SuperBetter: A Revolutionary Approach to Getting Stronger, Happier, Braver and More Resilient--Powered by the Science of Games

As the subtitle suggests, SuperBetter promises readers a revolutionary approach to a better life. While most (if not all) self-help books promise something similar, SuperBetter stands apart in its method, using the science of games to offer suggestions and advice on subjects like overcoming depression and anxiety, losing weight or finding love.

Jane McGonigal, a game designer, explores the overlap between games and self-improvement from two sides. First, there are the myriad ways that games of all types can improve one's mood, leadership skills, social connections, physical health and so on. Then there are the ways that this scientific knowledge can be leveraged to design a game--in this case, SuperBetter--aimed to help players improve their lives in some measurable way. Some of SuperBetter can feel hokey at times--McGonigal asks readers to contemplate their own personal "bad guys" and search for "power-ups" in their daily lives--but this is balanced with extensive scientific research cited throughout the text, as well as in a dedicated "About the Science" appendix.

SuperBetter can be customized with ease. Readers can choose to engage with the quests and power-ups peppered throughout McGonigal's account of her scientific research, or simply read the theories presented. These quests, power-ups and theories can then be taken as a roadmap to designing one's own gameful approach to an improved life--no matter what "improved life" may mean to each individual reader. Strange? Perhaps. More fun than your typical self-help book? Definitely. --Kerry McHugh, blogger at Entomology of a Bookworm

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