Consensus dynamics
Consensus dynamics or agreement dynamics is an area of research lying at the intersection of systems theory and graph theory. A major topic of investigation is the agreement or consensus problem in mu
Solution concept
In game theory, a solution concept is a formal rule for predicting how a game will be played. These predictions are called "solutions", and describe which strategies will be adopted by players and, th
Cheap talk
In game theory, cheap talk is communication between players that does not directly affect the payoffs of the game. Providing and receiving information is free. This is in contrast to signaling in whic
Finite game
A finite game (sometimes called a founded game or a well-founded game) is a two-player game which is assured to end after a finite number of moves. Finite games may have an infinite number of possibil
General game playing
General game playing (GGP) is the design of artificial intelligence programs to be able to play more than one game successfully. For many games like chess, computers are programmed to play these games
Tragedy of the commons
In economics and in an ecological context, the tragedy of the commons is a situation in which individual users, who have open access to a resource unhampered by shared social structures or formal rule
Simultaneous game
In game theory, a simultaneous game or static game is a game where each player chooses their action without knowledge of the actions chosen by other players. Simultaneous games contrast with sequentia
Inequity aversion
Inequity aversion (IA) is the preference for fairness and resistance to incidental inequalities. The social sciences that study inequity aversion include sociology, economics, psychology, anthropology
Markov strategy
In game theory, a Markov strategy is one that depends only on state variables that summarize the history of the game in one way or another. For instance, a state variable can be the current play in a
Expected utility hypothesis
The expected utility hypothesis is a popular concept in economics that serves as a reference guide for decisions when the payoff is uncertain. The theory recommends which option rational individuals s
Contingent cooperator
In game theory, a contingent cooperator is a person or agent who is willing to act in the collective interest, rather than his short-term selfish interest, if he observes a majority of the other agent
Complete information
In economics and game theory, complete information is an economic situation or game in which knowledge about other market participants or players is available to all participants. The utility function
Unbeatable strategy
In biology, the idea of an unbeatable strategy was proposed by W.D. Hamilton in his 1967 paper on sex ratios in Science. In this paper Hamilton discusses sex ratios as strategies in a game, and cites
Minimax
Minimax (sometimes MinMax, MM or saddle point) is a decision rule used in artificial intelligence, decision theory, game theory, statistics, and philosophy for minimizing the possible loss for a worst
Focal point (game theory)
In game theory, a focal point (or Schelling point) is a solution that people tend to choose by default in the absence of communication. The concept was introduced by the American economist Thomas Sche
Hierarchy of beliefs
Construction by Jean-François Mertens and Zamir implementing with John Harsanyi's proposal to model games with incomplete information by supposing that each player is characterized by a privately know
Metagame analysis
Metagame analysis involves framing a problem situation as a strategic game in which participants try to realise their objectives by means of the options available to them. The subsequent meta-analysis
Pareto efficiency
Pareto efficiency or Pareto optimality is a situation where no individual or preference criterion can be made better off without making at least one individual or preference criterion worse off. The c
Compromise
To compromise is to make a deal between different parties where each party gives up part of their demand. In arguments, compromise is a concept of finding agreement through communication, through a mu
Braess's paradox
Braess's paradox is the observation that adding one or more roads to a road network can slow down overall traffic flow through it. The paradox was discovered by the German mathematician Dietrich Braes
Game theory
Game theory is the study of mathematical models of strategic interactions among rational agents. It has applications in all fields of social science, as well as in logic, systems science and computer
Expected value of perfect information
In decision theory, the expected value of perfect information (EVPI) is the price that one would be willing to pay in order to gain access to perfect information. A common discipline that uses the EVP
Co-opetition (book)
Co-opetition: A Revolution Mindset that Combines Competition and Cooperation is a non-fiction book on coopetition (co-operative competition), business strategy, and game theory by and Barry J. Nalebuf
Escalation of commitment
Escalation of commitment is a human behavior pattern in which an individual or group facing increasingly negative outcomes from a decision, action, or investment nevertheless continue the behavior ins
Game complexity
Combinatorial game theory has several ways of measuring game complexity. This article describes five of them: state-space complexity, game tree size, decision complexity, game-tree complexity, and com
Quantum pseudo-telepathy
Quantum pseudo-telepathy is the fact that in certain Bayesian games with asymmetric information, players who have access to a shared physical system in an entangled quantum state, and who are able to
Simultaneous action selection
Simultaneous action selection, or SAS, is a game mechanic that occurs when players of a game take action (such as moving their pieces) at the same time. Examples of games that use this type of movemen
Bayesian regret
In stochastic game theory, Bayesian regret is the expected difference ("regret") between the utility of a Bayesian strategy and that of the optimal strategy (the one with the highest expected payoff).
