Levels of Game Growth

A pH scale for assessing where you are at

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This is a fun post. It is half-joke, half-serious. It is also illustrative, not some ACT/SAT assessment. So relax :)

LOONNGGG ago there was a forum called mASF, which is the forum PUA was born on. One of my favorites posts was a post about the levels of PUAs. I remember being an AFC, trying to imagine I was a PUA… but when I read the criteria it was clear I was not lol. Such a kick in the balls. Never would I have imagined what I would grow into.

Anyways, I wanted to post it. Since parts are out-dated, I kept the original mostly intact, however for some of the more important ones, I added my own additional bullets of characteristics (in italics) that I think are present at that level. Note: I do not consider myself to be a full Master, but I have been close enough to look over the mountain to the promised land via several guys I have known/seen at that level (including my bestie) and that is why I am able to describe that part in detail.

Below is the article. Remember… words in regular type are from the original article written circa 2005 (with slight edits)… words in italics are my words in 2025

Without further ado:

AFC Levels

A WBAFC (Way Below Average Frustrated Chump)...
* Is a virgin and thinks women should be "respected".
* Has never kissed a woman in his life, doesn't know how.
* Is sexually repressed in someway; doesn't understand how guys get laid and thinks its wrong to fuck women, even if he wants to.
* Becomes uneasy or embarrassed when talking about sex. Thinks thongs are gross.
* Sings along to the lyrics of AFC songs out loud and watches way too many Hollywood romantic comedies.
* Gets sweaty and nervous if a woman even looks at him.
* Believes his problem is he hasn't "blossomed" yet...or worse, doesn't know he has a problem.
* Thinks "be yourself" actually means "be yourself".
* Has had at least 10 crushes on chicks he's never talked to, and is well on his way to 5 more
...before finally realizing he might have an issue (that he hasn't yet met the "right girl").
* Thinks the character "Ross" on the TV Show "Friends" is a player.

A BAFC (Below Average Frustrated Chump)...
* Thinks he might have a problem...but doesn't know what the problem is.
* Bases his perception of romantic love on what he sees in movies.
* He believes in "fate" and thinks the advice "being yourself" is gold...he thinks someday he'll magically meet his dream HB and they'll live happily ever after.
* Dresses GQ but talks to dudes all day.
* Realizes players exist, but thinks the lifestyle is evil or to be scorned.
* When his AFC friends just say "hi" to chicks, he thinks they are players.

A AFC (Average Frustrated Chump)...
* Knows he has a problem attracting chicks...thinks he'll eventually solve it by doing the same things over-and-over ...or one day Oprah will give him that one piece of advice that will make the difference.
* Knows players exist, secretly wishes to be one, doesn't know how.
* Has heard "Let's Just Be Friends" (LJBF) from just about every chick he's been on a date with
* Depends on luck for all his success.
* Has that "one girl" (one-itis) he's trying to figure out how to get.
* May have found the PUA community but still can't admit to himself he's an AFC
...or miraculously realizes how great a PUA he is already is going to become as when he can finally PU that one special girl after reading stuff for 30 seconds. All he has to do is just post one request for one golden piece of advice on the forum and start it with "This isn't one-itis, but there's this one girl who..."

GPUA (Green PUA) Levels

A rAFC (Average Frustrated Chump, starting path to recovery)... [GPUA-1]
* Has finally gotten past the stage in his life of having "crushes" on chicks, but still occasionally falls into the one-itis trap.
* Doesn’t currently have one-itis, but stays in touch with his ex-GF (who nexted him a year ago...so he claims it's not one-itis).
* Has found the community and admitted to himself he's an AFC.
* Reliant on canned, formulaic, paint-by-number openers and set structure
* Still doesn't know what the Universal Opener is.
* Thinks a 6 is a HB but at least is starting to approach more women.
* Sees rejection as a bad thing.
* Has # closed 10 girls but all flake bc they just gave it bc they wanted the convo to end
* Stuck on doing canned openers, isn't aware that openers can be dynamic.
* Most of his field reports contain "Shit!, I fucked it up again!"
*Gets a number from a HB7+ and posts looking for advice bc he REALLY DOESN’T WANT TO MESS THIS UP!
*Asks for literally line-by-line advice when it comes to dating, is almost completely helpless when it comes to dating, cannot think for himself at all
*Harbors fantasies of ‘this PUA thing being a 2 month adventure’, meeting a girlfriend then running off to the white-picket fence life played ‘by the book’, never to talk to any of his ’player’ friends ever again, yet to regal his gf of his stories of how he used to be ‘such a player’
*Almost any girl who has sex with him is, by definition, girlfriend material

