Loss is temporary, as soon as you forget you are playing, you start winning again.
It is possible for people to simultaneously lose The Game.
It is not easy to trick others into losing. Possible strategies usually involve leaving somekind of permanent reminder that others will see long after you have forgotten The Game since making it, e.g. answerphone messages, MSN pictures, forum posts, signs etc.
Rule 2 can be interpreted in a number of different ways depending on:
When during the thought process of thinking about The Game constitutes loss?
(i) You think about The Game.
One interpretation is that any thought involving The Game constitutes loss. Therefore, the object of this game is to forget The Game. Experienced players can think about, and even discuss, The Game without realising they have lost. Not announcing this loss violates RULE 3. It is not possible to think/talk about this game without losing. Whether or not a thought is about The Game is hard to define, for example, does thinking about this website count as thinking about The Game?
(ii) You realise you are playing The Game.
There is a point at which you realise you are playing The Game without realising this means you have lost. Loss at this point would mean that the object of this game is to forget you are playing it. You are winning this game whenever you have forgotten you are playing it. It is still possible to not realise you have lost this game.
(iii) You then realise that this means you have lost.
When you become aware that you should lose, you lose. This game has seemingly paradoxical properties. The objective of this game is to not realise you have lost. You are winning this game whenever you don't realise you have lost.
At this point, you are probably losing The Game.
Another disputed aspect of this rule is:
Do you lose when you are told about The Game by someone who has just lost?
There are 2 possibilities:
i) In accordance with Rule 2 you lose if you remember The Game (see above) even if this is because you have been told by someone who has just lost. This results in it being beneficial not to be around other players of The Game (in addition to the fact that them losing reminds you of The Game in the long term).
ii) A new rule needs to be added to incorporate immunity if the trigger for rememberance was somebody else losing. This rule would also have to take into account messages that are left about The Game.
Some people play that you do lose, but it does not have to be re-announced.