Which statement describes a first-degree game in transactional analysis?

• A. They are always harmless.
• B. They involve only one participant.
• C. They are always resolved through negotiation.
• D. A first-degree game is characterized by someone getting seriously hurt.

Answer: (D)

In transactional analysis, games are patterned two-person interactions that carry hidden motives and settle into a predictable outcome. The telltale feature of a first-degree game is that someone ends up emotionally hurt as a payoff from the exchange. That hurt is what keeps the pattern going and reinforces the underlying dynamic between the people involved.

So, the statement describing a first-degree game as one where someone gets seriously hurt best captures this core consequence: the emotional impact is the manipulating force that makes the game work. The other ideas don’t fit because games aren’t simply harmless, they always involve two participants, and they don’t have to resolve through negotiation—often the point is to trigger the hurt and maintain the script.