A RAFC (Recovering Average Frustrated Chump)... [GPUA-2]
* Is able to notice falling into the one-itis trap, but is able to control himself in order to move forward.
* Takes everything he's learned as rAFC and begins to take real actions.
* Knows what the Universal Opener (“Hi”) is but still doesn't know its power.
* Knows how to get a lot of number closes and is happy about it ...and is beginning to be able to distinguish a flakey number from a solid one.
* Has stopped kicking himself over mistakes in the field. Accepts it, learns, and moves on.
* Has mostly cured himself of all aspects of one-itis…. unless she is really hot.
* Has an approach to his improvement. Reviews his results and is actively adjusting his game to improve, focusing on sticking points until he solves it, sometimes creatively.
* Still battles with approach anxiety. Sometimes he wins, sometimes he loses
* Still has a very logical linear approach to sets, cant read and understand the underlying emotions
* No understanding of what he is sub-communicating in set or why. Often has blowouts and failures and has no clue why it happened. Cant explain why a great line works in one context but not the other.
* Often has flash-bang style sets, where he comes in with energy and is able to hold attention, but is a one-trick pony losing value the longer the set goes. Can sense when its going downhill and pushes for the number before it gets worse.
* Often carries far too much burden, is too eager/energetic, has thread choice that telegraphs he is trying to get her to feel the way he wants her to feel
* Can be prone to trying cold, roll-off tactics but they come off as incongruent and often result in near instant blowouts.
* Still has girls that ghost him, LJBF him, or suddenly get angry at him and he cant understand why or explain what he did wrong
* Can sometimes be cringe-level embarrassing and have almost no clue that he did anything of the sort
* Is still not an asset as a wing. Often inadvertently DLVs his friend in front of his girl, is clueless about it and defensive when it is brought up. Prone to sneak-gaming his friend’s girl, which is easily identified and handled by his friend. Considers dating his friend’s hot ex-girlfriend as an actual option
* Has zero awareness of where he is placing his mental focus and what that telegraphs about him