Platonia dilemma
In the platonia dilemma introduced in Douglas Hofstadter's book Metamagical Themas, an eccentric trillionaire gathers 20 people together, and tells them that if one and only one of them sends them a t
Homo economicus
The term Homo economicus, or economic man, is the portrayal of humans as agents who are consistently rational and narrowly self-interested, and who pursue their subjectively defined ends optimally. It
Transferable utility
Transferable utility is a concept in cooperative game theory and in economics. Utility is transferable if one player can losslessly transfer part of its utility to another player. Such transfers are p
Game design
Game design is the art of applying design and aesthetics to create a game for entertainment or for educational, exercise, or experimental purposes. Increasingly, elements and principles of game design
Sion's minimax theorem
In mathematics, and in particular game theory, Sion's minimax theorem is a generalization of John von Neumann's minimax theorem, named after Maurice Sion. It states: Let be a compact convex subset of
Zermelo's theorem (game theory)
In game theory, Zermelo's theorem is a theorem about finite two-person games of perfect information in which the players move alternately and in which chance does not affect the decision making proces
Vickrey–Clarke–Groves auction
A Vickrey–Clarke–Groves (VCG) auction is a type of sealed-bid auction of multiple items. Bidders submit bids that report their valuations for the items, without knowing the bids of the other bidders.
Mathematics of Operations Research
Mathematics of Operations Research is a quarterly peer-reviewed scientific journal established in February 1976. It focuses on areas of mathematics relevant to the field of operations research such as
Edgeworth conjecture
In economics, the Edgeworth conjecture is the idea, named after Francis Ysidro Edgeworth, that the core of an economy shrinks to the set of Walrasian equilibria as the number of agents increases to in
Bayesian efficiency
Bayesian efficiency is an analog of Pareto efficiency for situations in which there is incomplete information. Under Pareto efficiency, an allocation of a resource is Pareto efficient if there is no o
Author-level metrics
Author-level metrics are citation metrics that measure the bibliometric impact of individual authors, researchers, academics, and scholars. Many metrics have been developed that take into account vary
Non-credible threat
A non-credible threat is a term used in game theory and economics to describe a threat in a sequential game that a rational player would not actually carry out, because it would not be in his best int
Subgame
In game theory, a subgame is any part (a subset) of a game that meets the following criteria (the following terms allude to a game described in extensive form): 1.
* It has a single initial node that
Rational irrationality
The concept known as rational irrationality was popularized by economist Bryan Caplan in 2001 to reconcile the widespread existence of irrational behavior (particularly in the realms of religion and p
Authority distribution
The solution concept authority distribution was formulated by Lloyd Shapley and his student X. Hu in 2003 to measure the authority power of players in a well-contracted organization. The index generat
Ambiguity aversion
In decision theory and economics, ambiguity aversion (also known as uncertainty aversion) is a preference for known risks over unknown risks. An ambiguity-averse individual would rather choose an alte
Edgeworth price cycle
An Edgeworth price cycle is cyclical pattern in prices characterized by an initial jump, which is then followed by a slower decline back towards the initial level. The term was introduced by Maskin an
Heresthetic
Heresthetic is an approach to understanding how political actors manipulate the decision-making process so they can win. Heresthetic is a positive political theory, including aspects of game theory, p
Theory of obligationes
Obligationes or disputations de obligationibus were a medieval disputation format common in the 13th and 14th centuries. Despite the name, they had nothing to do with ethics or morals but rather dealt
Edgeworth paradox
To solve the Bertrand paradox, the Irish economist Francis Ysidro Edgeworth put forward the Edgeworth Paradox in his paper "The Pure Theory of Monopoly", published in 1897. In economics, the Edgeworth
Algorithmic game theory
Algorithmic game theory (AGT) is an area in the intersection of game theory and computer science, with the objective of understanding and design of algorithms in strategic environments. Typically, in
Price of anarchy
The Price of Anarchy (PoA) is a concept in economics and game theory that measures how the efficiency of a system degrades due to selfish behavior of its agents. It is a general notion that can be ext
Spite (game theory)
In fair division problems, spite is a phenomenon that occurs when a player's value of an allocation decreases when one or more other players' valuation increases. Thus, other things being equal, a pla
Superrationality
In economics and game theory, a participant is considered to have superrationality (or renormalized rationality) if they have perfect rationality (and thus maximize their utility) but assume that all
Punctuality
Punctuality is the characteristic of being able to complete a required task or fulfill an obligation before or at a previously designated time. "Punctual" is often used synonymously with "on time". An
Minimal-entropy martingale measure
In probability theory, the minimal-entropy martingale measure (MEMM) is the risk-neutral probability measure that minimises the entropy difference between the objective probability measure, , and the
Glossary of game theory
Game theory is the branch of mathematics in which games are studied: that is, models describing human behaviour. This is a glossary of some terms of the subject.
