Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 Theory 1: Introduction
- 2 Theory 2: Simultaneous Games
- 3 Example: Selecting a Class
- 4 Example: Doctor Location Games
- 5 Example: Restaurant Location Games
- 6 Using Excel
- 7 Example: Election I
- 8 Theory 3: Sequential Games I: Perfect Information and no Randomness
- 9 Example: Dividing A Few Items I
- 10 Example: Shubik Auction I
- 11 Example: Sequential Doctor and Restaurant Location
- 12 Theory 4: Probability
- 13 France 1654
- 14 Example: DMA Soccer I
- 15 Example: Dividing A Few Items II
- 16 Theory 5: Sequential Games with Randomness
- 17 Example: Sequential Quiz Show I
- 18 Las Vegas 1962
- 19 Example: Mini Blackjack and Card Counting
- 20 Example: Duel
- 21 Santa Monica in the 50s
- 22 Theory 6: Extensive Form of General Games
- 23 Example: Shubik Auction II
- 24 Theory 7: Normal Form and Strategies
- 25 Example: VNM POKER and KUHN POKER
- 26 Example: Waiting for Mr. Perfect
- 27 Theory 8: Mixed Strategies
- 28 Princeton in 1950
- 29 Example: Airport Shuttle
- 30 Example: Election II
- 31 Example: VNM POKER(2, r, m, n)
- 32 Theory 9: Behavioral Strategies
- 33 Example: Multiple-Round Chicken
- 34 Example: DMA Soccer II
- 35 Example: Sequential Quiz Show II
- 36 Example: VNM POKER(4, 4, 3, 5)
- 37 Example: KUHN POKER(3, 4, 2, 3)
- 38 Example: End-of-Semester Poker Tournament
- 39 Stockholm 1994
- Bibliography
- Index
1 - Theory 1: Introduction
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 Theory 1: Introduction
- 2 Theory 2: Simultaneous Games
- 3 Example: Selecting a Class
- 4 Example: Doctor Location Games
- 5 Example: Restaurant Location Games
- 6 Using Excel
- 7 Example: Election I
- 8 Theory 3: Sequential Games I: Perfect Information and no Randomness
- 9 Example: Dividing A Few Items I
- 10 Example: Shubik Auction I
- 11 Example: Sequential Doctor and Restaurant Location
- 12 Theory 4: Probability
- 13 France 1654
- 14 Example: DMA Soccer I
- 15 Example: Dividing A Few Items II
- 16 Theory 5: Sequential Games with Randomness
- 17 Example: Sequential Quiz Show I
- 18 Las Vegas 1962
- 19 Example: Mini Blackjack and Card Counting
- 20 Example: Duel
- 21 Santa Monica in the 50s
- 22 Theory 6: Extensive Form of General Games
- 23 Example: Shubik Auction II
- 24 Theory 7: Normal Form and Strategies
- 25 Example: VNM POKER and KUHN POKER
- 26 Example: Waiting for Mr. Perfect
- 27 Theory 8: Mixed Strategies
- 28 Princeton in 1950
- 29 Example: Airport Shuttle
- 30 Example: Election II
- 31 Example: VNM POKER(2, r, m, n)
- 32 Theory 9: Behavioral Strategies
- 33 Example: Multiple-Round Chicken
- 34 Example: DMA Soccer II
- 35 Example: Sequential Quiz Show II
- 36 Example: VNM POKER(4, 4, 3, 5)
- 37 Example: KUHN POKER(3, 4, 2, 3)
- 38 Example: End-of-Semester Poker Tournament
- 39 Stockholm 1994
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
What's a Game?
Every child understands what games are. When someone overreacts, we sometimes say “it's just a game.” Games are often not serious. Mathematical games, which are the subject of this book, are different. It was the purpose of game theory from its beginnings in 1928 to be applied to serious situations in economics, politics, business, and other areas. Even war can be analyzed by mathematical game theory. Let us describe the ingredients of a mathematical game.
Rules Mathematical games have strict rules. They specify what is allowed and what isn't. Though many real-world games allow for discovering new moves or ways to act, games that can be analyzed mathematically have a rigid set of possible moves, usually all known in advance.
Outcomes and payoffs Children (and grown-ups too) play games for hours for fun. Mathematical games may have many possible outcomes, each producing payoffs for the players. The payoffs may be monetary, or they may express satisfaction. You want to win the game.
Uncertainty of the Outcome A mathematical game is “thrilling” in that its outcome cannot be predicted in advance. Since its rules are fixed, this implies that a game must either contain some random elements or have more than one player.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Game Theory Through Examples , pp. 1 - 3Publisher: Mathematical Association of AmericaPrint publication year: 2014