Game Theory in Awkward Situations

Thirty-five questions on strategic behavior in everyday human situations — splitting the bill, replying late, group projects, salary talks, and office politics — using them to teach the real machinery of game theory.

Covers the prisoner's dilemma, Nash equilibrium, coordination games and focal points, the games of chicken and stag hunt, signaling versus cheap talk, credible commitment, repeated games and the shadow of the future, and the free-rider problem.

The recurring lesson is that a 'rational' choice depends entirely on what you expect everyone else to do. Each question pairs a tempting wrong answer with an explanation that teaches the underlying mechanism, and every Question includes References to Wikipedia for verification and further reading.