Prim–Read theory
Prim–Read theory, or Prim–Read defense, was an important development in game theory that led to radical changes in the United States' views on the value of anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems. The th
Social trap
In psychology, a social trap is a conflict of interest or perverse incentive where individuals or a group of people act to obtain short-term individual gains, which in the long run leads to a loss for
One-shot deviation principle
The one-shot deviation principle (also known as one-deviation property) is the principle of optimality of dynamic programming applied to game theory. It says that a strategy profile of a finite extens
Fixed point (mathematics)
A fixed point (sometimes shortened to fixpoint, also known as an invariant point) is a value that does not change under a given transformation. Specifically, in mathematics, a fixed point of a functio
Strategic dominance
In game theory, strategic dominance (commonly called simply dominance) occurs when one strategy is better than another strategy for one player, no matter how that player's opponents may play. Many sim
Open-loop model
In game theory, an open-loop model is the one where players cannot observe the play of their opponents, as opposed to a closed-loop model, where all past play is common knowledge. The solution to an o
Top trading cycle
Top trading cycle (TTC) is an algorithm for trading indivisible items without using money. It was developed by David Gale and published by Herbert Scarf and Lloyd Shapley.
Rationalizability
In game theory, rationalizability is a solution concept. The general idea is to provide the weakest constraints on players while still requiring that players are rational and this rationality is commo
Parrondo's paradox
Parrondo's paradox, a paradox in game theory, has been described as: A combination of losing strategies becomes a winning strategy. It is named after its creator, Juan Parrondo, who discovered the par
Tragedy of the anticommons
The tragedy of the anticommons is a type of coordination breakdown, in which a commons does not emerge, even when general access to resources or infrastructure would be a social good. It is a mirror-i
Implementation theory
Implementation theory is an area of research in game theory concerned with whether a class of mechanisms (or institutions) can be designed whose equilibrium outcomes implement a given set of normative
Rational ignorance
Rational ignorance is refraining from acquiring knowledge when the supposed cost of educating oneself on an issue exceeds the expected potential benefit that the knowledge would provide. Ignorance abo
Costly state verification
Costly State Verification (CSV) is an approach in contract theory that considers a contract design problem in which verification (or disclosure) of enterprise performance is costly and a lender has to
Social rationality
In behavioural sciences, social rationality is a type of decision strategy used in social contexts, in which a set of simple rules is applied in complex and uncertain situations.
General equilibrium theory
In economics, general equilibrium theory attempts to explain the behavior of supply, demand, and prices in a whole economy with several or many interacting markets, by seeking to prove that the intera
Incentive compatibility
A mechanism is called incentive-compatible (IC) if every participant can achieve the best outcome to themselves just by acting according to their true preferences. There are several different degrees
Sunk cost
In economics and business decision-making, a sunk cost (also known as retrospective cost) is a cost that has already been incurred and cannot be recovered. Sunk costs are contrasted with prospective c
The Bottle Imp
"The Bottle Imp" is an 1891 short story by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson usually found in the short story collection Island Nights' Entertainments. It was first published in the New York
Zugzwang
Zugzwang (German for "compulsion to move", pronounced [ˈtsuːktsvaŋ]) is a situation found in chess and other turn-based games wherein one player is put at a disadvantage because of their obligation to
Economic justice
Justice in economics is a subcategory of welfare economics. It is a "set of moral and ethical principles for building economic institutions". Economic justice aims to create opportunities for every pe
Swap regret
Swap regret is a concept from game theory. It is a generalization of regret in a repeated, n-decision game.
