Welcome to Game Theory

Welcome to Game Theory

Instructor: Michihiro Kandori

What you'll learn

The reason why we need game theory to analyze social problems
Nash equilibrium as a unified solution concept and the reason why players come to play Nash equilibrium
The relationship between intellectual capacity of players and Nash equilibrium
The relationship between the rationality of individuals and socially desirable outcomes

Skills you'll gain

Details to know

Shareable certificate

Add to your LinkedIn profile

Assessments

20 assignments

Taught in English

See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills

Learn more about Coursera for Business

Earn a career certificate

Add this credential to your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV

Share it on social media and in your performance review

There are 4 modules in this course

This course provides a brief introduction to game theory. Our main goal is to understand the basic ideas behind the key concepts in game theory, such as equilibrium, rationality, and cooperation. The course uses very little mathematics, and it is ideal for those who are looking for a conceptual introduction to game theory.

Business competition, political campaigns, the struggle for existence by animals and plants, and so on, can all be regarded as a kind of “game,” in which individuals try to do their best against others. Game theory provides a general framework to describe and analyze how individuals behave in such “strategic” situations. This course focuses on the key concepts in game theory, and attempts to outline the informal basic ideas that are often hidden behind mathematical definitions. Game theory has been applied to a number of disciplines, including economics, political science, psychology, sociology, biology, and computer science. Therefore, a warm welcome is extended to audiences from all fields who are interested in what game theory is all about.

Is it possible to analyze a wide variety of social and economic problems using a unified framework? In the first module, we address this question. We will see that the concept of rational decision making is useful, but it is not quite sufficient to provide governing principles. Motivated examples and some history of game theory will be provided. You will also be asked to play a simple card game to see how it feels to make your decisions strategically.

What's included

12 videos6 readings5 assignments

12 videosTotal 91 minutes

Course Preview1 minutePreview module
1-1 What is Game Theory?8 minutes
1-2 Modelling Social Problems as a "Game"12 minutes
1-3 In Search for the Governing Principle10 minutes
1-4 Concerns About a Mathematical Theory of Human Behavior7 minutes
1-5 Let's Play a Game6 minutes
Card Game Tutorial (No Audio)2 minutes
1-6 John Nash Discovered the Governing Principle6 minutes
1-7 Nash Equilibrium9 minutes
1-8 Traffic Game in Reality7 minutes
1-9 Location Game6 minutes
1-10 Policies of Two Parties10 minutes

6 readingsTotal 52 minutes

Course Description10 minutes
Syllabus10 minutes
Card Game Challenge Instruction10 minutes
(Supplementary Reading Material) Convergence to Nash Equilibrium in the Traffic Game10 minutes
About Optional Challenge Problems2 minutes
Supplemental explanation for Question 1, 2 and 310 minutes

5 assignmentsTotal 180 minutes

Graded Quiz 130 minutes
Module 1 Optional Challenge Problems60 minutes
Practice Quiz 1.130 minutes
Practice Quiz 1.230 minutes
Practice Quiz 1.330 minutes

The basic solution concept of game theory is Nash equilibrium. In Module 2, we try to understand this central concept through various examples and ask the following crucial question: how do players come to play a Nash equilibrium?

What's included

10 videos1 reading5 assignments

10 videosTotal 88 minutes

2-1 Nash Equilibrium and the Prisoner’s Dilemma10 minutesPreview module
2-2 Coordination Game and Self-Fulfilling Prophecy9 minutes
2-3 Market Competition11 minutes
2-4 Why Do People Come to Play Nash Equilibrium? Part I7 minutes
2-5 Why Do People Come to Play Nash Equilibrium? Part II7 minutes
2-6 Why Do People Come to Play Nash Equilibrium? Part III7 minutes
2-7 Stylized Facts and Nash Equilibrium5 minutes
2-8 Make Yourself Unpredictable: Mixed Strategy Equilibrium7 minutes
2-9 Sports Games and Game Theory10 minutes
2-10 Nash Equilibrium Exists in All Games11 minutes

1 readingTotal 2 minutes

About Optional Challenge Problems2 minutes

5 assignmentsTotal 180 minutes

Graded Quiz 230 minutes
Module 2 Optional Challenge Problems60 minutes
Practice Quiz 2.130 minutes
Practice Quiz 2.230 minutes
Practice Quiz 2.330 minutes

In Module 3, we will dig deeper into the relationship between rationality and Nash equilibrium. We will consider the whole spectrum of possible intellectual capacities of players, spanning the range from unlimited ability for sophisticated reasoning to absolute zero intelligence. In the end, you will see that Nash equilibrium can emerge under a fairly wide range of intellectual capacities of players.

