Here is my view: Sadly, game playing works ALL TOO WELL with men. Men are very easy to manipulate. (no doubt women are too, but that's a different story).

The problem is that manipulation and Cosmo style dating tricks are a self-defeating tactic in the long run!
If you pretend you are something you are not, and win a man's affections on those grounds, you will then be stuck in that type of behaviour forever (particularly if you get married). Alternatively, things will fall apart once you can no longer keep the pretense up, or the man sees the real you behind the facade. So it's NOT a good idea to use manipulative tactics unless you can keep the game up indefinitely. Who wants to be an actress for the rest of her life, 24/7 ? However, it's very easy to get drawn into such behaviour because it's so deceptively easy and it works so well. Thanks to the "self-help" industry, there are even books and seminars outlining these sly tactics. But my advice is: Stay away from it or use it very restrictively!

Another observation on these lines, is that (in no particular order) pornography, feminism, Hollywood, sexual liberation, computer games and general moral decline has just about killed real romance. I think both genders are suffering from serious confusion and nobody quite knows what's expected of them, or even what they want... I think these things I just listed has brought out the worst sides in many men, to the detriment of women.

There is a funny Russian comedy from the 1980s which was recommended by one of the ladies here at MR, about this kind of behaviour: "Самая обаятельная и привлекательная".

Silly but funny...