Game+Theory+11

__General Description__ In this timeless COP event, there are 4 specific teams the bears, the deer, the bear hunters and the dear hunters. However, in actuality only 2 teams exist, for the bears and the deer form an alliance while the the deer hunters and the bear hunters do so as well. The game functions solely on a unique system of predation (details to follow) and each alliance has a respective jail where their prey must go when captured. The object of the game is to retrieve the other teams hidden item, or flag. __Rules__ More specifically, each group of people is the predator and the prey of 2 other unique groups. The bears hunt the deer hunters and are hunted by the bear hunters, while the deer hunt the bear hunters and are hunted by the deer hunters. It should be relatively clear that if the alliances truly stay together no one will ever be caught. (If there is a deer with a bear, they will not be caught, if there is a deer hunter with a bear hunter they will not be caught) However, in doing so each team abandons their goal of finding the flag. Ultimately, this will not happen for all teams are self interested and want to win. Thus we must assess this in terms of game theory to determine the most successful strategy. The more people you have free, the better your chance of winning, however if you keep your alliance you will never win for the flag will never be discovered. Thus, if both teams keep their alliances their pay off will be 0. If they both abandon their alliances they will be 50 (they each have the same chance of finding the flag first). Finally, if one abandons and the other one does not, the one who abandons will have a payoff of 100 for even though they lose people to predation, because the other team does not pursue their self interest they won't win. __Materials needed__ Hardly any. A flag for each team, a large area, and paint or some type of indicator that can distinguish teams __Expected results__ ||
 * Bear Hunter Dear Hunter**
 * ||  || Team B ||   ||
 * ||  || Keep Alliance || Abandon ||
 * Team A || Keep Alliance || 0,0 || 0,100 ||
 * || Abandon || 100,0 || 50,50 ||
 * Clearly, it is in both teams best interest (dominant strategy) to abandon their alliances. The Nash equilibrium is thus the box where they bothe Abandon. Though they will lose people, they will have much greater success finding the flag if they actually pursue it. Only in this way does anything ever get accomplished. .... Let the mayhem ensue. ||