Unplayable The Twenty Tactics of Dark Psychology — and how to make sure they never work on you
- Instant PDF
- 20 tactics
- Exact words to say
- Cited research
About this book
- The twenty moves people actually use to get in your head — from the first-five-minutes Mirror to the 3 a.m. “hey stranger” — each opened up the same way.
- The tell for every move, so you catch it while it’s happening, not a week later.
- Word-for-word replies you can actually say out loud.
- Grounded in named, checkable research — and a full source list. No pop-psych myths.
- “The innocent version” in every chapter, so you get sharper, not paranoid.
- The Unplayable Protocol: six habits that defend against all twenty at once.
Learn them so they never work on you.
Psychologists call it inoculation: see a persuasion trick in a weakened form, understand how it works, and the real thing loses its grip. This book is the weakened form — twenty moves, opened up slowly, under good light, from your side of the table.
- 20tactics
- 4parts
- 6protocol rules
- 60+pages
Every move, named.
Tap one to hear what it sounds like and see its tell. The counter — and the exact words to say back — are in the book.
How playable are you?
Seven everyday moments. Answer honestly — nobody’s watching.
Real pages, not mock-ups.
Ivory pages, oxblood and gold, set in Garamond. Bookmarked for quick jumps on your phone.
The complete set.
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Unplayable
The twenty tactics, the tells, the counters, the words.
The Counter Cards
Twenty phone-sized cards. Screenshot the one you need: the tell, the line to say back.
The Field Journal
A worksheet for every tactic, a 30-day pattern log and the Protocol checklist. Printable.
The Complete Set
All three. Everything Shadowhands makes, in one download page.
Start without paying a thing.
Read The Flip and The Clock free.
The introduction plus two full chapters: the move that turns your complaint into your apology, and the deadline built to stop you thinking.
One tactic a week, decoded.
- A real-world example of a move in the wild
- The tell, in one line
- The words to say back
The fine print.
- Publisher
- Shadowhands
- Edition
- First edition, 2026
- Format
- PDF ebook, 6 × 9 in, bookmarked chapters
- Length
- 20 chapters + the Protocol
- Language
- English
- File size
- —
- Works on
- iPhone, Android, iPad, Kindle (via Send to Kindle), Mac, PC
- Delivery
- Instant download after payment; the link is also in your receipt
Asked and answered.
Isn’t this just a manipulation playbook?
No. It’s written from the target’s side. Every chapter ends with a counter, not a technique — what to notice, what to do and what to say. Someone who already manipulates people won’t learn much here. Someone on the receiving end will.
Is it based on real psychology?
Yes. Each “why it lands” section names the actual research — Cialdini, Kahneman and Tversky, Freyd’s work on DARVO, Loftus on memory and more — and there’s a full source list at the back. Where the science is thin, the book says so rather than inventing it.
How do I get it?
Straight after payment you land on your download page. The link is also in your Stripe receipt, so you can come back to it any time.
Will it make me paranoid?
It’s designed not to. Every chapter includes “the innocent version” — what the harmless twin of the behaviour looks like — because one instance is a person and three is a pattern.
What are the Counter Cards and the Field Journal?
The Cards are twenty phone-sized PDF cards, one per tactic, with the tell and a line to say back — made to be screenshotted. The Journal is a printable workbook: a worksheet for every tactic, a 30-day pattern log and the Protocol checklist.
Is this therapy or legal advice?
No. It’s education and self-protection for everyday situations. If you’re in danger or being controlled by someone you live with, please contact local emergency services or a domestic abuse helpline — the book lists several.
Something’s wrong with my order.
Email puppet@shadowhands.shop with the email you paid with and we’ll fix it.
Nobody gets in your head without a handle. Remove the handles.
Twenty tactics. The tell for each. The words to say back.
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