love of the game itself can grow.
Professional players understand this balance perfectly.
Even at the highest levels, they know that the practice of baseball, the craft of getting better, never ends.
It's an infinite pursuit wrapped inside finite games.
Every morning, tons of leaders, builders, and creators wake up and miss this distinction entirely.
They chase follower counts on platforms they don't control.
They compete for algorithm favor that changes without warning.
They measure success by metrics that don't actually matter to their lives or their work.
They're playing finite games in an infinite world.
Consider this: there are only so many spots on trending lists.
Only so many viral moments to go around.
Only so many people who will see your content on any given day.
That's a finite game. Clear rules, limited resources, winners and losers.
But creativity itself? Building relationships with your audience? Developing your craft? Making work that matters?
Those are infinite games.
Where the goal isn't to win—it's to keep playing.
The Red Thread this week is about recognizing the games around us, and choosing the ones worth playing in the first place.
~ Jaime
🔑 The Unlock
See the Games, Shift your Approach
Seeing the games around us, and shifting from finite to infinite thinking, can change how you approach your work.
1️⃣ Recognize the Scarcity Trap
Every finite game starts with scarcity (there’s only one Commissioner’s Trophy each MLB season.)
Limited playlist spots create competition in music.
Finite amounts of attention create social media games.
Capped admissions at famous colleges create education arms-races.
The pattern: when something valuable is scarce, a game forms.
Players sharpen their elbows, rules of engagement blur, and the scarce thing feels even harder to secure.
Your move: Ask what scarce prize or resource is driving your current competition. Are you fighting for something that’s naturally limited, or something artificially scarce?
2️⃣ Build Direct Relationships
Every platform, every intermediary, every gatekeeper is playing their own version of a finite game.
When you depend on them, you're playing by their rules for their benefit.
Your move: What's the most direct path between you and the people you serve?
Email lists over social media followers.
Direct sales/delivery over 3rd party distribution dependence.
Your own platform over rented space.
The goal: Own the relationship when possible, don’t just rent the transaction.
3️⃣ Compete Against Yourself
Finite players ask, “How do I beat them?”
Infinite players ask, “How do I beat yesterday’s version of me?”
The most sustainable competitive advantage is becoming a better version of yourself faster than your competition can copy you.
Your move: Instead of asking "What are they doing?" ask "What did we do last quarter that we can improve this quarter?"
Track your own progress, not just your position relative to others.
4️⃣ Build for the Long Game
Finite players optimize for the next quarter.
Infinite players optimize for the next decade.
Your move: Before making any major decision, ask "What would I do if I knew I'd be doing this work for 20 years?"
The answer usually points toward more sustainable, relationship-focused choices.
When you build for longevity, short-term setbacks become learning opportunities instead of existential threats.
📌 Remember: The goal isn’t to simply to win this round. The goal is to keep playing a game worth playing.
💡 Creative Edge
The Games Hiding in Plain Sight
Once you start seeing games everywhere, you can't unsee them.
They're woven into the fabric of how we organize society, raise our kids, and build our careers.
The Education Game
Parents spend thousands on test prep and extracurriculars chasing access to famous schools.
But what if the real game isn't getting into a famous school—what if it's shaping kids who choose to enroll in the journey of learning throughout their lifetime?
One is finite (limited spots, clear winners and losers). The other is infinite (unlimited potential.)
The Social Media Game
We post content hoping for likes, shares, and follows.
But the platform owners designed the game so they win when we stay “engaged” and scrolling, regardless of whether that engagement serves our actual goals.
The Political Game
Our discourse has become a hostile, zero-sum battle where one side's win requires the other side's loss.
But the problems we face—infrastructure, education, healthcare—require infinite game thinking.
They need solutions that work for everyone, not victories that carve us up into camps.
The Business Game
Companies compete for market share, try to beat projections, and measure success by stock or revenue numbers moving up and to the right.
But the businesses that make a lasting impact on our culture often focus on serving customers so well that competition becomes irrelevant in some cases.
They play infinite games while their competitors exhaust themselves in finite battles.
The Parenting Game
We compare our kids to other kids, worry about their rankings and achievements, and measure our success as parents by their finite game victories.
But parenting is the ultimate infinite game.
The goal isn't to have the "winningest" kid—it's to raise a human being who can thrive in an uncertain world.
The pattern is everywhere: We've turned infinite pursuits into finite competitions, and we wonder why we often feel exhausted, divided, and unfulfilled.
The opportunity: When you recognize the game you're in, you can choose to play it differently.
📌 Mindset shift: The most successful people aren’t always the ones who win the most games. They’re often the ones who choose the best games to play.
🎲 Prompt Playground
The Game Audit
Use this to identify which games deserve your creative energy:
Copy + paste the prompt below into your AI tool of choice (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, etc.) and fill in the blanks.
Prompt:
I want to understand the “games” shaping my work and decide which deserve my energy.
My situation:
What I create: [your work, art, or content]
Where I share it: [platforms, venues, channels]
What I compete for: [followers, features, sales, recognition]
What frustrates me most: [where you feel stuck or burned out]
What energizes me: [the work that doesn't feel like work]
Help me see clearly:
Finite games — Where am I chasing scarce wins that require someone else to lose?
Infinite opportunities — Where could I create direct value without waiting for gatekeepers?
Compound advantage — What unique mix of skills or perspectives gets stronger the more I use it?
Infinite design — If my only goal was to keep playing and improving, what would that look like?
Strategic shift — What’s one change I could make this week to play a more infinite game?
✅ Bonus: What would my work look like if I played it for 20 years, with success defined as helping others succeed too?
📡 Industry Pulse
Record Labels Close to ‘Landmark’ AI Music Licensing Deals – Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group are reportedly weeks away from new deal — Music Business Worldwide
Samsung's AI Home Vision – CMO Allison Stransky on the future of AI in the home — The Current
ChatGPT Gets Instant Checkout – OpenAI's new feature lets you buy products directly in the chat, starting with Etsy (Shopify coming soon) — CNBC
Gen Alpha's "Coolest Brands" – YouTube & Netflix top the list for kids 7-14. Digital, snacks, and retail are replacing toys — MediaPost
OpenAI Launches Sora 2 & App – Sora 2 adds a new TikTok-style app with a feed of 100% AI generated content — Maginative
🛠️ Creator Tools
FreeBeat.ai – Transform your music ideas into stunning videos with just a few clicks.
Picsart Background Remover – Free tool to remove backgrounds from images and video.
FirstSign – Validate your startup ideas and product concepts with AI-powered user feedback
💼 Open Opportunities
Head of Digital Marketing – Verdigris MGMT (London) View Role →
VP, Content Operations – The Daily Wire (Nashville) View Role →
Your next move in Music
Explore the MBW Job Board →
Crack into Podcasting
Check out the Sounds Profitable Job Board →
📌 Know someone looking? Forward this to them!
⚡ Your Next Move
JMedia is my strategy shop, where I help leaders and creators turn their ideas into media that builds audience.
Here are a few ways we can work together when you’re ready:
🗓️ Get 1:1 Support from Me: Need a thought partner to help shape what's next for your project or team? Let’s talk.
🎙️ Audit Your Podcast: Get pro-level eyes on your podcast without hiring a full-time producer.
🚀 Speaking Engagements & Workshops: Looking for a speaker for your next live (or virtual) event? Or someone to lead your next strategic workshop? Drop me a note.
Thanks for spending time with Red Threads this week, I’m glad you’re here :)
~ Jaime