A multiplayer game is a game which is played by several players.1 The players might be independent opponents, formed into teams or be just a single team pitted against the game. Games with many independent players are difficult to analyse formally in a game-theoretical way as the players may form coalitions.2
Game Theory
John Nash proved that games with several players have a stable solution provided that coalitions between players are not allowed. He won the Nobel prize for economics for this important result which extended von Neumann's theory of zero-sum games. Such a stable strategy is called a Nash equilibrium.3
Poker inspired much of von Neumann's interest in the early development of game theory. 4. While not critical of von Neumann's use of poker as a platform for his contributions to game theory, Gary Carson has been critical of some attempts to apply game theory to poker.
If cooperation between players is allowed, then the game is more complex. Many concepts have been developed to analyse such games. While these have had some partial success in the fields of economics, politics and conflict, no good general theory has yet been developed.3
In quantum game theory, it has been found that the introduction of quantum information into multiplayer games allows a new type of equilibrium strategy which is not found in traditional games. The entanglement of players's choices can have the effect of a contract by preventing players from profiting from betrayal.5
Types
Examples of the types of such games include:
- Diplomacy - up to seven players negotiate the fate of Europe.8
- Monopoly - a board game about property trading and rental.10
See also
References
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford University Press. 2008. "Designed for or involving more than two (esp. many) players or participants".
- ^ K. G. Binmore (1994). Game Theory and the Social Contract, MIT Press. ISBN 0262024446, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=HZ1hC1MLPeoC.
- ^ a b Laszlo Mero, Anna C. Gosi-Greguss, David Kramer (1998). Moral calculations: game theory, logic, and human frailty. ISBN 0387984194, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=kqQjX-S1idsC.
- ^ |url=http://cse.stanford.edu/class/sophomore-college/projects-98/game-theory/neumann.html
- ^ Simon C. Benjamin and Patrick M. Hayden (13 August 2001), Multiplayer quantum games, doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.64.030301, http://prola.aps.org/abstract/PRA/v64/i3/e030301
- ^ a b R. Wayne Schmittberger. New Rules for Classic Games. ISBN 0471536210, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=3sQ9dVz3jMEC&pgis=1.
- ^ Erik Bethke. Game Development and Production. ISBN 1556229518, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=m5exIODbtqkC.
- ^ Richard Sharp. The Game of Diplomacy. ISBN 0213166763, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=smVFAQAACAAJ.
- ^ Ernest Mathijs. The Lord of the Rings: Popular Culture in Global Context. ISBN 1904764827, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=I8mxughWAOEC.
- ^ Philip E. Orbanes. Monopoly: The World's Most Famous Game - and How It Got That Way. ISBN 0306814897, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=VLnTGGeokR4C.
- ^ Gary Carson. The Complete Book of Hold 'Em Poker. ISBN 0818406054, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=xuG9egFLh_wC.
- ^ Ehsan Honary. Total Diplomacy: The Art of Winning Risk. ISBN 1419661930, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=VCKe_q8Sk0AC.
- ^ Joe Edley, John D. Williams, John D. Williams Jr.. Everything Scrabble. ISBN 0671042181, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=2TRWuPktkuoC.
- ^ John Jackson Miller, Joyce Greenholdt, Jason Winter. Scrye Collectible Card Game Checklist & Price Guide. ISBN 087349623X, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=DgWsAAAACAAJ.
- ^ Scott Jennings, Alexander Macris. Massively Multiplayer Games for Dummies. ISBN 0471752738, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=gGcqAAAACAAJ.
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