The article describes Synanon’s "Game" as a group truth-telling session used for social control. It says members were made to expose weaknesses and confess in front of one another, and that the practice was criticized as humiliating and coercive rather than therapeutic.

A contemporary LIFE piece described the Synanon Game as "a dozen or so persons seated in a circle, telling the truth about each other, interrelating." It added that "verbally, anything goes" and that the games were "sometimes brutal," indicating a confrontational setting where members attacked one another verbally.

Control over members occurred through the "Synanon Game." The "Game" could be considered a therapeutic tool, likened to group therapy; or a social control, in which members humiliated one another and encouraged the exposure of one's innermost weaknesses, or both. These group truth-telling sessions, known as the Synanon Game, were central to Synanon's emphasis on living a self‑examined life and became a key mechanism of control in the community.

Synanon, the acclaimed drug rehabilitation program that evolved into a highly profitable organization, is now under state investigation on charges of violence. The article reports that the group had become a subject of inquiry after allegations of increasingly coercive behavior by members.

The article states that Synanon’s hallmark methods included participation in "The Game," a verbal exercise where "anything" could be said to debunk excuses, including mockery and degradation. It also says the method had little effect and that violence and abuse escalated within the group.

The article says the core of Synanon’s approach was "The Game," which it describes as a form of abusive ritual. It reports that the group’s rituals were designed to hurt members and that critics described Synanon as incarcerating its members.

HBO's documentary traces Synanon's 'primary ritual, an intensely confrontational form of group therapy known as “The Game.”' It says members became bound to Dederich's increasingly erratic whims and that children were also required to play 'The Game.'

The article states that members were expected to be completely open and honest and to receive the group's critique, and that Synanon became controversial for its aggressive approach to individuals. It also notes that former members filed lawsuits over what they saw as an increasingly harsh, dictatorial life within the group.

The paper reports that the game centered on "attack and defense" as the primary mode of interaction, with participants encouraged to attack each other’s behaviors and expose issues. It says the practice aimed to eliminate lying and hiding, but also functioned as a mechanism of peer pressure.

The documentary companion article says Synanon members were encouraged to participate in "The Synanon Game," described as a sort of violent attack therapy. It frames the practice as part of the escalation that transformed Synanon into a cult-like organization.

The cornerstone of Synanon’s approach was a kind of confrontational group therapy called "the Synanon game," in which participants would scream what they really thought of one another—and then hug it out afterwards. The former members who share their experiences in the docu‑series all emphasize how lonely they were when they joined the organization. The kids of residents described looking out after themselves because their parents were preoccupied with the Synanon game.

The page says the Game served as both a therapeutic tool and a method of social control, pressing members toward self-examination through confessions. It also says control over members occurred through the Game, where members humiliated one another and exposed innermost weaknesses.

Synanon was an organization that attracted a number of political and hip people to come and play the "Game," a no‑holds barred discourse where I found an outlet to challenge the system and call out hypocrisy. Sandra Rogers‑Hare says that in Synanon "interactions were regulated by the Game" and that the Game provided an opportunity for individuals to transcend conventional boundaries of race, socio‑economic status, and more. Social, racial, and economic diversity thrived, and the Game played a crucial role in incorporating all these elements of society.

The page explains that during the Game participants were encouraged to attack each other’s specific behaviors, and that the process relied on peer pressure. It says the idea was that participants would no longer be able to lie and hide their issues.

The page explains that, in Games, members were encouraged to be critical of everything about each other and use harsh language during these attack-therapy sessions. It says The Game eventually turned into 72-hour sessions that Dederich later admitted was brainwashing.

The source says the Game was a session during which one member spoke and then endured intense criticism by peers. It states that members were encouraged to be critical using harsh and profane language, but that outside the Game they were expected to act civilly toward one another.

"The Game began with an idea I had of getting people together in a room to pursue a conversation with a 'line of no line.' I began to yell and curse and accuse and ridicule: I talked to everyone in the room as if he had a tail. That was the birth of the Synanon Game, which basically hasn't changed at all since 1958." These were the favored techniques of a Synanon game: "Indict everybody," "Ridicule," "Lie," "Bring up old indictments." Games were meant to be chaotic, over‑the‑top, and bizarre. Individuals were encouraged to indict and berate other game members regardless of validity. When the game ended, members of Synanon were expected to act civilly and cordially to one another, but when the game started, the only rule that applied was no physical violence.

The page states that Synanon’s practices harmed the mental well-being of people who went through the program and that the organization’s Game was a toxic, manipulative practice. It describes long-term adverse implications reported by survivors.

A New York Times feature described “the game” used in Synanon offshoot programs as a method of profound, often challenging introspection that encourages participants to examine themselves and one another. The game session lasted several hours and ranged over subjects such as rejection, antagonism, child-bearing, dating patterns and promiscuity, with participants exposing personal feelings and receiving searching, sometimes harsh, feedback from others.[3] Supporters quoted in the article stated that they found the game emotionally invigorating and believed it helped them understand themselves and others better.[3]

The source says Synanon lasted from 1958 to 1991 and treated tens of thousands of drug addicts and alcoholics. It identifies the Game as central to the organization’s daily life, but does not directly quantify distrust among members.

A promotional clip for the HBO docuseries on Synanon describes “the game” as a verbal street fight and a way to have a free, unencumbered, uninhibited, no holds barred encounter with another person.[9] Former members in the series recount how the game’s brutal confrontations and attacks on character affected their sense of trust and safety within the community, contributing to trauma that persisted long after they left.[9]