Strategy : An Introduction to Game Theory

by Joel Watson

In this innovative textbook, Joel Watson adopts a refreshing new format for teaching game theory to advanced undergraduates. The book is rigorous and mathematically precise but also extremely careful in its focus on using the simplest possible models and least complicated mathematics necessary. Another innovation of the book is the way in incorporates elements of contemporary contract theory into the exposition, in a format that is highly engaging for students and easily adapted to the standard coverage familiar to teachers.

Genres: Economics, Business, Mathematics, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Textbooks

334 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

I’m Joel Watson. I live in a suburb of a suburb of Dallas, TX with my wife, daughter and two cats, Tivo and Replay. I’ve been professionally unemployed as an artist since 2008. I travel to a dozen or so comic conventions each year, and once I took a shot of maple bacon tequila out of a Cadbury Creme Egg. I called it a “Sadbury Egg.” It was delicious.

Joel is the artist and writer of Hijinks Ensue at http://hijinksensue.com/

Hijinks Ensue is a semi-autobiographical comic about a lifelong geek and aspiring artist who turns his back on an unfulfilling, but financially stable career in order to pursue art full time and set a better example for his daughter. It’s created by me, Joel Watson, and it currently updates Monday/Wednesday/Friday. I say “semi-autobiographical” because the core elements of the stories in HijiNKS ENSUE are true: I DID start a comic in order to show my newborn daughter that life was more about creating art and happiness and less about creating wealth (read more about that in “The Experiment”), and I DID get fired from my job for completely losing interest in it once my comic starting taking off, and most of the characters ARE based on and named after my family and friends, but most of the specifics are at least 50% fictional in order to make things more interesting.

Reviews

[Krishna Mootoosamy]

Really enjoyed reading this book. It is written in way that is well paced to help readers understand concepts at an easy pace, and also has some humorous moments too!
Questions are provided at the end of each chapter to practice and perfect your understanding.
A strategy book that doesn't require a stressful strategy to read it!!

[Yhsheva]

it must be the best textbook for undergrads

[Jukka Aakula]

Pretty good book on game theory. I wanted to understand games with incomplete information and that I got.

[Danni]

honestly a pretty fun read

[Eduardo]

(This is a subject I’ve been trying to learn more about because I think game theory can shape how we view interactions and decisions in competitive sports. As a result, I only skimmed many sections taht weren’t at least somewhat related to zero-sum competitive games.) This book, as its title indicates, is an introductory textbook that would be useful for students that aren’t necessarily well-versed in the logic and math that game theory relies on. I found it incredibly helpful in explaining concepts but also in explaining some common symbols and variables that other texts either don’t use or use without explaining. In that sense, the book sits in a space that many advanced novices will appreciate. It contains a wide variety of topics, both basic and advanced, and explains those topics using multiple examples. The appendices are helpful as well.

This book is perfect for someone who has a decent working knowledge of basic game theoretical concepts but is looking to expand their knowledge. It pushed me to think moreIf you’re interested in the topic but don’t have any background in it yet, I recommend starting elsewhere, like Game Theory: A Nontechnical Introduction or Game Theory: A Non-Technical Introduction to the Analysis of Strategy instead. If you’re looking for a more popular science-type book to get into game theory and risk, I learned a lot from Game Changers: Stories of the Revolutionary Minds behind Game Theory and Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk as well as the first chapters of On the Edge: The Art of Risking Everything.

[Ştefan Trepăduș]

Did anyone of you search for game theory and find this book after seeing the last episode of Prison Break? Just what I thought. This was really not what I was expecting.
But despite being a profoundly non-mathematical person (and not understanding the better half of this book with all of its formulae), I could still grab some useful informations on marketing and political positioning.

[Natasha]

This book taught me more game theory than my professor did. To the author, Joel Watson, then, I owe my thanks for helping me pass my exam.

The book explains concepts in an articulate and exhaustive manner, and it provides plenty of exercises to help you test your comprehension.

Cheers, prof. Watson.

[Sam Pich]

Extremely approachable and engaging intro to a field of mathematics/psychology/philosophy/economics/sociology/criminology/military science… you get it. Everything can be distilled into a game.

Not perfect or crazy advanced, but it gets five stars for being my introduction into a hobby I had never expected, and an introduction to a professor I admire.

[Iakovos (Jake)]

A very nice intro to Game Theory - especially for those that had no previous knowledge on this field.

[Roman Brys]

Great book on Game Theory.

[Reagan Faith Waggoner]

g a m e
t h e o r y

[Malia]

Ik this was a textbook but it was honestly enjoyable and so digestible lol

[Quang-Thanh Tran]

A good bridging book to more advanced game theory, with careful explanation and intuition. Besides that, I’m not a big fan of his Bayesian Nash Equilibrium part. Nevertheless, it is still more helpful if you have background in the field. Although this is still a very good book, Harrington’s “Games, Strategies and Decision Making” is much more easy to read and treats the problems in more detail.