Game Theory 101 | Decision Making using Normal Form Games [Video]

Let’s start this article on Game Theory with an example of a game (I love the symbolism!). Football is the most popular sport in the world so we’ll consider a scenario from there.

Consider that a team has been awarded a penalty kick. This situation pits the striker against the goalkeeper in a battle of wits. The goalkeeper has to take a decision on whether to leap to the left or the right (or stand his ground). The striker has a similar dilemma (which direction to choose).

Now here’s a question for you – what would you do? If this penalty kick exercise is repeated 10 times, which side would you save as the goalkeeper to minimize the goals scored? Or where would you strike to maximize your goals scored? What action will you take if you have inferences from the past about the performance of the kicker and goalie?

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