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9 - Example: Dividing A Few Items I

Erich Prisner
Affiliation:
Franklin University Switzerland
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Summary

Prerequisites: Chapters 1 (and maybe 8).

A few items, five or six, are distributed to Ann and Beth by letting them choose one by one. If they alternate choosing, beginning with Ann, we call the games ABABA and ABABAB, depending on the number of items. For different choice orders we get different games. For instance, ABBABA is a game with six items where Ann chooses one item, Beth chooses two, Ann chooses one, Beth one, and Ann takes the remaining one. In the same way the games ABBAAB could be defined for six items, and the games ABBAB, ABBAA, and ABABB for five items.

We assume that the items may have different values to Ann and Beth, that the players know how they both value each item, and that the game's total value to a player is the sum of the values of the items she got. Both players want to get as much value as possible.

Let us label the items as item C, D, … and let a(C) and b(C) denote the values of item C for Ann and Beth, and so on.

Greedy Strategy

Isn't the way how to play these games obvious? Wouldn't each player choose the most valuable remaining item(s) whenever she has to choose? Let's call this strategy the greedy one. Instant gratification now!

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Publisher: Mathematical Association of America
Print publication year: 2014

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