A GPUA (Green Pick-UP Artist)... [GPUA-3]
* Is approaching as many women as he can.
* Is contact closing regularly and finally knows how to create consistently solid numbers
* Can post interesting field reports and is enthusiastic for feedback when he does. Has actual situations that are relevant teaching points for others.
* Is starting to pull off dynamic (non-canned) openers on-the-fly
* Is constantly and rapidly learning from his mistakes.
* Is finally cured of all past one-itis, is able to detect the onset of it ...and stops it dead in its tracks.
* Has gotten his first lay (with a HB6+ chick) without much dependence on luck - working it almost entirely through his conscious actions ...and is well on his way to banging more with the same repeat of skill.
* Has major momentum and honestly believes for the first time he is already becoming a PUA.
* Can reasonably PU in "street" environments (not just bars or clubs) ...but may not prefer it (meaning, he has the CHOICE/OPTION)
* Is able to provide useful advice to others on their path to improvement.
* Is beginning to be able to feel a ‘flow’ in his sets, where he just ‘knows’ what feels right to say. This is because he is tuned into the emotional depth in the set, not just the logical surface-level linearness
*Rarely struggles with approach anxiety and when he does is able to quickly re-group and overcome it
*Is starting to understand what he is sub-communicating in set. Is becoming aware of his thread choice and his choices in different contexts and what they say about him. Is able to begin calibrating not based on what he said, but based on what he sub-communicated. Speeds up his calibration a LOT.
* Is beginning to be able to create real attraction in sets. Has some sets that really are on fire, but is not able to do that consistently.
*Is generally able to have a set go as long as he wants. Is able to relax into it and create a solid vibe. The girl feels comfortable and the experience for her is generally enjoyable. However, he may be able to read that as insufficient levels of attraction and take corrective action to fix it.
* Has had enough success in sets that he is starting to be able to add even more breaks to super-charge her attraction. Can see the value of it, but sometimes implements it at the wrong time and stalls sets out.
*Is aware of the burden dynamic and can feel when he is starting to cross the line and needs to dial it back
* Is still hyper-aware of being seen as a supplicating beta and has a tendency to shy away from giving too much heat even when the girl is very into him and she needs it to avoid losing hope.
* In his quest for improvement, is prone to over-analyzing frame, dominance, respect… can fall into the trap of powergaming. Still views sets success primarily in terms of power-differentials, who needs the other more, etc.. vs being able to create win/win teamwork chemistry
*Is an asset as a wing. Doesn’t DLV his friend. Is able to assist the convo, think thru where his buddy’s set it at and what is likely needs, and is able to take correct action to help him on his own initiative.
* Rarely, if ever, gets LJBF’d… most of his rejections happen bc the girl stopped replying

PUA Levels
A PUA / Natural (Pick-Up Artist or "Player")... [PUA-1]
* Can successfully PU chicks on his own, without wings, even in street PU.
* Can consistently get lays from chicks that he's never met before and "cold" PU'd.
* Understands AI / IAI and the "natural" mindset, but doesn't depend on it.
* Structures PU with a systematic "toolbox" mindset.
* Catches himself thinking "Naaaaaaahhhh, I won't post that LR. Looks too similar to that other one I posted last weak... and the chick wasn't more than a 8.5... ".
* Is actually fully congruent internally/externally when doing PU
* Knows the distinction between attraction and seduction ...and knows how to manage each stage to optimize his PU experience ...or is capable of melding the 2 into 1 cohesive framework.
* Knows how to manage his internal state consistently to great effect.
* Has methods and know-how which could make a big impact on the PUA community at-large...and from which other (regular) guys can learn to use regularly and successfully.
*Is able to rely primarily on vibe as the sustaining force during the set, both in terms of adding value and using it to create trust and intrigue.
*Has strong social vision… knows exactly what he and others are sub-communicating, and knows exactly what he needs to sub-communicate next in order to give the set its best chance of success. Is able to think in terms of probabilities ‘60% chance she’s shy, 40% chance she’s dtf but has a bf’ and make the best risk-adjusted sub-communication move next, or to create a hidden test on-the-fly to determine which one it is
*Is able to read and diagnose with a high degree of accuracy nearly every social situation in terms of its emotional context. Can manage 5-10 different hypothetical scenarios in his mind with low effort.
*Naturally has such excellent body language, sub-communication, burden-pushing and habitually places his mental focus in such attractive places that he has learned he often has to dial it back and focus on keeping the girl qualified so she wont get disheartened, feel insecure, and give up hope.
* Has game so strong that he has to regularly do things RAFCs/GPUAs would see as ‘wrong’ in order to counter-act it. Knows he has to let her win some to feel like she is equal enough to him to deserve him.
*Is a powerhouse as a wing. His friends regularly have a 50+% better chance of getting laid simply bc he is there, due to his general magnetic presence, being able to bring and keep groups of girls around him and highly engaged, being able to manage the status of 5-7 different social interactions (his friend’s sets) in his mind at once, and being able to solve the overall social situation so that the girls are smoothly teamed up with who they want/belong with.
-Has social skills so strong they extend beyond bettering his interaction with women, they have actually began to give him a more prominent social standing within the local society that he belongs in. When he walks in, people he has met before greet him. He is generally welcome and cherished in any social group.
* Is really only rejected by girls who have a hard reason not to (such as a boyfriend) or by the fact that the circumstances simply haven’t given him enough time with her (including being relegated to texting). As a general rule, if he has an hour in person with any girl, he will be able to have her strongly attracted to him by the end of that hour.

