7.3.4.2.3. Rock, Paper, Scissors

General Information

Rock, Paper, Scissors is a simple hand game often used as a playful decision-making tool. In game theory, it serves as a basic example of a non-cooperative, simultaneous-move, zero-sum game. The game is typically played between two people who simultaneously form one of three shapes with their hands: a rock, paper, or scissors.

The basic rules are as follows:

  • Rock crushes Scissors,

  • Scissors cuts Paper, and

  • Paper covers Rock.

The game has a cyclic nature, with no single option dominating the others. Each choice has a clear advantage over one option and a disadvantage against another.

The game is designed such that the payoffs balance out to zero in each possible outcome, making it a zero-sum game. In a theoretical sense, neither player has a dominant strategy, and the optimal strategy involves randomizing between Rock, Paper, and Scissors to prevent the opponent from predicting their moves.

Rock, Paper, Scissors is often used as a teaching tool in introductory game theory to illustrate concepts such as mixed strategies, Nash equilibrium, and the nature of zero-sum games. Despite its simplicity, it provides insights into strategic thinking and decision-making in competitive situations.

This game can be imported, as follows:

from mlpro.gt.pool.native.games.rockpaperscissors import RockPaperScissors

Player, Coalition, and Competition

In the context of Rock, Paper, Scissors, there are usually two players, often referred to as Player 1 and Player 2. However, in this game, we setup a coalition against a coaltion Rock, Paper, Scissors games. The game consists of two coaltions, where each coalition makes a decision based on the colllaborative approach between the coalitions. Each coalition consists of 5 members, the most voted decision of the 5 members represents the final decision of the coalition.

Payoff Matrix

The outcomes are often represented in a payoff matrix, where each coaltion’s payoff depends on the combination of choices made by both coalitions:

Rock

Paper

Scissors

Rock

(0, 0)

(0, 1)

(1, 0)

Paper

(1, 0)

(0, 0)

(0, 1)

Scissors

(0, 1)

(1, 0)

(0, 0)

Here, the first value in each pair represents the payoff to the row coalition, and the second value represents the payoff to the column coalition.

Solvers

Coalition

Solvers

1

Random solvers for all players

2

Random solvers for all players

Cross References

Citation

If you apply this game in your research or work, do not forget to cite us.