A Game of Scores: Reinventing Education and Exam Preparation & My Journey to IIT Bombay Beyond

A Game of Scores positions education as something you can analyze, model, and engineer. It studies how multiple-choice questions are deliberately designed to trick you. You learn to write non-linear notes that compress entire textbooks into connected concept maps; to separate practice-mode exploration from exam-mode execution; to eliminate wrong answers through pattern recognition rather than guesswork; to handle exception-heavy subjects by finding structure inside apparent randomness; and to simulate exam conditions until pressure feels familiar.The book moves beyond content into meta-learning: how memory encodes and retrieves, how attention drifts, how spaced repetition strengthens recall, and how active teaching deepens understanding. It covers unconventional strategies such as aggressive note compression, statistical elimination, structured revision cycles, and stress testing under deliberate constraints. It addresses online versus offline preparation objectively, lays out tactical planning for the final days before the exam, aligns routine with circadian rhythm, reframes mental health and daily problems, applies the principles of lab manuals that design lab experiments to life manuals that design your life, and uses calculus to propose to your crush.You'll learn to study with the same mindset Sunny used to get into IIT Bombay, to crack any exam that takes you to your dream prestigious university, and to ace exams within those prestigious universities.