4. Life's Little Games - The 2x2 Classic Game

Question 1

What are the four 2x2 classic games?

Answer 1

Coordination, battle of the sexes, chicken, prisoners’ dilemma

Question 2

What is a 2x2 game

Answer 2

Two players with two moves each

Question 3

How does a coordination game work?

Answer 3

Best payoff is that both players pick the same action, and there’s a clear preference as to which decision is superior

Question 4

How does a battle of the sexes game work?

Answer 4

Like a coordination game, but there is no clear preference as to which decision to pick

Question 5

What is a Schelling point?

Answer 5

A focal point that people will naturally tend to use in the absence of communication

Question 6

How does a chicken game work?

Answer 6

Worst payoff for both if they both pick option A, better if both pick B, but best for one if one picks A and the other B

Question 7

How does the prisoner’s dilemma game work?

Answer 7

There’s a best option but players won’t pick it because, if the other player doesn’t also, the first player gets the worst payoff

Question 8

What is Pareto-optimization?

Answer 8

The only way to achieve a better payoff for one player is to give a worse payoff to another player