Game Of Thrones: 10 Smartest People Who Could Play The Game Best

One of the best aspects of Game Of Thrones is the game itself, the game of thrones, the politicking, backstabbing, and overall realism that if anyone makes a mistake around the collection of ruthless people playing the game, they pay for it. Even if some of that does deteriorate later on, like Cersei says, “When you play the Game of Thrones, you win, or you die.”

Throughout eight seasons of the show, there are a variety of people always making moves, positioning themselves for the better. Some people are not made for the game, but some excel in it and thrive on the ladder of chaos.

10 Daenerys Targaryen

Unlike a lot of characters in Game Of Thrones who are innately good at the game, and whom the audience meets at a time when they are already very much in play, Daenerys is a character who fans get to see become acquainted with the politicking and making moves as she grows.

She is nowhere near the best of players. But by the time of the later seasons, she has absorbed enough from the likes of Tyrion and her other advisors to make moves like legitimizing Gendry and leaving Daario behind. Even earlier, with her work across the Narrow Sea, Daenerys displayed moments of playing the game, and it was a joy to watch even if she was not the best at it overall.

9 Sansa Stark

Another character whom fans get to watch grow into a player throughout the show, particularly the late seasons, is Sansa Stark, who took all the lessons she learned from Cersei, her time in King’s Landing, her time with Ramsay and Littlefinger, and utilized it.

Sansa was not making many plays, but she outmaneuvered Littlefinger, displayed a talent for ruling the North in Jon’s place, and freed the North from the other six kingdoms, as well as winning the Battle of the Bastards and taking the North back from the Boltons. There is no doubt Sansa will be a brilliant Queen in the North.

8 Cersei Lannister

For a long time, Cersei was not a great player and made quite a lot of mistakes, alongside having to answer to other people while not making many good moves. In season six, however, she came into her own.

When she blew up the Sept of Baelor, eliminating so many of her enemies, and became Queen following Tommen’s suicide, she displayed her power. She took Highgarden and eliminated Olenna Tyrell, paid back the Iron Bank, and ruled over her family and their forces.

7 The High Sparrow

One of the victims of the destruction of the Sept of Baelor was the High Sparrow, the only character in eight seasons of Game Of Thrones who made some fans root for Cersei.

The High Sparrow was a master manipulator, getting the faith militant armed, making a solid relationship with the crown, completely brainwashing Tommen, and jailing Loras, Margaery, and Cersei herself, he outmaneuvered them all until his arrogance and underestimation of Cersei saw his demise.

6 Margaery Tyrell

Margaery Tyrell also blew up with the Sept of Baelor, but even at that moment she displayed her smarts, as she knew Cersei was up to something and wanted to get out the Sept.

Margaery always wanted to be Queen, and positioned herself to do so with Renly, and later Joffrey, and later Tommen, controlling each of the Lannister sons without them even knowing, and creating an immense public image in King’s Landing, getting the better of even Cersei and the High Sparrow by convincing him of her newfound ‘faith.’

5 Lady Olenna Tyrell

However, perhaps due to premature death and rotten luck, Margaery never quite managed to reach the level of her grandmother, the Queen of Thorns, Lady Olenna Tyrell.

With a legendary wit, a sharp prick ready to be unleashed at any moment, and high authority and power as the matriarch of House Tyrell, Olenna was phenomenal. She murdered Joffrey, ensuring a route for her granddaughter to be both safe and totally in control of Westeros alongside her. The fact she is perhaps the only character who can stand in a battle of wits with Tywin is telling.

4 Tyrion Lannister

In the last few seasons of the show, Tyrion Lannister kind of fell to the wayside a bit, and definitely made some decisions that did not work out well at all. However, for four seasons, he displayed true genius and was perhaps the show’s best character.

Tyrion has a talent for playing the game, for being in amongst the political maneuvering around the monarchy in the Game Of Thrones world. The way he defended King’s Landing and how great he was at acting Hand of the King was incredible, and even though he had ups and downs with Daenerys, and made mistakes, he was still valuable.

3 Tywin Lannister

Tyrion’s father Tywin was magnificent throughout his time on the show and made an incredible impact as one of the best characters in all of Game Of Thrones.

Tywin Lannister’s orchestration of the Red Wedding, swiftly bringing an end to Robb Stark and his cause, was one of the most brilliant yet painful plays in all of the show. Tywin brought the Lannisters to prominence and created many relationships to continue to their legacy, proving himself to be a lethal mind in Westeros.

2 Lord Varys

Varys played the game for such different reasons than most other players in Game Of Thrones, not necessarily looking for power for himself, but rather peace and prosperity for the people of the realm, even if these intentions were not always clear.

Varys is one of the smartest people in the show, almost always knowing what is going on due to his little birds. His rise from a lowborn to the Small Council is nothing short of impressive, and he is instrumental in not only Daenerys’ rise, but the survival of Tyrion.

1 Lord Petyr ‘Littlefinger’ Baelish

But, unfortunately, focusing on the good of the realm rather than the good of the individual may be what holds Varys back as a player compared to Littlefinger, who is out for himself.

While his last play was poor and nonsensical, and while Varys often bested him in one on one conversational confrontations, nobody was as good at surveying a situation and ensuring that they have all their bases covered than the man who started the War of the Five Kings, orchestrated the purple wedding, and took over the Vale. He was a genius.