The Stag Hunt Game Models Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Stag Hunt Game Models - Essay Example Mainly, games such as Battle of Sexes, Prisoners Dilemma, and so on have been investigated by researchers. However, there have been very few mentions and applications of the Stag Hunt game. The Star Hunt game was a story told briefly by Rousseau. In its sense, it represents a social contract prototype (Skyrms, 2004). According to Rousseau’s story, the Star Hunt Game raises many questions such as an individual’s share of a successful deer hunt and values of a hare, will the hunt be successful if all those participating in the deer hunt remained faithful, and is there a chance that two hunters would opt to chase the hare? (Skyrms, 2004). In this paper, we look at the choices provided by the Stag Hunt game where each player can either choose to act on their own, or, to collaborate with the other party. This being an example of the games in game theory, we will try to find out whether it would be possible, through game theory, to predict a unique result of which everybody w ould choose. Discussion Game theory represents a very good way of analyzing the type of interdependence and relationship between firms in an oligopoly market. This type of market contains various small numbers of large enterprises practicing competition. Normally, when one firm in this market setting undertakes an action, other firms may be prompted to counter. For instance, if one firm rebrands its packaging and lowers it price, a competing firm is also prompted to do the same (Amos Web LLC, 2012). If one of the firms in the market decides to advertise a given product and launches an advertising campaign, the other firms in the market also prompted to make plans of stepping up their advertising campaigns. Game theory tries to explain these kinds of moves, and the counter moves that firms in an oligopolistic market make in trying to outdo each other for financial and market share gains. John Nash, the person who came up with game theory, was a Nobel Prize winning mathematician and e conomist (Shafer & Pearl, 1990). In the application of game theory in the moves and counter moves of firms in an oligopolistic market, analysis of standard game theory is on the basis of the alternative outcomes which arise when offered the choices that every one of the two players in the game face. It is worthy to note that when a player makes a choice, it definitely affects the result that the other or both of the players get in the end (Colman, 1995). In a game theory, if a player decides to cooperate with another player, the results they get form the endeavor definitely favors both of them (Shafer & Pearl, 1990). The rewards of cooperation are good. Nonetheless, there are times when cooperation is part of the game yet the individual interests are not the same as those of the team or the cooperating unit, like in the case of a soccer match. People form a team to get a favorable result at the end of the game. However, an individual may agree to be part of the team to get the resul ts but at the same time aim for personal glory. These are some of the choices that game theory offers the players or the playing teams as in the case of a soccer match (Bacharach, 1987). Experts have suggested that, it might be in the best interests of the players, in a game like the stag hunt to agree to cooperate with each other and go for the stag; as it gives more rewards in the end. However, there are times when the players wish to have outcomes that favor each of them in their own right without the