"Games That Lovers Play" is a popular song composed by James Last which became a hit for multiple artists in 1966 and 1967. The song has been recorded more than 100 times. Last's own version was included on his 1967 album Games That Lovers Play.
By 1966, Eddie Fisher's sales and chart performance of singles and albums had waned. RCA Victor Records had dropped him at the start of the decade, and Fisher created his own record label named Ramrod Records. It had seen only one successful release with a live album. In early 1965, he signed Dot Records, with whom his first release was scheduled to be the single "Sunrise, Sunset", from Fiddler on the Roof. The song was heavily promoted, but it had charted only in the US, reaching No. 119 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Cashbox Top 100 Singles charts, marking a return to them. The Dot contract had only produced one successful LP, which prompted Fisher to leave the label by late 1966, and he reunited with RCA right after.
In September 1966, he recorded the song "Games That Lovers Play" (arranged by Nelson Riddle, produced by Al Schmitt), released by RCA Victor Records. It was backed by the swinging title track from Mame. The single had already sold 150,000 copies in ten days, with RCA putting their all their substantial promotional power behind it. Following the immense success, Fisher recorded the album Games That Lovers Play (also arranged by Nelson Riddle) which was a commercial and critical hit.
The single received a positive critical reception upon its release. Billboard noted that "The hit German ballad with English lyrics could do for Fisher what "Strangers in the Night" did for Sinatra," Adding that "His return to RCA with a Nelson Riddle arrangement should put him back on the Hot 100 once again. Cashbox said that "Vet songster returns to the Victor fold with a breezy swinger", describing the song as a "smart German tune", and noting that "Eddie's sure to come up with good-sized airtime & jukebox exposure." Record World magazine put the single in its "Sleepers of the Week" section at the start, and positively stated that "Eddie Fisher will score once more with RCA and this strong ballad â just the thing in these days." The magazine described Fisher as "never better"."
"Games That Lovers Play" debuted on Billboard magazine's Easy Listening chart in the issue dated October 15, 1966, and peaked at No. 2 during a fourteen-week run on it. The single had seen pop success as well, reaching No. 45 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 41 on the Cashbox Top 100 Singles charts, marking a return to them. It became an international hit as well, reaching the Canadian and South African charts soon after too.
Renditions by Wayne Newton and Mantovani charted concurrently in late 1966 in the United States. The latter returned to the pop charts with the song, while Newton's version peaked at No. 22 on the Easy Listening chart. In early 1967, "Games That Lovers Play" became a hit for Donald Peers in the United Kingdom and Connie Francis in South Africa, where it reached the top 20.