constant-sum game

game theory
Also known as: zero-sum game

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description

  • payoff matrix with saddlepoint
    In game theory: Classification of games

    Constant-sum games are games of total conflict, which are also called games of pure competition. Poker, for example, is a constant-sum game because the combined wealth of the players remains constant, though its distribution shifts in the course of play.

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positive-sum game

  • In positive-sum game

    …the positive-sum game are the zero-sum game and the negative-sum game. The term zero-sum game refers to situations in which the total of wins and losses adds up to zero, and thus one party benefits at the direct expense of another. The term negative-sum game describes situations in which the…

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warfare studies

  • Korean War
    In war: Diplomacy

    …theorists distinguish antagonistic situations called zero-sum games, in which one state’s gain can be only at the expense of another state because the “payoff” is fixed. Even then a mutually acceptable distribution of gains can be rationally reached on the basis of the “minimax” principle—the party in a position of…

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Related Topics:
game theory

prisoner’s dilemma, imaginary situation employed in game theory. One version is as follows. Two prisoners are accused of a crime. If one confesses and the other does not, the one who confesses will be released immediately and the other will spend 20 years in prison. If neither confesses, each will be held only a few months. If both confess, they will each be jailed 15 years. They cannot communicate with one another. Given that neither prisoner knows whether the other has confessed, it is in the self-interest of each to confess himself. Paradoxically, when each prisoner pursues his self-interest, both end up worse off than they would have been had they acted otherwise. See egoism.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Augustyn.