Structure:
• Rows = strategies of Player 1
• Columns = strategies of Player 2
• Each cell = Payoff P1, Payoff P2
• Both choose simultaneously and independently
Example – reading one cell:
Firm Alpha chooses Low price,
Firm Beta chooses High price.
Cell shows 6, 1 → Alpha earns 6, Beta only 1. Alpha gains market share through the low-price strategy.
Mini example
High price
Low price
High price
4, 4
1, 6
Low price
6, 1
2, 2
Highlighted in red: Alpha chooses low price, Beta chooses high price → (6, 1)
Example 1 – Dominance & IEDS
3×3 game: Player 1 has a dominant strategy. Iterated elimination determines the solution uniquely.
Example 2 – Coordination game
2×2 game with two Nash equilibria. Both players win if they coordinate – but on which one?
Example 3 – Prisoner's Dilemma
2×2 classic: defecting is dominant for both, but leads to a worse outcome than cooperation.
CSV format (semicolon-separated): # First line: player names and column names
S1\S2;Left;Middle;Right # Rows: row name ; (a1,b1) ; (a2,b2) ; ...
Top;4,3;5,1;6,2
Middle;2,1;8,4;3,6
Bottom;3,0;9,6;2,8 # Zero-sum game: only one number per cell
Nash Equilibrium – no player can improve by deviating
Best response P1 – optimal row against this column
Best response P2 – optimal column against this row