The Complete Idiot's Guide to Game Theory: The Fascinating Math Behind Decision-Making

by Edward C. Rosenthal

Gain some insight into the game of life...

Game Theory means rigorous strategic thinking. It is based on the idea that everyone acts competitively and in his own best interest. With the help of mathematical models, it is possible to anticipate the actions of others in nearly all life's enterprises. This book includes down-to-earth examples and solutions, as well as charts and illustrations designed to help teach the concept. In The Complete Idiot's Guide to Game Theory , Dr. Edward C. Rosenthal makes it easy to understand game theory with insights into:

• The history of the discipline made popular by John Nash, the mathematician dramatized in the film A Beautiful Mind

• The role of social behavior and psychology in this amazing discipline

• How important game theory has become in our society and why

Genres: Economics, Mathematics, Science, Business, Psychology, Nonfiction, Reference

384 pages, Paperback

First published September 6, 2005

Reviews

[Earl Grey Tea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was planning to offer an extracurricular class for some of the students that hope to enter the world of business at the Korean high school that I work at. Game theory seemed to be the most popular among the students, so I decided to find a book that I could use to teach.

I went to the Kyobo Book Store (교보문고) up in Gangnam to find a book that I could use to introduce the concept of Game Theory to my students. After perusing through multiple books, I decided that all of the Game Theory books with ungodly large mathematical equations was A) too advance for introducing Game Theory to high school students and B) way beyond the scope of the Game Theory classes that I took as an undergraduate.

In response to this, I order this book from the local expatriate bookstore in Itaewon. This book, though wordy, is much more approachable to learn the basic tenets of Game Theory. The author goes through many different concepts and gives a few examples for each one. While this was a nice refresher for me, there was a definite lack of practice problems for people to do to help master the concept. For that, I looked to other online sources for exercises related to different ideas in the book and even started to create a few scenarios that the Korean high school students could relate to.

Some of the general logic thought processes and charts were pretty easy to follow in this book. I would have to say that the more math intense examples were a bit harder to follow and not particularity clear in explanation. After studying the explanations a few times over (my brain is not as nimble as it used to be in college), I was able to remember the basics concerning finding the probability of outcomes in a Game Theory chart. As stated above, practice problems would have been a nice edition to make sure that I correctly understood the mathematical process presented in the book.

Unfortunately, in order to open a class, there had to be a minimum of nine students to sign up and only six registered for the class. Since I won't be in Korean during the next school year, I gave this book to the most eager of students to learn Game Theory. I rarely keep books after I finish them. If that book is sitting on my bookshelf, no one is reading it.

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book doesn't explain game theory very well. Some of the definitions are either vague or confusing (such as "A signaling game is a game of asymmetric information where the first player sends a message to the second player. The first player knows her own type. The second player does not know the first player's type but will act after receiving the message."). It would have made more sense to define "signal" and give examples of how people use signals (like college degree) to convey certain information (like productive worker).

[Jeremy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book unreadable, it was dry and uninteresting. Fortunately, I got it at the library. Boy did this book make me fall a sleep.

[for-much-deliberation ... · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good overview of game theory...

[Matt Comstock · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty good introduction to various aspects of game theory. The concepts of pure and mixed equilibria were covered ok, and mathematically. Later portions of the book contained fewer mathematical derivations, which initially was frustrating, but then I realized the math was pretty complicated for an introductory text like this. The final sections on behavior and 'real' vs. purely rational players was very interesting, covering things like repeated prisoner dilemma games and cases where cooperation might begin to make sense vs. purely rational defections.

All and all a good introduction, but certainly not a complete treatment of game theory.

[Tom Schulte · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Game Theory presents an analysis of the rigor of strategic thinking while confronting the reader with as little of the mathematics as is possible. The book’s frequent examples amplify each concept with supporting detail. The Guide touches on the history of the craft made popular by the Noble Prize-winning John Nash of “A Beautiful Mind “, the logical underpinnings of modeling within this theory, and the role of social behavior and psychology in games.

[Joey Comeau · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great introduction to Game Theory. I love these Idiot's Guide books, though avoided them for years because of the titles. They seemed like pandering cash-in sort of books to me, but the ones I've actually read have been intelligently organized, plain language introductions to complicated topics. They're really useful, in my experience. Though I don't think they'd be any good for people who already know a fair bit about the topic.

[Ricardo Vargas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introductory book about Game Theory. Very well explained, this books was a great introduction for me to the topic. I used it while attending the Coursera/Stanford Course "Game Theory".

Introdução excelente sobre teoria dos Jogos. Muito bem explicado, o livro foi uma grande introdução do assunto para mim. Eu utilizei o livro quando participando do curso da Coursera/Stanford chamado "Game Theory".

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thorough, non-technical introduction that reflects not only classical theory but also experimental evidence. I teach an introductory game theory course and I found the organization of topics helpful in causing me to reflect what I do in the classroom. His writing is clear and engaging, and he also acknowledges the individuals whose. contributions he presents.

[Robu-sensei · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very straightforward explanations; perfect for someone who's heard of game theory but knows nothing about it. I would have appreciated more mathematics, but I'm weird that way.

[LMS · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was helpful during some last-minute panic studying of Microeconomics. Game theory is fascinating, although even with the Complete Idiot's guide, I don't know if I entirely understand it.

[John Orman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good review of Game Theory fundamentals, with some mathematical underpinnings and equations given. Nice intro to the subject.

[Sanjeev · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first time ever that I have read an Idiot series book. Happened because it was the only Game Theory related ebook from my library.

Bigger surprise is that I thoroughly enjoyed it.