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Game Theory 101: The Complete Textbook
Game Theory 101: The Complete Textbook is a no-nonsense, games-centered introduction to strategic form (matrix) and extensive form (game tree) games. From the first lesson to the last, this textbook introduces games of increasing complexity and then teaches the game theoretical tools necessary to solve them. Quick, efficient, and to the point, Game Theory 101: The Complete Textbook is perfect for introductory game theory, intermediate microeconomics, and political science.
276 pages, Paperback
First published September 3, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
December 18, 2020
A very good low cost or free introduction to Game Theory. The math wasn't too rigorous, but was definitely a good course. Udemy and YouTube have a video version of this book, but if you are serious about Game Theory, the best free course would be Open Yale Courses - Game Theory
November 15, 2018
With the growing interest in Game Design, subjects such as Game Theory have started to intrigue many aspiring designers. However, while there are numerous chapters within books and videos that discuss the subject, many of them cover only a small aspect of it, leaving it up to the reader/viewer to search for more information. With “Game Theory 101: The Complete Textbook”, William Spaniel attempts to present “a user-friendly introduction to Game Theory”. Let’s see if the book delivers on its promise.
When I first heard of the book I was unaware that there was a YouTube video series on which it’s based. I decided to ignore the series (at first) and read the book as if it was the only source.
The book is divided into four “lessons”. Each of these lessons are further divided and the resulting lessons are branched further still. It would be better to think of the book having four sections and each section having several chapters and subchapters. Ex: Lesson 1 is actually divided into eight sections (Lesson 1.1 − 1.8) and Lesson 1.1 is divided into five sections (Lesson 1.1.1 − 1.1.5).
Not surprisingly the book starts of with the classic Game Theory example of “The Prisoner’s Dilemma”. Anyone with even a casual interest in Game Theory will have already come across this topic. Spaniel does an excellent job in laying the foundation for later chapters by breaking down the example and introducing the concepts that will be used more in-depth in later chapters. Perhaps the most interesting example in this section was the real life example of the Tobacco Industry and advertising. This was an excellent example of Game Theory in “everyday life”.
Other topics covered in the opening section include: Strict Dominance in Asymmetric Games, Nash Equilibrium, Iterated Elimination of Strictly Dominated Strategies and Mixed Strategies. While the subject matter may appear to be imposing, Spaniel does a good job in making them user friendly and accessible. By the end of the book, these and other topics will become second nature.
However, the opening section contains what I consider to be a somewhat fatal flaw. In the section on Mixed Strategies we are introduced to the Mixed Strategy Algorithm. Up to this point all of the math is very easy to follow, yet in this section we are now introduced to an Algebraic equation to solve the game. While the Algebra is not overly difficult, the author assumes that the reader is well versed in Algebra and just writes out the formula without any explanation of each of the steps used to come to the final result. I found this to be unacceptable for a book touting itself as “user-friendly introduction”. A simple step by step explanation of the initial algorithm would have made the rest of the chapters much easier to grasp for those who are not fluent or are rusty in Algebra. At this point I decided to watch the relevant YouTube videos on the subject matter to see if there were any clarifications or explanations, but there wasn’t any. I’m not sure why a simple explanation couldn’t have been provided in either case, especially as the rest of the book is handled in such detail. As I tell my students, “Teaching is a communication skill, not a knowledge based skill”.
The other main lesson headings are: Lesson 2 “Game Trees and Subgame Perfect Equlibrium”, Lesson 3 “Probability Distributions” and Lesson 4 “Infinite Strategy Spaces, Second Price Auctions and The Median Voter Theorem”. Each of these sections have the same depth of analysis as the initial lessons.
For anyone interested in Game Theory this book should be on the “must read” list. There is a tremendous amount of useful information contained within, and when used alongside the videos on YouTube, you will have a firm foundation on the subject matter. Even with my criticism listed above, this book is highly recommended, as William Spaniel has done an admirable job in gathering all of this information into one book and breaking it down into a digestible format. The book has inspired me to want to watch his video series, which also goes beyond the topics covered within the book.
When I first heard of the book I was unaware that there was a YouTube video series on which it’s based. I decided to ignore the series (at first) and read the book as if it was the only source.