Rollout (backgammon)
A rollout is an analysis technique for backgammon positions and moves. A rollout consists of playing the same position many times (with different dice rolls) and recording the results. The balance of
Gridlock (economics)
This is an extended usage of word gridlock specifically in economics to describe the common situation that occurs in the competition within an industry or a company. The similar usage of gridlock can
Bondareva–Shapley theorem
The Bondareva–Shapley theorem, in game theory, describes a necessary and sufficient condition for the non-emptiness of the core of a cooperative game in characteristic function form. Specifically, the
Negotiation theory
The foundations of negotiation theory are decision analysis, , game theory, and .Another classification of theories distinguishes between Structural Analysis, Strategic Analysis, Process Analysis, Int
Collusion
Collusion is a deceitful agreement or secret cooperation between two or more parties to limit open competition by deceiving, misleading or defrauding others of their legal right. Collusion is not alwa
Expected value of including uncertainty
In decision theory and quantitative policy analysis, the expected value of including uncertainty (EVIU) is the expected difference in the value of a decision based on a probabilistic analysis versus a
Contract theory
From a legal point of view, a contract is an institutional arrangement for the way in which resources flow, which defines the various relationships between the parties to a transaction or limits the r
Strategic complements
In economics and game theory, the decisions of two or more players are called strategic complements if they mutually reinforce one another, and they are called strategic substitutes if they mutually o
Tacit collusion
Tacit collusion is a collusion between competitors, which do not explicitly exchange information and achieving an agreement about coordination of conduct. There are two types of tacit collusion - conc
Grand coalition
A grand coalition is an arrangement in a multi-party parliamentary system in which the two largest political parties of opposing political ideologies unite in a coalition government. The term is most
Algorithmic mechanism design
Algorithmic mechanism design (AMD) lies at the intersection of economic game theory, optimization, and computer science. The prototypical problem in mechanism design is to design a system for multiple
Chainstore paradox
The chainstore paradox is an apparent game theory paradox involving the chain store game, where a "deterrence strategy" appears optimal instead of the backward induction strategy of standard game theo
Hobbesian trap
The Hobbesian trap (or Schelling's dilemma) is a theory that explains why preemptive strikes occur between two groups, out of bilateral fear of an imminent attack. Without outside influences this situ
Drama theory
Drama theory is one of the problem structuring methods in operations research. It is based on game theory and adapts the use of games to complex organisational situations, accounting for emotional res
Glicksberg's theorem
In the study of zero sum games, Glicksberg's theorem (also Glicksberg's existence theorem) is a result that shows certain games have a minimax value. If A and B are compact sets, and K is an upper sem
Von Neumann–Morgenstern utility theorem
In decision theory, the von Neumann–Morgenstern (VNM) utility theorem shows that, under certain axioms of rational behavior, a decision-maker faced with risky (probabilistic) outcomes of different cho
Outcome (game theory)
In game theory, an outcome is a situation which results from a combination of player's strategies. Formally, a path through the game tree, or equivalently a terminal node of the game tree. A primary p
Combinatorial explosion
In mathematics, a combinatorial explosion is the rapid growth of the complexity of a problem due to how the combinatorics of the problem is affected by the input, constraints, and bounds of the proble
Strategic move
A strategic move in game theory is an action taken by a player outside the defined actions of the game in order to gain a strategic advantage and increase one's payoff. Strategic moves can either be u
Bankruptcy problem
A bankruptcy problem, also called a claims problem, is a problem of distributing a homogeneous divisible good (such as money) among people with different claims. The focus is on the case where the amo
Game Description Language
Game Description Language, or GDL, is a logic programming language designed by Michael Genesereth for general game playing, as part of the General Game Playing Project at Stanford University. GDL desc
Banzhaf power index
The Banzhaf power index, named after John F. Banzhaf III (originally invented by Lionel Penrose in 1946 and sometimes called Penrose–Banzhaf index; also known as the Banzhaf–Coleman index after James
Common knowledge (logic)
Common knowledge is a special kind of knowledge for a group of agents. There is common knowledge of p in a group of agents G when all the agents in G know p, they all know that they know p, they all k
Purification theorem
In game theory, the purification theorem was contributed by Nobel laureate John Harsanyi in 1973. The theorem aims to justify a puzzling aspect of mixed strategy Nash equilibria: that each player is w
Terminal investment hypothesis
The terminal investment hypothesis is the idea in life history theory that as an organism's residual reproductive value (or the total reproductive value minus the reproductive value of the current bre
Graphical game theory
In game theory, the common ways to describe a game are the normal form and the extensive form. The graphical form is an alternate compact representation of a game using the interaction among participa
Dynamic inconsistency
In economics, dynamic inconsistency or time inconsistency is a situation in which a decision-maker's preferences change over time in such a way that a preference can become inconsistent at another poi
Bounded rationality
