A game is a structured type of play, normally undertaken for fun or entertainment, and occasionally used as a teaching tool. Games are quite different from work, which almost always are carried out with remuneration in mind, and from literature, which frequently are an expression of cultural or artistic thoughts. The word ‘game’ actually comes from the Greek word ‘gota’, which meant ‘play’. Some of the most popular games include bingo, cribbage, card games such as Solitaire, and chess. Many children spend a lot of time playing video games. In North America, television shows, which often feature games are popular.
One well-known game show is the Food Fight, in which the contestants are chefs trying to make the best food around. There are various strategies used by the chefs to succeed, often using economic models and other tools of game theory. This form of game theory can be used in lots of different situations, and it has in fact been used in predicting many real world events. For instance, if there is a shortage of something like grain in some country, it might be predicted that the prices of grains would rise due to increased demand.
Another popular game is poker. Poker is played between two or more players, often four, although sometimes three may be involved. It is a very simple game to understand: Each player has a hand, and that hand may consist of any number of cards, including Ace, King, Jack, Queen and Deuce. Poker, like all kinds of game theory, deals with the equilibrium of the cards that each player has, and one player is at a much greater disadvantage than the others is considered to be at a state of ‘failure’.
A similar version of this game theory is used in dominoes. Dominoes are played with a dominoes card deck, and the object of the game is to eliminate all the sets from the deck without letting any of them escape to the board. This is not as easy as it sounds. In games where the dominoes are used more frequently, the piles of cards tend to be longer than the usual. A lot of thought, skill and experience is required to successfully manage the piles.
If we study the history of poker games, we will notice that in most instances, a particular game tends to have a ‘natural’ or ‘normal’ equilibrium. There are no special rules governing it. However, a game theory that is based on Nash equilibrium can provide the means by which a player may exploit that equilibrium. Nash equilibrium is closely related to the well-known Brackett’s law of gambling: the better your knowledge of what the cards are capable of doing, the better your chances of winning.
There are a number of related game theory concepts. Some of these are the following: Clue game theory, gamblers’ itch, viral theory and cellular processes. Video games, especially first-person shooters, have made use of these concepts before. Video games with limited visual elements, such as first-person shooters, are often influenced by this theory. One can find a lot of videos and articles that talk about the game theory and its applications.