Scenarios
Strategy in the wild
Everyday moments that are secretly games — a dozen and a half of them, sorted by the type of game hiding inside. Some cards teach a lesson; all of them will meet a lab eventually.
Simultaneous
Everyone commits blind — no peeking.
Penalty Kicks
Coming soonKicker picks a corner, keeper picks a side, and both win only by being impossible to predict.
Read the lessonPrice War
Coming soonTwo rival shops cut prices the same week, each certain they'll be the one still standing at the end.
Read the lessonA Prisoner's Dilemma with thinner margins.
The Traffic Merge
Coming soonTwo lanes ending, one gap opening, and a silent bet on what the other driver will do.
Read the lessonChicken at 30 miles an hour.
Sealed-Bid Auction
Coming soonOne envelope per bidder: nobody sees the others' numbers, and nobody is sure what the thing is worth.
Read the lessonSimultaneous, hidden, and private — all three at once.
Sequential
Moves arrive in order, and order is information.
Salary Negotiation
Coming soonYou name a number, the company names another, and both of you are betting on how long the other can stay quiet.
Read the lessonA bargaining problem — The Deal lab is on the way.
The New Competitor
Coming soonA newcomer walks into an incumbent's market. What happens next is a tree, not a grid.
Read the lessonSequential and fully visible — the entry game.
The Chess Match
Coming soonEverything on the board is visible. The only hidden thing is the plan.
Read the lessonSequential, perfect, complete — the full-information endgame.
Zero-sum
One player's win is the other's loss, to the coin.
Penalty Kicks
Coming soonKicker picks a corner, keeper picks a side, and both win only by being impossible to predict.
Read the lessonPoker Night
Coming soonThe cards are hidden, the chips are zero-sum, and the story you tell is the weapon.
Read the lessonImperfect information with a pot.
Non-zero-sum
Value can be created or burned — not just moved.
Price War
Coming soonTwo rival shops cut prices the same week, each certain they'll be the one still standing at the end.
Read the lessonA Prisoner's Dilemma with thinner margins.
Climate Agreement
Coming soonEvery country wants the deal to hold, and every country wants to be the one that quietly burns a little more.
Read the lessonA Prisoner's Dilemma the size of the planet.
The Arms Race
Coming soonEach side builds to feel safe, and the safety never arrives — it just gets more expensive.
Read the lessonA Prisoner's Dilemma with compound interest.
The Group Project
Coming soonGo all-in together and the project sings; hedge alone and it's mediocre — but safely mediocre.
Read the lessonA Stag Hunt with a shared grade.
Cooperative
Agreements that bind, and coalitions that form.
Splitting Bills
Coming soonFour friends, one dinner tab, and several loud opinions about who ordered the second bottle.
Read the lessonA fairness problem — The Fair Split lab is on the way.
The Group Project
Coming soonGo all-in together and the project sings; hedge alone and it's mediocre — but safely mediocre.
Read the lessonA Stag Hunt with a shared grade.
Symmetric
Swap the chairs and the game reads the same.
The Traffic Merge
Coming soonTwo lanes ending, one gap opening, and a silent bet on what the other driver will do.
Read the lessonChicken at 30 miles an hour.
The Arms Race
Coming soonEach side builds to feel safe, and the safety never arrives — it just gets more expensive.
Read the lessonA Prisoner's Dilemma with compound interest.
The Group Chat Switch
Coming soonEveryone knows the old app is dying. Moving together — that's the whole game.
Read the lessonCoordination, sent from the app everyone is leaving.
Asymmetric
Different moves, different stakes, different games.
Salary Negotiation
Coming soonYou name a number, the company names another, and both of you are betting on how long the other can stay quiet.
Read the lessonA bargaining problem — The Deal lab is on the way.
The Used Car
Coming soonThe seller knows the car. You know the seller knows. The price has to carry the whole conversation.
Read the lessonThe classic case of knowing less than your opponent.
Perfect information
Everything that happened is on the table.
The New Competitor
Coming soonA newcomer walks into an incumbent's market. What happens next is a tree, not a grid.
Read the lessonSequential and fully visible — the entry game.
The Chess Match
Coming soonEverything on the board is visible. The only hidden thing is the plan.
Read the lessonSequential, perfect, complete — the full-information endgame.
Imperfect information
Somebody moves in the dark.
Penalty Kicks
Coming soonKicker picks a corner, keeper picks a side, and both win only by being impossible to predict.
Read the lessonSealed-Bid Auction
Coming soonOne envelope per bidder: nobody sees the others' numbers, and nobody is sure what the thing is worth.
Read the lessonSimultaneous, hidden, and private — all three at once.
Poker Night
Coming soonThe cards are hidden, the chips are zero-sum, and the story you tell is the weapon.
Read the lessonImperfect information with a pot.
Complete information
Everyone knows what game they're in.
The New Competitor
Coming soonA newcomer walks into an incumbent's market. What happens next is a tree, not a grid.
Read the lessonSequential and fully visible — the entry game.
The Chess Match
Coming soonEverything on the board is visible. The only hidden thing is the plan.
Read the lessonSequential, perfect, complete — the full-information endgame.
Incomplete information
The rules or the values are somebody's secret.
Sealed-Bid Auction
Coming soonOne envelope per bidder: nobody sees the others' numbers, and nobody is sure what the thing is worth.
Read the lessonSimultaneous, hidden, and private — all three at once.
The Degree as a Signal
Coming soonYou can't prove what you'd be worth, so you buy an expensive clue instead.
Read the lessonIncomplete information, answered with a costly hint.
The Used Car
Coming soonThe seller knows the car. You know the seller knows. The price has to carry the whole conversation.
Read the lessonThe classic case of knowing less than your opponent.