The Playbook

The Playbook is a book authored by Barney Stinson that contains a collection of scams Barney uses for picking up women. The Playbook was first seen in the episode "The Playbook " but then it disappears for a while and all we hear about it through plays Barney talks about. The next time we see The Playbook is season 8 episode 10 "The Over-Correction" where Robin breaks into Barney's apartment to reveal to Patrice (Barney's girlfriend at the time) what a player he once was and whilst doing so Robin gets herself, Ted and Lily trapped in Barney's apartment. Whilst trappped in Barney's apartment they witness Barney burns The Playbook as the group watch Barney's life's work gone just like that. But Barney being Barney has a spare copy even more "Legendairy" than before, The Playbook makes a return but not in its full formin season 8 episode 12 "The Final Page - Part Two " towards the end of the episode Ted tells Robin about Barney proposal to Patrice on the top of the World Wide News Network, Robin wanting to tell Barney she loves him goes to the top of the World Wide News Network. She arrives at the roof to find that Barney and Patrice aren't there all thats there is a page of The Playbook left on the floor. Picking it up Robin reads about Barney's long and complex plan to get her to marry him. The Playbook returns in season 8 episode 18 "Weekend at Barney's" after Ted has a rough break up with crazy girl, Jeanette, Barney breaks out The Playbook to help Ted score a girl but near to the end of the again the gang watch as The Playbook is blown up not by Barney but by Jeanette, Ted's crazy ex-girlfriend, who breaks into his apartment and finds the book. In season 9 episode 17 "Sunrise " we witness the return of The Playbook near to the end of the episode after Barney has trained two young men to the point of "Legend-Wait-For-It-Dairy" he hands them a stack of napkins containing the pages of The Playbook passing on his knowledge to the next generation. An actual published version of The Playbook is also available.

The episode version is a large, leather-bound book. It contains various scams including:

• The SNASA (page 3)
• The Cheap Trick (page 86)
• The My Penis Grants Wishes (page 31)
• The He's Not Coming (page 27)
• The Don't Drink That (page 7)
• The Ted Mosby (page 52)
• The Mrs. Stinsfire (page 117)
• The Lorenzo Von Matterhorn (page 78)
• The last page of the book was The Scuba Diver (page 136) which was torn out of the book as part of the elaborate plot.
• The Time Traveler (page 46)