The book is divided into four “lessons”. Each of these lessons are further divided and the resulting lessons are branched further still. It would be better to think of the book having four sections and each section having several chapters and subchapters. Ex: Lesson 1 is actually divided into eight sections (Lesson 1.1 − 1.8) and Lesson 1.1 is divided into five sections (Lesson 1.1.1 − 1.1.5).
Not surprisingly the book starts of with the classic Game Theory example of “The Prisoner’s Dilemma”. Anyone with even a casual interest in Game Theory will have already come across this topic. Spaniel does an excellent job in laying the foundation for later chapters by breaking down the example and introducing the concepts that will be used more in-depth in later chapters. Perhaps the most interesting example in this section was the real life example of the Tobacco Industry and advertising. This was an excellent example of Game Theory in “everyday life”.
Other topics covered in the opening section include: Strict Dominance in Asymmetric Games, Nash Equilibrium, Iterated Elimination of Strictly Dominated Strategies and Mixed Strategies. While the subject matter may appear to be imposing, Spaniel does a good job in making them user friendly and accessible. By the end of the book, these and other topics will become second nature.
However, the opening section contains what I consider to be a somewhat fatal flaw. In the section on Mixed Strategies we are introduced to the Mixed Strategy Algorithm. Up to this point all of the math is very easy to follow, yet in this section we are now introduced to an Algebraic equation to solve the game. While the Algebra is not overly difficult, the author assumes that the reader is well versed in Algebra and just writes out the formula without any explanation of each of the steps used to come to the final result. I found this to be unacceptable for a book touting itself as “user-friendly introduction”. A simple step by step explanation of the initial algorithm would have made the rest of the chapters much easier to grasp for those who are not fluent or are rusty in Algebra. At this point I decided to watch the relevant YouTube videos on the subject matter to see if there were any clarifications or explanations, but there wasn’t any. I’m not sure why a simple explanation couldn’t have been provided in either case, especially as the rest of the book is handled in such detail. As I tell my students, “Teaching is a communication skill, not a knowledge based skill”.
The other main lesson headings are: Lesson 2 “Game Trees and Subgame Perfect Equlibrium”, Lesson 3 “Probability Distributions” and Lesson 4 “Infinite Strategy Spaces, Second Price Auctions and The Median Voter Theorem”. Each of these sections have the same depth of analysis as the initial lessons.
For anyone interested in Game Theory this book should be on the “must read” list. There is a tremendous amount of useful information contained within, and when used alongside the videos on YouTube, you will have a firm foundation on the subject matter. Even with my criticism listed above, this book is highly recommended, as William Spaniel has done an admirable job in gathering all of this information into one book and breaking it down into a digestible format. The book has inspired me to want to watch his video series, which also goes beyond the topics covered within the book.
January 23, 2022
A good step by step beginner's outline, better if used with the related videos...
October 17, 2021
I knew nothing about game theory and at 70 I really have no use for it but I found the book fascinating. Even with just a little math you can understand the book. Numerous examples that are completely worked through (you can skip over the redundant calcs) make it very clear.
September 16, 2017
It's a good book, and there seems to be a lack of proper literature on game theory, so this is still the best introductory option out there
April 8, 2019
just the intro to Game Theory.
November 25, 2023
This isn’t exactly a bad book about Game Theory (although it’s not great either), but I’m just not enlightened by Game Theory itself, nor am I thoroughly convinced of its value or methods. I don’t doubt that the calculations performed are mathematically accurate, but I doubt the ways those calculations are formed.
Game Theory’s purpose is to model real-world phenomenon, and I’m not swayed that it does, because almost every game theory lesson/method had obvious flaws that bumped up against real life. Here are some of the general problems I kept noticing:
1. Stripping away context for the sake of keeping the problems “just about the numbers.” In real life, that context will be there, and will change player’s motivations, strategies, and payoffs.
2. Assuming numerical values to preferences and payoffs that were highly debatable, which is important because changing numbers by even a little will change the value of each strategy.
3. Adding in arbitrary constraints for players that they won’t have in real life, and ignoring strategies that they will.
There were more issues I had but it would take paragraphs to explain them. All of this to say, by the time you get to calculating optimal strategies, you’re solving a problem so divorced from the real-world counterpart that the findings are barely useful.
