Publication Date: September 8, 2026
In this clever and surprising thriller about the perils of modern dating and the female rage it sometimes inspires, a board game designer starts playing by her own rules, and losers won’t be tolerated.
The friendship game. The dating game. The end game. For board game designer Tilda Smith they’re all necessary steps on the path to finding happiness. And by structuring her life according to a set of rules, just like in the games that she loves to create at her job, Tilda can finally win.
The only problem? The other players don’t know they’re playing by Tilda’s rules. She’s fair. Very fair, in fact. But then one night her date pushes her too far and she gets just a bit carried away. Any player who disappoints must face consequences, right? But as Tilda finds herself transporting a body in a laundry bag, she has to question how to make the punishment fit the crime.
And now someone is watching Tilda and playing a game of their own. Will they turn the tables on her, or can she figure out a way to best them? The game is never really over until she says it is.
Game on.
Tilda Smith designs board games for a living, easily navigating into fictional worlds where rules dictate everything.
However, in real life, she can’t seem to get traction. A letter from her late mother prompts her to create a set of rules to find friends and romance. Author Ally Zetterberg takes readers into Tilda’s world in The Dating Game.
Unlike board games, Tilda doesn’t share the rules with anyone else. When doling out consequences for those breaking her rules, Tilda tends to get carried away.
Part dark humor, part suspense, Tilda’s efforts to date and build friendships alternate between amusing and horrifying. While her character brings a fresh premise, it’s a toss-up throughout the book regarding which version of Tilda will appear.
When she realizes someone else is watching, Tilda’s competitive spirit engages. How can she win a game, though, if she doesn’t know the rules?
The Dating Game serves up a roller coaster of emotions as the ultimate gamer tries to apply rules to relationships with boundary-breaking results.
Ally Zetterberg is a British-Swedish writer. She spent ten years working internationally as a fashion model before turning to writing. Being neurodivergent herself and the mother of a child with Type 1 Diabetes, she is passionate about creating relatable characters and representing those living with medical conditions in her work. She speaks four languages and does her best not to muddle them up.
