Ready Player One is a close simulation of an associate’s role at a venture firm. You will begin your quest alone, discounted and playing against well-resourced and smarter people. You will have allies, but you will not know who they are and they will shift with each play. Seemingly useless knowledge will become important, but you won’t know what useless knowledge is important until later in the game. As you level up, the challenges will become harder and you’ll have to continue mastering the skills of the previous levels while learning new ones. You will have to alter your game play routinely as others emulate your strategy.