Bounded rationality is the idea that rationality is limited when individuals make decisions, and under these limitations, rational individuals will select a decision that is satisfactory rather than o
Stackelberg competition
The Stackelberg leadership model is a strategic game in economics in which the leader firm moves first and then the follower firms move sequentially. It is named after the German economist Heinrich Fr
Sequential game
In game theory, a sequential game is a game where one player chooses their action before the others choose theirs. The other players must have information on the first player's choice so that the diff
Evolution and the Theory of Games
Evolution and the Theory of Games is a book by the British evolutionary biologist John Maynard Smith on evolutionary game theory. The book was initially published in December 1982 by Cambridge Univers
Theorycraft
Theorycraft (or theorycrafting) is the mathematical analysis of game mechanics, usually in video games, to discover optimal strategies and tactics. Theorycraft involves analyzing statistics, hidden sy
Stable marriage problem
In mathematics, economics, and computer science, the stable marriage problem (also stable matching problem or SMP) is the problem of finding a stable matching between two equally sized sets of element
Backgammon opening theory
The first moves of a backgammon game are the opening moves, collectively referred to as the opening, and studied in the backgammon opening theory. Backgammon opening theory is not developed in as much
Replicator equation
In mathematics, the replicator equation is a deterministic monotone non-linear and non-innovative game dynamic used in evolutionary game theory. The replicator equation differs from other equations us
Gibbs lemma
In game theory and in particular the study of Blotto games and operational research, the Gibbs lemma is a result that is useful in maximization problems. It is named for Josiah Willard Gibbs. Consider
Shapley value
The Shapley value is a solution concept in cooperative game theory. It was named in honor of Lloyd Shapley, who introduced it in 1951 and won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for it in 20
Kalai–Smorodinsky bargaining solution
The Kalai–Smorodinsky (KS) bargaining solution is a solution to the Bargaining problem. It was suggested by Ehud Kalai and Meir Smorodinsky, as an alternative to Nash's bargaining solution suggested 2
Move by nature
In game theory a move by nature is a decision or move in an extensive form game made by a player who has no strategic interests in the outcome. The effect is to add a player, 'Nature', whose practical
Conjectural variation
In oligopoly theory, conjectural variation is the belief that one firm has an idea about the way its competitors may react if it varies its output or price. The firm forms a conjecture about the varia
Fictitious play
In game theory, fictitious play is a learning rule first introduced by George W. Brown. In it, each player presumes that the opponents are playing stationary (possibly mixed) strategies. At each round
Information set (game theory)
In game theory, an information set is a set that, for a particular player, given what that player has observed shows the decision vertices available to the player which are undistinguishable to them a
Mutual knowledge (logic)
Mutual knowledge is a fundamental concept about information in game theory, (epistemic) logic, and epistemology. An event is mutual knowledge if all agents know that the event occurred. However, mutua
Wait/walk dilemma
The wait/walk dilemma occurs when waiting for a bus at a bus stop, when the duration of the wait may exceed the time needed to arrive at a destination by another means, especially walking.Some work on
CC–PP game
The Commonize Costs–Privatize Profits Game (or CC–PP Game) is a concept developed by the ecologist Garrett Hardin to describe a "game" (in the game theory sense) widely played in matters of resource a
Simulations and games in economics education
A simulation game is "a game that contains a mixture of skill, chance, and strategy to simulate an aspect of reality, such as a stock exchange". Similarly, Finnish author states that "a simulation gam
Stable roommates problem
In mathematics, economics and computer science, particularly in the fields of combinatorics, game theory and algorithms, the stable-roommate problem (SRP) is the problem of finding a stable matching f
Fair division
Fair division is the problem in game theory of dividing a set of resources among several people who have an entitlement to them so that each person receives their due share. That problem arises in var
Chemical game theory
Chemical game theory is an alternative model of game theory that represents and solves problems in strategic interactions, or contested human decision making. Differences with traditional game theory
Core (game theory)
In cooperative game theory, the core is the set of feasible allocations that cannot be improved upon by a subset (a coalition) of the economy's agents. A coalition is said to improve upon or block a f
Subjective expected relative similarity
Subjective expected relative similarity (SERS) is a normative and descriptive theory that predicts and explains cooperation levels in a family of games termed Similarity Sensitive Games (SSG), among t
Martingale (probability theory)
In probability theory, a martingale is a sequence of random variables (i.e., a stochastic process) for which, at a particular time, the conditional expectation of the next value in the sequence is equ
Median voter theorem
The median voter theorem is a proposition relating to ranked preference voting put forward by Duncan Black in 1948. It states that if voters and policies are distributed along a one-dimensional spectr
Generalized game theory
Generalized game theory is an extension of game theory incorporating social theory concepts such as norm, value, belief, role, social relationship, and institution. The theory was developed by Tom R.
