This article is an excerpt from the Shortform summary of "The Game" by Neil Strauss. Shortform has the world's best summaries of books you should be reading.
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Who is Caroline in The Game? How did Neil Strauss and Caroline know each other, and how did Caroline influence Style and change his life?
Caroline in The Game was one of the few women Style had a true connection with. During their brief but intense relationship, Caroline in The Game helped him recognize that still valued genuine connection.
Style and Caroline in The Game
On the last night of Papa’s workshop, Style sarged a woman named Caroline, while Mystery sarged her friend, Carly. The four left the club for a diner, in what Mystery and Style called an instant date.
An instant date—taking a woman on a date immediately after picking her up—was now the goal when they sarged, because changing locations made the woman feel like they’d known each other longer than a few hours. The time distortion accelerated their rapport and familiarity with a woman, which increased the chance of getting her into bed sooner. Neil Strauss and Caroline bonded further on this instant date.
From the diner, Carly invited everyone to her nearby apartment (another location change), where Style and Caroline fooled around a bit but stopped short of having sex. Style realized that he was more interested in Caroline than in the game of picking her up. In fact, he was more interested in her than he had been in any other woman since he’d joined the seduction community—despite the fact that she was just 19 and she was a single mom with a baby, and Style was in his early 30s.
Style and Caroline Start a Relationship
When Style and Mystery first started talking to Carly and Caroline in The Game at the club, Mystery had pulled out his video camera and started recording their conversation, which hadn’t appeared to bother the women. The next day, Style and Mystery watched the video and analyzed it, the way that athletes analyze game footage, noting what they’d done well and where they could improve.
When Style saw Caroline from The Game again that night, they had sex—but immediately after, Caroline began crying. She worried that they shouldn’t have moved so quickly, and that Style wouldn’t be interested anymore. Style reassured Caroline that he wanted to see her again.
Within a couple days, the pair went out to dinner with Mystery, and then Caroline brought Style back to her house, where she lived with her son, mother, sister, and brother. Style considered Caroline his girlfriend, and he began spending more time with her and her son.
Style and Caroline’s Relationship Fizzles
After being together at Caroline’s for several days straight, both Caroline and Style started getting weary of the relationship. Style was becoming stir crazy from spending so much time in the house, and he could tell he was pulling Caroline’s attention away from her son.
Style had felt a genuine connection with Caroline in The Game, but now it was waning. It was well-known in the seduction community that love could come and go quickly, and sargers and PUAs accepted that fact as an occupational hazard.
Style thought of something he’d read about love: Contrary to most people’s beliefs, love doesn’t need to last forever—sometimes love lasts just a few minutes, days, or weeks. He felt his and Caroline’s brief love had reached its end.
Caroline in The Game only appeared for a brief time, but helped Style learn a valuable lesson. Neil Strauss and Caroline’s relationship fizzled out quickly, but helped him see that he wanted a valuable connection.
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Like what you just read? Read the rest of the world's best summary of Neil Strauss's "The Game" at Shortform .
Here's what you'll find in our full The Game summary :
- The secrets of the Pickup Artist community in seducing women
- How key Pickup Artist leaders fought with each other and split the group apart
- What author Neil Strauss took away about women from his years of training
