The Compleat Strategyst (1954)

An analysis of "matrix games" where each player has a set of "strategies" to choose from - these are just labels, could be rock/paper/scissors - and there are pre-arranged "payoffs" according to which strategies are chosen. Prisoner's Dilemma is a well-known example of such a "game". Or, consider the following example, paraphrased from the text. Aldie and Derk decide to play a game for daiquiris. Each throws one or two fingers. If both throw one finger, Aldie buys Derk a daiquiri. If both throw two fingers, Derk buys Aldie two daiquiris. If they don't match, Aldie pays Derk a dime. (At the time this book was written, daiquiris were 55 cents.) How much per game should Derk demand of Aldie in order to make this game worthwhile? This text can help you solve this problem, or others like it. In particular, this is the type of game theory floating around behind certain sports simulations like Football Strategy or MLB SportsClix, although the latter has dice as well as the strategy selection.