Homicidal chauffeur problem
In game theory, the homicidal chauffeur problem is a mathematical pursuit problem which pits a hypothetical runner, who can only move slowly, but is highly maneuverable, against the driver of a motor
Helly metric
In game theory, the Helly metric is used to assess the distance between two strategies. It is named for Eduard Helly. Consider a game , between player I and II. Here, and are the sets of pure strategi
Price of stability
In game theory, the price of stability (PoS) of a game is the ratio between the best objective function value of one of its equilibria and that of an optimal outcome. The PoS is relevant for games in
Lemke–Howson algorithm
The Lemke–Howson algorithm is an algorithm that computes a Nash equilibrium of a bimatrix game, named after its inventors, Carlton E. Lemke and .It is said to be "the best known among the combinatoria
Signalling (economics)
In contract theory, signalling (or signaling; see spelling differences) is the idea that one party (the agent) credibly conveys some information about itself to another party (the principal). Although
Null move
In game theory, a null move or pass is a decision by a player to not make a move when it is that player's turn to move. Even though null moves are against the rules of many games, they are often usefu
Strategyproofness
In game theory, an asymmetric game where players have private information is said to be strategy-proof or strategyproof (SP) if it is a weakly-dominant strategy for every player to reveal his/her priv
International Society of Dynamic Games
The International Society of Dynamic Games (ISDG) is an international non-profit, professional organization for the advancement of the theory of dynamic games.
Ply (game theory)
In two-player sequential games, a ply is one turn taken by one of the players. The word is used to clarify what is meant when one might otherwise say "turn". The word "turn" can be a problem since it
Quantum refereed game
Quantum refereed game in quantum information processing is a class of games in the general theory of quantum games. It is played between two players, Alice and Bob, and arbitrated by a referee. The re
No-win situation
A no-win situation, also called a lose-lose situation, is one where a person has choices, but no choice leads to a net gain. For example, if an executioner offers the condemned the choice of death by
Competitive regret
In decision theory, competitive regret is the relative regret compared to an oracle with limited or unlimited power in the process of distribution estimation.
Aumann's agreement theorem
Aumann's agreement theorem was stated and proved by Robert Aumann in a paper titled "Agreeing to Disagree", which introduced the set theoretic description of common knowledge. The theorem concerns age
Countersignaling
Countersignaling or countersignalling is the behavior where agents with the highest level of a given property invest less into proving it than individuals with a medium level of the same property. Thi
Strategy (game theory)
In game theory, a player's strategy is any of the options which they choose in a setting where the outcome depends not only on their own actions but on the actions of others. The discipline mainly con
Interdependence theory
Interdependence theory is a social exchange theory that states that interpersonal relationships are defined through interpersonal interdependence, which is "the process by which interacting people inf
M equilibrium
M equilibrium is a set valued solution concept in game theory that relaxes the rational choice assumptions of perfect maximization (“no mistakes”) and perfect beliefs (“no surprises”). The concept can
Mutual knowledge
Mutual knowledge in game theory is information known by all participatory agents. However, unlike common knowledge, a related topic, mutual knowledge does not require that all agents are aware that th
Myerson–Satterthwaite theorem
The Myerson–Satterthwaite theorem is an important result in mechanism design and the economics of asymmetric information, and named for Roger Myerson and Mark Satterthwaite. Informally, the result say
Backward induction
Backward induction is the process of reasoning backwards in time, from the end of a problem or situation, to determine a sequence of optimal actions. It proceeds by examining the last point at which a
Confrontation analysis
Confrontation analysis (also known as dilemma analysis) is an operational analysis technique used to structure, understand and think through multi-party interactions such as negotiations. It is the un
Waldegrave problem
In probability and game theory, the Waldegrave problem refers to a problem first described in the second edition of Pierre Raymond de Montmort`s Essay d'analyse sur les jeux de hazard. This problem is
Chess opening
A chess opening or simply an opening is the initial stage of a chess game. It usually consists of established theory; the other phases are the middlegame and the endgame. Many opening sequences have s
Asynchrony (game theory)
In game theory, asynchrony occurs when gameplay does not proceed in consistently paced rounds. A system is synchronous if agents in a game move in lockstep according to a global timing system, whereas
Rubinstein bargaining model
A Rubinstein bargaining model refers to a class of bargaining games that feature alternating offers through an infinite time horizon. The original proof is due to Ariel Rubinstein in a 1982 paper. For
Competitive altruism
Competitive altruism is a possible mechanism for the persistence of cooperative behaviors, specifically those that are performed unconditionally. The theory of reciprocal altruism can be used to expla
Strategic fair division
