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Game Theory

Apply the mathematical lens of game theory to decision-making in everything from parlor games to business decisions, and begin to recognize the role chance and variance play when applying optimal strategies.

About this Workshop

Campus: Wellesley College | Rising Grades: 10,11,12

Games are fun, but game theory is more than just fun and games. Part math and part strategic decision-making, game theory assess situations and maximizes the chance to win—in games, business, and everyday decision making. This course will build analytic skill to combine experience with theory in a variety of immersive situations, including economic games along with board games (for example Diplomacy) and probabilistic games (for example roulette and poker). You’ll learn fundamental rules by playing the games before examining them with a game theoretic lens. Then you'll apply what you learned to compete against your equally skilled peers.

Highlights

Negotiation Tactics
Calculate the proper time to concede during a negotiation and the right time to betray an opponent by playing games and simulations based around the "prisoner’s dilemma."

Expected Value + Variance Calculations
Measure the expected value of certain strategies and the corresponding variance by applying appropriate mathematical models.

Business Simulation
Design an optimal small business strategy in a perfectly competitive industry by selecting the three P’s (pricing, plant size, and production), as well as research and development spending, marketing, and charitable giving in a business simulation game.