Strategy: Competition, Cooperation and the payoff matrix
We played an interesting optimisation game. There are 4 partnerships of 2 persons in a group. I'm not sure if the real goal of the game was made clear to us, but basically we were supposed to make choices such that "we" would get the most money in the end. Each partnership had to choose either an 'X' or a 'Y' each time.
I think the payoff matrix is as follows:
All X’s
All lose $1.00
1 X, 3 Y
X: Gain $3.00
Y: Lose $3.00
2 X, 2 Y
X: Gain $2.00
Y: Lose $2.00
3 X, 1 Y
X: Lose $3.00
Y: Gain $3.00
All Y’s
All gain $1.00
All rounds follow the payoff matrix except for the 5th, 8th and 10th bonus round, whereby whatever points gained were multiplied by 2, 5 and 10 respectively. We were allowed to discuss as a group, prior to each bonus round on the strategy to take.
The obvious strategy to take, in order to win the overall highest score for the group, would be selecting 'Y' throughout. Perhaps because of the ambiguity at the start of the game, quite a few people ended up playing to win for the partnership. The results were quite interesting. Some people would sabotage the cartel right at the end if they find they're on the (bottom) losing end but yet others will allow others to trample on their heads (ie. go right into the other end of the red). Can't help thinking about the Nash Equilibrium. Reading up more on game theory should be pretty fun.
I think the payoff matrix is as follows:
All X’s
All lose $1.00
1 X, 3 Y
X: Gain $3.00
Y: Lose $3.00
2 X, 2 Y
X: Gain $2.00
Y: Lose $2.00
3 X, 1 Y
X: Lose $3.00
Y: Gain $3.00
All Y’s
All gain $1.00
All rounds follow the payoff matrix except for the 5th, 8th and 10th bonus round, whereby whatever points gained were multiplied by 2, 5 and 10 respectively. We were allowed to discuss as a group, prior to each bonus round on the strategy to take.
The obvious strategy to take, in order to win the overall highest score for the group, would be selecting 'Y' throughout. Perhaps because of the ambiguity at the start of the game, quite a few people ended up playing to win for the partnership. The results were quite interesting. Some people would sabotage the cartel right at the end if they find they're on the (bottom) losing end but yet others will allow others to trample on their heads (ie. go right into the other end of the red). Can't help thinking about the Nash Equilibrium. Reading up more on game theory should be pretty fun.