Lucy Watson - The Dating Game

W ELCOME TO THE DATING GAME, PEOPLE. Way too often, girls fall for players who they know are going to screw them over, or they throw themselves at guys and wonder why theyve never heard from them again, or they stay in dead-end relationships because they are too scared of being alone. These girls arent strangers, theyre me, theyre my friends, theyre all of us. But its not our fault. Dating nowadays is seriously complicated and the more attached we get to someone the more confusing it seems to become.

Thats why I decided to write this book. Its taken a lot of long and painful lessons for me to work out how to play the dating game and Ive often wished someone could have just told me the rules from the start, before I had to learn them the hard way.

Dont get me wrong, Im not saying that Ive mastered them all or that Ive got a perfect track record. In fact, as you will find out in this book, my experience of cheats, double betrayals and public scandals makes my record far from ideal! But the dating mistakes Ive made and the experiences Ive had to go through have taught me that I wont put up with anybody who doesnt treat me the way I deserve, ever again. I am never going to settle for just any guy that comes along its got to be the right guy. And, hopefully after reading my book, neither will you.

Its about time that we learned how to play men at their own game. In The Dating Game, Ive hopefully covered all the bases, from being single, to going on first dates and figuring out if hes that interested, to making a relationship work and even how to get over an ex. I want to make sure that if we play the dating game properly none of us will be played ever again.

And you know what, our lives are way too short for constant dating dramas! Weve all been there; obsessing over unreturned texts or emails; the drunken decision to make that late-night phone call where you say things you really dont mean; the bust-ups that end with one of you storming off, hoping the other will follow; those unbelievably awkward its-not-you-its-me conversations. I mean, seriously! None of us have enough time or stamina to put up with that level of drama constantly. And we really dont have to put up with them in every relationship. Dating shouldnt be a struggle or packed full of issues that we have to deal with all the time. It should be fun; we only get to do it for a while, so why not enjoy it to the full. What we should do instead, is just try guys on for size and work out if they fit us and not the other way round. This way we wont get too attached, until we know that they are definitely worth our time. And if they dont cut it. Its simple. We need to move on. Next!

One last thing, as you may have already noticed, there are LW SnapTag logos throughout the book. They will be at the start of every chapter. Once youve downloaded the app, you just have to open your SnapTag reader and scan the logo, et voil, a video of me will appear on your phone. In each video, I will give you bits of advice about the next stage of the dating game. So, if you ever need to re-read the first date chapter ahead of an oh-my-god-Im-nervous date or if you have to jump forward to the break-up stage chapter because your relationship is suddenly over, re-watch my videos in your moments of panic and know that youre not alone. Remember, its not always easy but not sticking to the dating game and ending up miserable is waaay worse!

Whether youre single, in a relationship or recently broken hearted, now is the time to learn the dating game. Ill be here, along the way, just in case you need me.