A PUE/PUG (Pick-Up Expert/Guru)... [PUA-2]
* Is a PUA who's also become specialized in a specific form of PU to the point of a consistently high success rate in that niche.
* Is conscious enough of his methods and skills to be able to teach them, whether he chooses to or not.
* A guy can be a PUG in a specific method, environment, or kind of chick.
* E.g. RJ is a PUG for SS, TokyoPUA is a PUG for street PU and also Asian chicks.
*Updated: Playingwithfire is a PUG for text/online game, BroodingSea is a PUG for Daygame, etc.. note this is not to say those guys are not a PUA-3, its just for illustrative purposes.

A M-PUA (Master Pick-up Artist)... [PUA-3]
* Is a top-form PUA, reaching the highest levels of skill in all areas and may also be specialized in a specific form of PU, but not necessarily.
* Can be a PUE/PUG as well as being a PUM.
* Can PU in street and clubs/bars equally well, environment does not pose a challenge to him.
* Knows how to utilize an "ultimate frame" and the ability to re-frame anything and everything to his advantage.
* Has experienced thoughts such as: "Oh well, my primary was out of the city and I ignored my secondaries as I wanted to bang again that SHB 10, just to know if she deserved to become one of my FBs... but then I thought maybe I'd rather go to the bar with my friends and play pool... "
* Always draws women into HIS reality, not the other way around.
* Gives advice that only PUAs are able to pick up quickly.
* Gives advice so beyond "normal" reality that it GPUAs cant understand or think it is wrong.
* Looks at the game on a much higher level; it is all abstracted to him.
* No longer needs "practice" or gets rusty as his life is the perpetual essence of PU.
* Is literally a tour de force with his vibe and confidence. Can walk into any venue and within 15-60 mins will be at the level of a local celebrity. Virgins, married women who have never cheated will be seeking to give it to him that night. The competition between women for him will be highly visible even to men. Is able to easily stand eye-to-eye (socially) with any national sports star who may be present in the venue. You can count on 1-2 fingers the amount of times you’ve seen him be reactive to another guy, no matter his status.
* If he leaves the venue, you will see a crowd of people drift towards the exit and follow him
*Merely standing alongside him will be enough to make other women in the venue hit on you or attempt to impress you. As you look around the venue, you will notice other men avoiding eye contact and looking down to avoid your eyes, while women seek eye contact and take actions such as slightly pushing up their breasts or licking their lips.
*Will have club owners, bouncers, alpha male centers-of-gravity coming over to meet him and show him polite respect throughout the night. People are constantly aware of where he is and what he is doing.
*Has such strong Judgment Authority that every rule and social norm in the venue seems to suddenly run thru him. If he were walk behind the bar and help out to serve others drinks, the bar owner, bartenders, and the bouncers would all laugh in support.
* Sees the world so far beyond game and social sub-communication. Sees how it all forms into the very fabric of society, the social norms and the underlying (and competing) belief structures that support them. Can rapidly, clearly, and deeply x-ray all these various belief structures for weak points, and with swift, entitled, shockingly ballsy yet calm Judgment Authority is able to pierce thru them with near-perfect thread choice and put all adherents to other Judgment Authorities on their back foot and quickly losing confidence in what they believe to be true.
* Has such a deep, crystal-clear perspective on the social world that is so unifying and so above anything else that every 5-10 mins with him risks putting any one else into a minor identity crisis as everything they thought they thought about some aspect of the world comes crashing down in an inner crisis of confidence. Depending on if the MPUA supports it or not, others can oscillate between feeling absolutely handicapped and barely able to form sentences, or may feel nearly limitless and invincible. With one or two well-formed questions or quips, is able to make a person re-consider large parts of what they know about broad parts of social fabric, such as events in world history or the way our society operates.