“[A] trenchant philosophical investigation…. Illustrating his ideas with lucid philosophy and descriptions of his own innumerable hobbies (Tetris, bouldering, yo-yo), Nguyen skillfully explores the ways in which humans think about progress, creativity, and play. It makes for a captivating look at how imperfect measures of success shape society.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Delightfully irreverent . . . [The Score offers] an engaging look at the games we play and whatever freedom we might have as we do so.” —Kirkus
“One of the most exciting non-fiction titles of 2026.” —The New World, Matt D’Ancona
“As a long-time fan of games, I was delighted to find a philosophical look at how we make choices in life. If you love gaming, this is the best book on the topic you’ll ever find.” —Steve Wozniak, cofounder of Apple
“One of the most clever and revealing books I have read in a long time. It genuinely changed how I think.” —Johann Hari, author of Stolen Focus and Chasing the Scream
“You wouldn’t expect that careful thinking about games and how they work would produce bracing new insights about how powerful forces reach in and modify our values without our even noticing, and what we can do about it, but that’s because you haven’t read C. Thi Nguyen’s The Score. You probably should.” —Jordan Ellenberg, author of How Not to Be Wrong
“I do not care about games. Or at least, I didn’t think that I did. But I was riveted from start to finish by THE SCORE, which made me rethink my relationship with my health, my bank account, and even my writing, in this moment of increasing gamification via substack. Such is the power and scope of this brilliant and timely book.” —Kate Manne, author of Down Girl
“Almost everything you do at work, at home, and in even in your relationships, has been turned into a game with scores that supposedly show how well you’re doing it. And yet, you probably feel punished rather than rewarded by all those measures. The Score explains why and how you can wrest yourself free of the bad games that have captured you.” —Ian Bogost, Professor of Film & Media Studies and Computer Science & Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis and designer of the game Cow Clicker
“The Score isn’t an instruction manual for life; it’s something deeper. It teaches you to rewrite the rules, so you can live the way that suits you. Thi Nguyen is a mad genius, sharing the secret sauce to his cool.” —Scott Hershovitz, author of Nasty, Brutish, and Short
“This is a book about the quantitative vs. the qualitative: what happens to our sense of humanity when we submit to institutional demands that reduce the world to a set of rules? The Score is a call to reconnect with play—in our leisure time, in our experience of art, and in how we interact with friends and loved ones. And that sounds like fun to me.” —Eric Zimmerman, founding faculty and Arts Professor at the NYU Game Center
“There are certain concepts that, once they’re explained to you, you start to see everywhere. Thi Nguyen’s notion of value capture is exactly this kind of idea—it’s deceptively simple but profoundly insightful. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. This book beautifully encapsulates Nguyen’s thinking on the relationship between our values, our goals, and the metrics by which we measure ourselves and others. Nguyen is one of the rare academics who can render a complex theory accessible and engaging without dumbing it down. The net result is an outstanding piece of philosophy that experts and non-experts can both enjoy. But consider yourself warned: you might not be able to stop thinking about it either.” —Elizabeth Barnes, author of Health Problems
“Superb philosophy, beautifully written, lovely insights, and gripping in its presentation.” —Sanford Goldberg, Professor of Philosophy at Northwestern University
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