Mack, the sly protagonist of Netflix’s endearing new rom-com Players, always closes. The 33-year-old journalist has a back pocket stuffed with plays that rarely fail. Want to convince the stranger at the bar that you can offer her the world? Or bag your next-door neighbor? Mack and her friends can walk you through the moves, honed over 12 years, to force an interaction.

The plays work well because Mack, Adam (Damon Wayans Jr.), Brannagan (Augustus Prew) and Ryan aka “Little” (Joel Courtney) are committed to research. Establishing a play requires a careful assessment of the target, the situation and the context. The plays can always help you land a steamy bar make-out, a one-night stand or maybe even a date. What they can’t do, Mack learns, is get you into a relationship.

Players, directed by Trish Sie, is the kind of romantic comedy that wears the conventions of its genre proudly.