Game theory is the mathematics of strategy. It is a powerful framework for understanding how individuals and groups make decisions when their outcomes depend on others. This module introduces the foundational models of game theory and connects them to contemporary research and real-world behaviour.
The module covers a broad range of classic and modern topics, including discussions of notable research in the field. Most of the ideas are brought to life through interactive classroom experiments that mirror the games we study, encouraging discussion and reflection.
There’s a strong emphasis on independent learning. While the lectures and activities build core understanding, you’ll also be expected to explore the material in depth on your own. Assessment is split between an exam and a research project. The project gives you the chance to apply game theory authentically to a topic that interests you whether that’s sports, technology, social behaviour, or something else entirely.
Along the way, you’ll see how game theory draws on a wide range of mathematical ideas, including integer pivoting, interior point methods, numerical integration of differential equations, and Markov chains. This makes this module a great option whether you’re looking to apply familiar techniques or encounter these topics for the first time.
All course materials are available online at vknight.org/gt/. You can also find all the source files that create that website at github.com/drvinceknight/gt/.
There are 2 components to the course content, all of which can be found at this site.
In class we will not follow the class texts: these are there for you to read on your own time. Instead we will use activities and other examples to illustrate the concepts. I have my own notes for those (which are also available to you).
If you would like some information about the pedagogic approach:
It is possible that the course notes will change: for things like typos and clarifications, all of the notes are hosted openly on github and if you’re interested you can find a list of all changes here: github.com/drvinceknight/gtb/commits/main
Please use whatever resources you need to be successful in this class. Let me know if I can help with anything.
I will not hold specific office hours. Please speak to me (face to face or via email) to arrange a time to meet.
In this course every participant (including myself) will be having many interactions with other participants. Some potential examples of this:
I expect every participant (including myself) to act with kindness during these interactions.
Some examples of how this applies to me:
There are three pieces of assessment in this course:
More information about assessment: here
In class today we gave a quick summary of what we have seen so far, ran a Rock Paper Scissor Lizard Spock tournament (Tom took my candy again) and talked over the support enumeration algorithm which is the important part of the Nash equilibrium chapter.
In today’s class I auctioned a five pound note and discussed how the class works.
This year I will be making some rather big changes to the course. In short:
I have marked the group coursework and thank you all for your hard work. In this post I will give a brief summary of the performance.
I have marked the individual coursework and thank you all for your hard work. In this post I will give a brief summary of the performance.
In class today we played a Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock tournament.
A huge apology for rushing and overrunning today. I know better and will make sure I don’t do that again.
In this post I will discuss the performance of the class:
I have marked the individual coursework and the overall performance is impressive: the average mark is 85%.
On Tuesday we had two class. We went through your mid module feedback and had a brief discussion about meetings.
In class today we bore witness to Tim’s talent at Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock and also: not everyone got chocolate.
Thanks all today for a fun class!
Welcome to you if you are thinking of doing MA3604 (Game Theory) this year.
The group coursework is a difficult assessment marked on a difficult scale. Summary of the class marks are here:
In class today I went over the mock coursework.
In class today we discussed the individual coursework. I did my best to take all questions and ensure everyone understood what each question is asking for.
On Friday you spent some time filling in the mid module feedback for Game Theory. Here I will go over some of the recurring points raised.
In Friday’s class I took a brief poll about how things were going for students in the class and then we all played rock paper scissors lizard spock tournaments.
Following a suggestion from a student, here is a link to an anonymous (in practice) feedback form:
Thanks all today for a fun class!
Welcome to you if you are thinking of doing MA3604 (Game Theory) this year.
Class notes: About the class
Class notes: Games
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