I know Game Theory is applied all the time in the real world, so my review probably sounds ignorant to those that do use it. But I still stand by my belief that Game Theory markets itself unconvincingly, and its methods have caveats at every turn. I wouldn’t treat what Game Theory says about a situation as gospel, and would only consider it supplemental information.
Game Theory’s purpose is to model real-world phenomenon, and I’m not swayed that it does, because almost every game theory lesson/method had obvious flaws that bumped up against real life. Here are some of the general problems I kept noticing:
1. Stripping away context for the sake of keeping the problems “just about the numbers.” In real life, that context will be there, and will change player’s motivations, strategies, and payoffs.
2. Assuming numerical values to preferences and payoffs that were highly debatable, which is important because changing numbers by even a little will change the value of each strategy.
3. Adding in arbitrary constraints for players that they won’t have in real life, and ignoring strategies that they will.
There were more issues I had but it would take paragraphs to explain them. All of this to say, by the time you get to calculating optimal strategies, you’re solving a problem so divorced from the real-world counterpart that the findings are barely useful.
I know Game Theory is applied all the time in the real world, so my review probably sounds ignorant to those that do use it. But I still stand by my belief that Game Theory markets itself unconvincingly, and its methods have caveats at every turn. I wouldn’t treat what Game Theory says about a situation as gospel, and would only consider it supplemental information.
September 25, 2017
Great introduction to game theory.
Concepts were convoluted with technical and mathematical procedures and the author took me step by step in explaining them.
The conclusions derived from the game trees and matrix are far more important than the process of deriving them, more elaboration on the impact of these conclusions would have been nice.
Good read.
Concepts were convoluted with technical and mathematical procedures and the author took me step by step in explaining them.
The conclusions derived from the game trees and matrix are far more important than the process of deriving them, more elaboration on the impact of these conclusions would have been nice.
Good read.
August 19, 2017
Wordy and repetitive. It was decent for an introductory book. Explanations of various outcomes inherently need redundancy to prove a point, but it felt exhausting. Maybe that's just game theory. It gave a good foundation of the topic. The book was ok.
August 7, 2024
Game Theory 101: The Complete Textbook. This is such a fun to read textbook. I never took any game theory classes. I didn’t understand all of it. Nevertheless, I found it fascenating. I recommend this book to NUMB3RS fans and possibly THE BIG BANG THEORY fans as well.
February 18, 2022
A fair introduction to the foundational concepts, but there was a disconcerting number of errors in the text. Would also benefit from a glossary and an index.
September 23, 2022
An ok introduction to the subject, unfortunate lack of any practice problems and some errors in the text
January 8, 2023
Enjoyed the longer problem sets. Deluge of short examples was comprehensive but repetitive
January 6, 2024
Poor edition - not agenda, table of contents...
Clearly a copy pasting of the YouTube script.
Clearly a copy pasting of the YouTube script.
September 4, 2024
4.5 -> 5
Great introduction into the game theory with plenty of examples. The only thing — it would be even better if there were some exercises in the end of the chapter, to practice.
Great introduction into the game theory with plenty of examples. The only thing — it would be even better if there were some exercises in the end of the chapter, to practice.
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January 18, 2025this thesis is going to be the end of me😭
June 30, 2015
This book was pretty ok. It had a lot of errors and mistakes that made following some of the examples very tricky. It was also very direct; no introduction, history of game theory, motivation for studying it, or anything like that. However, that meant that the book was a quick read and it did go over some topics I'd been wondering about for a while.
February 8, 2015
Excellent and clear in the early chapters, but increasingly becomes self-reinforcing as the scenarios put forth prove the points all too clearly (e.g. "should you burn a bridge to prove your commitment?") Nonetheless a solid, thought provoking read.
August 16, 2022
Great introduction to game theory, I recommend to watch the YouTube series to accompany the book.
Lessons in the end were a bit more complex and could have been more thorough, other than that it's a great book.
Lessons in the end were a bit more complex and could have been more thorough, other than that it's a great book.
March 4, 2016
Excellent introduction to game theory, explained at a good pace and easy to understand. The concepts are clear and are revisited whenever relevant in subsequent chapters. Completely recommended.
August 15, 2016
Quick read and a very casual introduction to game theory. The later chapters seemed a bit rushed and the book could have used some problem sets.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews