Game theory is a branch of mathematics that deals with the analysis of games (i.e., situations involving parties
with conflicting interests). In addition to the mathematical elegance and complete
"solution" which is possible for simple games, the principles of game theory
also find applications to complicated games such as cards, checkers, and chess, as
well as real-world problems as diverse as economics, property division, politics,
and warfare.
Game theory has two distinct branches: combinatorial
game theory and classical game theory.
Combinatorial game theory covers two-player games of perfect knowledge such as go , chess ,
or checkers . Notably, combinatorial games have no chance
element, and players take turns.
In classical game theory, players move, bet, or strategize simultaneously. Both hidden information and chance elements are frequent features in this branch of game theory, which is also a branch of economics.
The Season 1 episode "Dirty Bomb " (2005) of the television crime drama NUMB3RS
(as well as a number of other episodes) feature character Charlie's use of game theory
as a tool for solving crimes.
See also Borel Determinacy Theorem ,
Categorical Game ,
Checkers ,
Chess ,
Combinatorial
Game Theory ,
Decision Theory ,
Finite
Game ,
Futile Game ,
Game
Expectation ,
Game Saddle Point ,
Go ,
Impartial Game ,
Mex ,
Minimax Theorem ,
Mixed
Strategy ,
Nash Equilibrium ,
Nash's
Theorem ,
Nim ,
Nim-Value ,
Partisan Game ,
Payoff
Matrix ,
Peg Solitaire ,
Perfect
Information ,
Safe ,
Strategy ,
Tit-for-Tat ,
Unsafe ,
Value ,
Wythoff's Game ,
Zero-Sum Game
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Ways for Your Mathematical Plays, Vol. 2: Games in Particular. London:
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S. Mathematical
Games and How to Play Them. New York: Routledge, 1992. Walker,
P. "An Outline of the History of Game Theory." http://www.econ.canterbury.ac.nz/personal_pages/paul_walker/gt/hist.htm . Weisstein,
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York: Dover, 1986. Referenced on Wolfram|Alpha Game Theory
Cite this as:
Weisstein, Eric W. "Game Theory." From
MathWorld --A Wolfram Web Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/GameTheory.html
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