Games People Play

CHAPTER TEN 
Underworld Games 
WITH the infiltration of the "helping" professions into the courts, probation departments and 
correctional facilities, and with the increasing sophistication o£ criminologists and law enforcement 
officers, those concerned should be aware of the more common games prevalent in the underworld, 
both in prison and out of it. These include "Cops and Robbers," "How Do You Get Out of Here" 
and "Let's Pull a Fast One on Joey." 
1 COPS AND ROBBERS 
Thesis
. Because many criminals are cop-haters, they seem to get as much satisfaction from 
outwitting the police as from their criminal gains, often more. Their crimes, at the Adult level, are 
games played for the material rewards, the take; but at the Child level it is the thrill of the chase: 
the getaway and the cool-off. 
Curiously enough, the childhood prototype of "Cops and Robbers" is not cops and robbers but hide-
and-seek, in which the essential element is the chagrin of being found. Younger children readily 
betray this. If father finds them too easily, the chagrin is there without much fun. But father, if he is 
a good player, knows what to do; he holds off, whereupon the little boy gives him a clue by calling 
out, dropping something or banging. Thus he forces father to find him, but still shows chagrin; this 
time he has had more fun because of the increased suspense. If father gives up, the boy usually 
feels disappointed rather than victorious. Since the fun of being hidden was there, evidently that is 
not where the trouble lies, What he is disappointed about is not being caught. When his turn comes 
to hide, father knows he is not supposed to outwit the little boy for very one just enough to make it 
fun; and he is wise enough to look chagrined when he is caught. It soon becomes clear that being 
found is the necessary payoff. 
Hence hide-and-seek is not a mere pastime but a true game At the social level it is a battle of wits, 
and is most satisfying when the Adult of each player does his best; at the psychological level, 
however, it is set up like compulsive gambling, in which White's Adult has to lose in order for his 
Child to win. Not being caught is actually the antithesis. Among older children, one who finds an 
insoluble hiding place is regarded as not being a good sport, since he has spoiled the game, He has 
eliminated the Child element and turned the whole thing into an Adult procedure. He is no longer 
playing for fun. He is in the same class as the owner of a casino, or some professional criminals, 
who are really out for money rather than sport. 
There seem to be two distinctive types of habitual criminals: those who are in crime primarily for 
profit, and those who are in it primarily for the game—with a large group in between who can 
handle it either way. The "compulsive winner," the big money-maker whose Child really does not 
want to be caught, rarely is, according to reports; he is an untouchable, for whom the fix is always 
in. The "compulsive loser," on the other hand, who is playing "Cops and Robbers" (C&R), seldom 
does very well financially. The exceptions to this often seem to be due to luck rather than skill; in 
the long run even the lucky ones usually end up as their Child requires, squawking rather than 
riding high. 
The C&R player, with whom we are concerned here, in some ways resembles, the Alcoholic. He 
can shift roles from Robber to Cop and from' Cop to Robber. In some cases he may play the 
Parental Cop during the day and the Child Robber after dark. There is a Cop in many Robbers, and 
a Robber in many Cops. If the criminal "reforms," he may play the role of Rescuer, becoming a 
social worker or a mission worker; but the Rescuer is Far less important in this game than in 
"Alcoholic." Ordinarily, however, the player's role as Robber is his destiny, and each has his own 
modus operandi for getting caught. He may make it tough or easy for the Cops. 
The situation is similar with gamblers. At the social or sociological level a "professional" gambler 
is one whose chief interest in life is gambling. But at the psychological level there are two different 
kinds of people who are professional gamblers. There are those who spend their time gaming, i.e., 
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playing with Fate, in whom the strength of the Adult's desire to win is exceeded only by the 
strength of the Child's need to lose. Then there are those who run gambling houses and actually do 
earn a living, usually a very good one, by providing opportunities for gamesters to play; they 
themselves are not playing, and try to avoid playing, although occasionally under certain conditions 
they will indulge themselves and enjoy it, just as a straight criminal may occasionally play a game 
of C&R, 
This throws light on why sociological and psychological studies of criminals have been generally 
ambiguous and unproductive: they are dealing with two different kinds of people who cannot be 
adequately differentiated in the ordinary theoretical or empirical frameworks. The same is true in 
studying gamblers. Transactional and game analyses offer an immediate solution for this. They 
remove the ambiguity by distinguishing transactionally, below the social level, between "players" 
and "straight professionals." 
Let us now turn from this general thesis to consider specific examples. Some burglars do their jobs 
without any waste motion. The "Cops and Robbers" burglar leaves his calling card in gratuitous 
acts of vandalism, such as spoiling valuable clothing with secretions and excretions. The straight 
bank robber, according to reports, takes every possible precaution to avoid violence; the C&R bank 
robber is only looking for an excuse to vent his anger. Like any professional, a straight criminal 
likes his jobs to be as clean as circumstances permit. The C&R criminal is compelled to blow off 
steam in the course of his work. The true professional is said never to operate until the fix is in; the 
player is willing to take on the law barehanded. Straight professionals are well aware, in their own 
way, of the game of C&R. If a gang member shows too much interest in the game, to the point of 
jeopardizing the job, and particularly if his need to be caught begins to show, they will take drastic 
measures to prevent a recurrence. Perhaps it is just because straight professionals are not playing 
C&R that they are so seldom caught, and hence so rarely studied sociologically, psychologically 
and psychiatrically; and this also applies to gamblers. Hence most of our clinical knowledge about 
criminals and gamblers refers to players rather than to straight professionals. 
Kleptomaniacs (as opposed to professional shoplifters) are examples of how widely trivial C&R is 
played. It is probable that a very large percentage of Occidentals, at least, have played C&R in 
fantasy, and that is what sells newspapers in our half of the world. This fantasy frequently occurs in 
the form of dreaming up the "perfect murder," which is playing the hardest possible game and 
completely outwitting the cops. 
Variations of C&R are "Auditors and Robbers," played by embezzlers with the same rules and the 
same payoff; Customs and Robbers," played by smugglers; etc. Of special interest is the criminal 
variation of "Courtroom." Despite all his precautions, the professional may occasionally be arrested 
and brought to trial. For him "Courtroom" is a procedure, which he carries out according to the 
instructions of his legal advisers. For the lawyers, if they are compulsive winners, "Courtroom" is 
essentially a game played with the jury in which the object is to win, not lose, and this is regarded 
as a constructive game by a large segment of society.