Game (game theory)

A formal model of strategic interaction among decision-makers, specifying available actions, resulting outcomes, and payoffs. Its structure captures how each participant’s result depends on the choices of others.

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Player (game theory): A decision-maker whose choices affect outcomes in a game. Players are the agents whose interdependent choices the model represents.
Nash equilibrium: A strategy profile in which no player can improve their payoff by changing strategy alone. It identifies stable strategy combinations in which unilateral deviation does not pay.
Prisoner's dilemma: A two-player game in which individually rational choices produce a worse outcome for both than mutual cooperation. It shows how private incentives can undermine mutually beneficial cooperation.
Auction theory: The study of auction rules, bidder behavior, and methods for allocating goods through competitive offers. Auctions model bidders whose outcomes depend on their own and others’ bids.
Decision theory: The study of choice under uncertainty, often modeling one decision-maker facing uncertain consequences. Unlike a game, a decision problem need not include strategic opponents.
Strategy (game theory): A complete plan specifying a player’s action in every situation they may face. Strategies specify the choices available to each player.
Dominant strategy: A strategy that gives a player at least as high a payoff as any alternative against every opponents’ strategy profile. Dominance can determine a player’s choice without predicting opponents’ behavior.
Battle of the sexes (game theory): A coordination game in which two players prefer being together but disagree about which shared option to choose. It illustrates multiple equilibria with conflicting preferences over coordination.
Mechanism design: The design of rules that induce self-interested participants to produce desired outcomes. It works backward from social goals to the game participants will play.
Cooperative game theory: The branch of game theory that studies coalitions, joint gains, and how value can be allocated among groups. It focuses on enforceable cooperation rather than only individual strategy choices.