What's included

9 videos3 readings5 assignments

9 videosTotal 93 minutes

3-1 Digression: The Card Game Revisited11 minutesPreview module
3-2 Digression: How You Played the Card Game and Addressing the Concerns about Game Theory15 minutes
3-3 “Payoffs” in a Game: What Exactly Are Those Numbers?9 minutes
3-4 What Does it Mean That a Player is Rational?6 minutes
3-5 Domination: Strategies That Are “Obviously Good or Bad”10 minutes
3-6 Common Knowledge of Rationality10 minutes
3-7 Low Rationality: What Happens if Players Are Not Very Smart?7 minutes
3-8 Game Theory Under Zero-Intelligence: Biological Evolution10 minutes
3-9 Fig Wasps Play a Nash Equilibrium11 minutes

3 readingsTotal 22 minutes

Aggregated Result of the Card Game Challenge10 minutes
About Optional Challenge Problems2 minutes
Supplemental explanation for Question 2, 3 and 410 minutes

5 assignmentsTotal 200 minutes

Graded Quiz 330 minutes
Module 3 Optional Challenge Problems80 minutes
Practice Quiz 3.130 minutes
Practice Quiz 3.230 minutes
Practice Quiz 3.330 minutes

The final module is devoted to the most important and most general message of game theory: rational behavior quite often leads to a socially undesirable outcome. We will first try to understand the basic reason for this, and then see how this insight of game theory has made fundamental impacts in the natural and social sciences. Finally, we will learn some general methods to overcome this problem.

What's included

11 videos2 readings5 assignments

11 videosTotal 123 minutes

4-1 Group Rationality and The Rationality of Individuals10 minutesPreview module
4-2 Why is Group Rationality Different From Rationality of Individuals?10 minutes
4-3 Group Rationality vs. Rationality of Individuals in Biological Evolution11 minutes
4-4 Group Rationality vs. Rationality of Individuals in Social Thought11 minutes
4-5 How to Enforce Socially Desirable Outcomes13 minutes
4-6 Cooperation of gas Stations in Long-Term Relationship Part I: Need For Cooperation12 minutes
4-7 Cooperation of Gas Stations in Long-Term Relationship Part II: Mechanism of Cooperation11 minutes
4-8 Reputation and Brand Name10 minutes
4-9 Cooperation in Loosely Knit Organization14 minutes
4-10 Summary of the Course13 minutes
Final Message from the Instructor4 minutes

2 readingsTotal 12 minutes

(Supplementary Reading Material) Why People Discount Future Payoff?10 minutes
About Optional Challenge Problems2 minutes

5 assignmentsTotal 200 minutes

Graded Quiz 430 minutes
Module 4 Optional Challenge Problems80 minutes
Practice Quiz 4.130 minutes
Practice Quiz 4.230 minutes
Practice Quiz 4.330 minutes

Instructor

Instructor ratings

4.8 (394 ratings)

Michihiro Kandori

The University of Tokyo

1 Course99,762 learners

Offered by

The University of Tokyo

Why people choose Coursera for their career

Felipe M.

Learner since 2018

"To be able to take courses at my own pace and rhythm has been an amazing experience. I can learn whenever it fits my schedule and mood."

Jennifer J.

Learner since 2020

"I directly applied the concepts and skills I learned from my courses to an exciting new project at work."

Larry W.

Learner since 2021

"When I need courses on topics that my university doesn't offer, Coursera is one of the best places to go."

Chaitanya A.

"Learning isn't just about being better at your job: it's so much more than that. Coursera allows me to learn without limits."

Learner reviews

4.7

1,978 reviews

5 stars
74.82%
4 stars
20.52%
3 stars
3.03%
2 stars
0.80%
1 star
0.80%

Showing 3 of 1978

Reviewed on Sep 15, 2020

I enjoyed this course a lot. It gives a very good theoretical background to the concepts of game theory as well as providing extra challenges for people with more of a maths background.

Reviewed on Dec 16, 2017

Simple to follow, focuses on introducing basic concepts rather than the math. Could be more in-depth though. Nonetheless, great precursor to the Game Theory course from Stanford.

Reviewed on Apr 8, 2021

An excellent introduction to Game Theory! Very engaging and easy to follow. Many thanks to the professor, the univeristy of Tokyo and Coursera for making this available for free!

View more reviews