How I Met Your Mother: 10 Unforgettable Running Jokes

3. The Playbook

First appeared in: 'The Playbook' The Playbook: because one iconic book just isn't enough for Barney Stinson. Like The Bro Code before it, this piece of literature is littered with Barney's unique brand of rules and advice, offering a lengthy backlog of tricks for wannabe pick-up artists. After emerging as a coping mechanism for Barney's initial split from Robin, The Playbook represented everything extravagant about Barney the player, from elaborate costumes to fake backstories (Swiss opera singer and balloonist Lorenzo Von Matterhorn is a particular standout) that were as finely-tuned as they were fantastical. This gag undoubtedly reached its zenith when months of planning and preparation culminated in an intricate scheme known simply as €œThe Robin€. Spanning multiple episodes, it employed hidden cameras, mistletoe, and a fake relationship with Robin's arch-nemesis Patrice as part of the elaborate wedding proposal that paved the way for season nine's nuptials between Barney and Robin. Rather appropriately, Barney went on to pass on the wisdom of the Playbook (in napkin-form) to a pair of aspiring young letharios on the night before his wedding €“ a simple gesture that had monumental implications for a character that once clung so tightly to his repertoire of tricks and gimmicks.