Where does the idea that human relationships are a game come from?

There was just a question about what a guy’s “game” to get women is. I’ve heard it over and over that people believe they have to pretend to be something else in order to get what they want. Somehow, it seems like so many of us have been taught that we aren’t good enough. We have to pretend to be something more or we will never get what we want.

Where does this idea come from? How is it perpetuated? Do you think this is how you relate to others at least some of the time? If so, in what situations do you try to appear to be something other than what you believe you are?