Strategic fair division is the branch of fair division in which the participants are assumed to hide their preferences and act strategically in order to maximize their own utility, rather than playing
Multi-agent reinforcement learning
Multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) is a sub-field of reinforcement learning. It focuses on studying the behavior of multiple learning agents that coexist in a shared environment. Each agent is
Metagaming
Metagame, Hypergame, or game about the game, is an approach to a game that transcends or operates outside of the prescribed rules of the game, uses external factors to affect the game, or goes beyond
Axiom of projective determinacy
In mathematical logic, projective determinacy is the special case of the axiom of determinacy applying only to projective sets. The axiom of projective determinacy, abbreviated PD, states that for any
Kuhn's theorem
In game theory, Kuhn's theorem relates perfect recall, mixed and unmixed strategies and their expected payoffs. It is named after Harold W. Kuhn. The theorem states that in a game where players may re
Minimax theorem
In the mathematical area of game theory, a minimax theorem is a theorem providing conditions that guarantee that the max–min inequality is also an equality. The first theorem in this sense is von Neum
Bandwidth-sharing game
A bandwidth-sharing game is a type of resource allocation game designed to model the real-world allocation of bandwidth to many users in a network. The game is popular in game theory because the concl
Open Options Corporation
Open Options Corporation is a privately owned business strategy consulting company that specializes in applied game theory and business war games where there are multiple stakeholders who can all infl
Games and Economic Behavior
Games and Economic Behavior (GEB) is a journal of game theory published by Elsevier. Founded in 1989, the journal's stated objective is to communicate game-theoretic ideas across theory and applicatio
Game semantics
Game semantics (German: dialogische Logik, translated as dialogical logic) is an approach to formal semantics that grounds the concepts of truth or validity on game-theoretic concepts, such as the exi
Two-level game theory
Two-level game theory is a political model of international conflict resolution between states derived from game theory and originally introduced in 1988 by Robert Putnam. Putnam had been involved in
Shapley–Shubik power index
The Shapley–Shubik power index was formulated by Lloyd Shapley and Martin Shubik in 1954 to measure the powers of players in a voting game. The index often reveals surprising power distribution that i
Evolutionary game theory
Evolutionary game theory (EGT) is the application of game theory to evolving populations in biology. It defines a framework of contests, strategies, and analytics into which Darwinian competition can
Ratchet effect
A ratchet effect is an instance of the restrained ability of human processes to be reversed once a specific thing has happened, analogous with the mechanical ratchet that holds the spring tight as a c
Cooperative game theory
In game theory, a cooperative game (or coalitional game) is a game with competition between groups of players ("coalitions") due to the possibility of external enforcement of cooperative behavior (e.g
Thinking Strategically
Thinking Strategically: The Competitive Edge in Business, Politics, and Everyday Life is a non-fiction book by Indian-American economist Avinash Dixit and Barry Nalebuff, a professor of economics and
Solving chess
Solving chess means finding an optimal strategy for the game of chess, that is, one by which one of the players (White or Black) can always force a victory, or either can force a draw (see solved game
Analytic narrative
An analytic narrative is a social science research method seeking to combine historical narratives with the rigor of rational choice theory, particularly through the use of game theory. The goal of an
Distributed algorithmic mechanism design
Distributed algorithmic mechanism design (DAMD) is an extension of algorithmic mechanism design. DAMD differs from Algorithmic mechanism design since the algorithm is computed in a distributed manner
Uncorrelated asymmetry
In game theory an uncorrelated asymmetry is an arbitrary asymmetry in a game which is otherwise symmetrical. The name 'uncorrelated asymmetry' is due to John Maynard Smith who called payoff relevant a
Bertrand paradox (economics)
In economics and commerce, the Bertrand paradox — named after its creator, Joseph Bertrand — describes a situation in which two players (firms) reach a state of Nash equilibrium where both firms charg
Win–stay, lose–switch
In psychology, game theory, statistics, and machine learning, win–stay, lose–switch (also win–stay, lose–shift) is a heuristic learning strategy used to model learning in decision situations. It was f
Expectiminimax
The expectiminimax algorithm is a variation of the minimax algorithm, for use in artificial intelligence systems that play two-player zero-sum games, such as backgammon, in which the outcome depends o
Perfect information
In economics, perfect information (sometimes referred to as "no hidden information") is a feature of perfect competition. With perfect information in a market, all consumers and producers have complet
Evolutionarily stable state
A population can be described as being in an evolutionarily stable state when that population's "genetic composition is restored by selection after a disturbance, provided the disturbance is not too l
Rule complex
