Women are known to play games and be coy at the early stages of dating, but did you know that guys can play hard to get too?

Find out some signs that show that he is playing hard to get and that will make it easier for you to figure it out if he does. 

Signs that a guy is playing hard to get:

1. You’re not sure he likes you:

You do know that deep down he likes you, otherwise, why would he seek you out from time to time? What may be happening is that he doesn’t feel prepared to go all-in in a new exclusive relationship with you. But, at the same time he doesn’t want to drop you either. This means that he is playing hard to get. 

One day he could be all over you, sending you texts constantly and arranging for you to meet while showering with compliments, but the next you could just be hearing silence from him. If this makes you feel confused, don’t hesitate to tell him so.

As a bonus, telling him how he makes you feel shows him that you care very much for him and that his actions have a deep effect on you.

2. He takes too long to text you:

One way to be sure that he is playing hard to get is when he doesn’t reply to you immediately, and you know he is not busy at the moment. Of course, when he is at work, or when it’s too late at night you can’t expect him to be glued to the phone.

But when you know that he is available to answer and he takes six hours, for example, and then comes up with an excuse you know he is playing you.

If this is all playful, there’s no need to not go with the flow and participate in the game, but if it’s something that’s starting to bother you consider if this is someone you want to be with. He is not going to be reliable during the moments you most need support because he is always unreachable.

3. He drops hints that urge you to make the first move:

Unfortunately, society puts a big pressure on men to make the first move when it comes to dating. They have to figure out through the hints that women send, whether to act and make a move or if they risk a humiliating rejection.

So, it’s not unsurprising that from time to time, a guy would like to reverse the roles. He may be tired of always being the one to make all the effort, and if he thinks a relationship with you has potential, he is going to test you.

He is going to play hard to get to see if you make an effort to go after him. If you do seek him out this will reassure him that you are indeed interested in him, and not just because he laid out the whole pass in front of you without any obstacles. However, this doesn’t mean you should drop everything in your life and run after this guy to try to prove yourself to him.

In fact, you can later think of coming back to read this article on signs that a guy wants you to chase after him and why you should never give in and do that.

4. He talks about the future he imagines you to have together:

This can be confusing at first, but if a guy really likes you, he will try to tell you by sharing with you how he envisioned your future together.

However, he will never share the same thing with you again. It’s not that he lost interest in sharing a future with you, it’s simply that he wants to keep you on your toes. He wants to leave you thinking about what he said and then ask him questions and be more eager to dream together about it. 

5. It’s hard to see him:

Essentially, he wants you to miss him. He is aware that you desperately want to meet him and arrange dates all the time, but he doesn’t want to seem very available to you either. At least, not at first.

You can easily tell that he is doing this on purpose if he is completely open when it comes to texting and calling each other, but when it comes to meeting face-to-face, he suddenly puts all these obstacles in your way.

At first, you can play according to his rules. You can do this by insisting now and then when you’d like to meet, but if he never drops this act, it can become quite frustrating. If you start feeling like he is mocking your efforts, consider stopping to insist desperately to see him. You played along, but he didn’t reward you with his presence, so maybe try ghosting him for a while.

6. His mystery about his past:

If a guy insists on knowing more about you than letting you know more about himself he is playing hard to get. He is trying to surround himself with mystery and make you eager to learn more about him.

It’s important to be sure that he is merely hiding his past for the sake of being playful, and not because he has some sort of unresolved issues. If it ends up being the latter, make him see that it’s okay to be vulnerable around you and that you are willing to listen and to offer him support.

In the end, you can also check this article out to learn why a guy would play hard to get in the first place and what this says about him and his personality.