Play Smarter with Game Theory
Level 1: Why Everyone Is Playing Games (All the Time)
This morning, you probably played at least three games before you even finished breakfast.
You just didn’t notice. Maybe you made a decision on whether to hit snooze or wake up right away. Maybe you negotiated bathroom time with your sibling or roommate. Maybe you thought about whether to reply to that message right now or save it for later. None of these involved a dice or spinning wheel, but they were games. Not in the “fun” sense, but in the game theory sense: strategic decision-making in situations where other people’s choices affect yours, and yours affect theirs.
Game theory is the study of these decisions. Economists, military strategists, and even wildlife biologists use it to predict behavior and plan strategies. But it’s not just for experts. We all “play” daily, whether we’re bargaining over who takes out the trash, competing for the last parking spot, or figuring out how to split the dinner bill. In every case, there are players (the decision-makers), strategies (the options you can choose), and payoffs (the outcome you get depending on everyone’s choices).
Not all games work in the same way. Some are win–lose, known as zero-sum games, where my gain is your loss. An example for this is fighting over the last slice of pizza. There’s no way for both of us to win (unless someone invents infinite pizza). Other games are non-zero-sum, and if we collaborate, we can both possibly win. Examples for this are teaming up on a group project or sharing resources. Some games encourage cooperation, others make it nearly impossible, and the strategies you choose depend on which type you’re facing.
If you want to start noticing game theory in your own life, try this: throughout today, pay attention to moments where you made a decision because of what someone else might do. Was it a win–lose or a possible win–win situation? Did you choose to cooperate or compete? Once you start spotting these patterns, you’ll realize that life is basically one big multiplayer strategy game. And whether you like it or not, you’re already a player.
Next time, we’ll dive into one of the most famous scenarios in game theory: The Prisoner’s Dilemma, a game that shows why people can end up betraying each other.