A rule complex is a set consisting of rules and/or other rule complexes. This is a generalization of a set of rules, and provides a tool to investigate and describe how rules can function as values, n
Rational agent
A rational agent or rational being is a person or entity that always aims to perform optimal actions based on given premises and information. A rational agent can be anything that makes decisions, typ
Behavioral game theory
Behavioral game theory seeks to examine how people's strategic decision-making behaviour is shaped by social preferences, social utility and other psychological factors. Behavioral game theory analyze
Max-dominated strategy
In game theory a max-dominated strategy is a strategy which is not a best response to any strategy profile of the other players. This is an extension to the notion of strictly dominated strategies, wh
Penrose square root law
In the mathematical theory of games, the Penrose square root law, originally formulated by Lionel Penrose, concerns the distribution of the voting power in a voting body consisting of N members. It st
Hicks optimality
In game theory, a Hicks-optimal outcome, named after John Hicks, is an outcome in which the total payoff for all of the players of a game is the most it could possibly be. A Hicks-optimal outcome is a
Graph continuous function
In mathematics, and in particular the study of game theory, a function is graph continuous if it exhibits the following properties. The concept was originally defined by Partha Dasgupta and Eric Maski
Satisfaction equilibrium
In game theory, a satisfaction equilibrium is a solution concept for a class of non-cooperative games, namely games in satisfaction form. Games in satisfaction form model situations in which players a
Keynesian beauty contest
A Keynesian beauty contest is a concept developed by John Maynard Keynes and introduced in Chapter 12 of his work, The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (1936), to explain price fluctua
Ky Fan inequality (game theory)
In mathematics, there are different results that share the common name of the Ky Fan inequality. The Ky Fan inequality presented here is used in game theory to investigate the existence of an equilibr
Bertrand–Edgeworth model
In microeconomics, the Bertrand–Edgeworth model of price-setting oligopoly looks at what happens when there is a homogeneous product (i.e. consumers want to buy from the cheapest seller) where there i
Complete mixing
In evolutionary game theory, complete mixing refers to an assumption about the type of interactions that occur between individual organisms. Interactions between individuals in a population attains co
Risk aversion (psychology)
Risk aversion is a preference for a sure outcome over a gamble with higher or equal expected value. Conversely, the rejection of a sure thing in favor of a gamble of lower or equal expected value is k
Quantum game theory
Quantum game theory is an extension of classical game theory to the quantum domain. It differs from classical game theory in three primary ways: 1.
* Superposed initial states, 2.
* Quantum entangle
Mean-field game theory
Mean-field game theory is the study of strategic decision making by small interacting agents in very large populations. Use of the term "mean field" is inspired by mean-field theory in physics, which
First-player and second-player win
In combinatorial game theory, a two-player deterministic perfect information turn-based game is a first-player-win if with perfect play the first player to move can always force a win. Similarly, a ga
Social software (research field)
In philosophy and the social sciences, social software is an interdisciplinary research program that borrowsmathematical tools and techniques from game theory and computer science in order to analyze
Parthasarathy's theorem
In mathematics – and in particular the study of games on the unit square – Parthasarathy's theorem is a generalization of Von Neumann's minimax theorem. It states that a particular class of games has
Social value orientations
In social psychology, social value orientation (SVO) is a person's preference about how to allocate resources (e.g. money) between the self and another person. SVO corresponds to how much weight a per
Best response
In game theory, the best response is the strategy (or strategies) which produces the most favorable outcome for a player, taking other players' strategies as given . The concept of a best response is
Auction theory
Auction theory is an applied branch of economics which deals with how bidders act in auction markets and researches how the features of auction markets incentivise predictable outcomes. Auction theory
Coopetition
Coopetition or co-opetition (sometimes spelled "coopertition" or "co-opertition") is a neologism coined to describe cooperative competition. Coopetition is a portmanteau of cooperation and competition
Commitment device
A commitment device is, according to journalist Stephen J. Dubner and economist Steven Levitt, a way to lock oneself into following a plan of action that one might not want to do, but which one knows
Game Theory Society
The Game Theory Society (GTS) is a society for the promotion of research, teaching and application of game theory. It was founded in 1999 by Ehud Kalai and Robert Aumann and is registered in the Nethe
Revelation principle
The revelation principle is a fundamental principle in mechanism design. It states that if a social choice function can be implemented by an arbitrary mechanism (i.e. if that mechanism has an equilibr
Roemer model of political competition
The Roemer model of political competition is a game between political parties in which each party announces a multidimensional policy vector. Since Nash equilibria do not normally exist when the polic