Game Theory Basics
📋 What it is
Game theory studies choices where your best move depends on what the other players will do.
🗣️ Coach says
Game theory is the math of strategic choice. Its core idea: your best move often depends on the OTHER player's move. Ideas like a "dominant strategy" (best no matter what they do) and thinking about what THEY are thinking help you predict and out-plan opponents in any competitive game.
🧠 Memory hook
Your best move depends on theirs. Think about what THEY are thinking.
😂 Giggle
What do you call a Connect 4 player who always wins?
Four-midable!
😲 Whoa!
Game theory isn't just for games — it earned several Nobel Prizes and is used in economics, biology, and even designing internet auctions.
✅ Quick check: What is the central idea of game theory?
Say your answer out loud first — then reveal.
That your best choice often depends on what the OTHER players will do — decisions are strategic and interdependent.
Game theory analyses choices where outcomes depend on everyone's moves.
🧪 Try it! (2 minutes)
In rock-paper-scissors, discuss whether there's a single "best" move. (No — it depends on the opponent: game theory.)