11 Non cooperative games

A Colonel Blotto game is a type of two-person constant-sum game in which the players (officers) are tasked to simultaneously distribute limited resources over several objects (battlefields).

Crab mentality, also known as crab theory, crabs in a bucket mentality, or the crab-bucket effect, is a way of thinking best described by the phrase "if I can't have it, neither can you". The metaphor is derived from a pattern of behavior noted in crabs when they are trapped in a bucket. While any one crab could easily escape, its efforts will be undermined by others, ensuring the group's collective demise.

The El Farol bar problem is a problem in game theory. Every Thursday night, a fixed population want to go have fun at the El Farol Bar, unless it's too crowded.If less than 60% of the population go to the bar, they'll all have more fun than if they stayed home. If more than 60% of the population go to the bar, they'll all have less fun than if they stayed home.

In the mathematical theory of games, in particular the study of zero-sum continuous games, not every game has a minimax value. This is the expected value to one of the players when both play a perfect strategy.

The gift-exchange game is a game that has been introduced by Akerlof and Yellen to model labor relations. Two players are at least involved in such game – an employee and an employer. The employer has to decide first, whether to award a higher salary. Then, the decision of the employee about putting extra effort follows. Like trust games, gift-exchange games are used to study reciprocity for human subject research in social psychology and economics. If the employer pays extra salary and the employee puts extra effort, then both players are better off than otherwise. The relationship between an investor and an investee has been investigated as the same type of a game.

In game theory, the Lewis signaling game is a type of signaling game that features perfect common interest between players. It is named for the philosopher David Lewis who was the first to discuss this game in his Ph.D. dissertation, and later book, Convention.

The public goods game is a standard of experimental economics. In the basic game, subjects secretly choose how many of their private tokens to put into a public pot. The tokens in this pot are multiplied by a factor and this "public good" payoff is evenly divided among players. Each subject also keeps the tokens they do not contribute.

Rock paper scissors is a hand game usually played between two people, in which each player simultaneously forms one of three shapes with an outstretched hand. These shapes are "rock", "paper", and "scissors". "Scissors" is identical to the two-fingered V sign except that it is pointed horizontally instead of being held upright in the air.

Tit for tat is an English saying meaning "equivalent retaliation". It developed from "tip for tap", first used in 1558.

The ultimatum game is a game that has become a popular instrument of economic experiments. An early description is by Nobel laureate John Harsanyi in 1961. One player, the proposer, is endowed with a sum of money. The proposer is tasked with splitting it with another player, the responder. Once the proposer communicates his decision, the responder may accept it or reject it. If the responder accepts, the money is split per the proposal; if the responder rejects, both players receive nothing. Both players know in advance the consequences of the responder accepting or rejecting the offer.