Game Theory

Offered By

Stanford University

The University of British Columbia

Game Theory

Stanford University

Popularized by movies such as "A Beautiful Mind," game theory is the mathematical modeling of strategic interaction among rational (and irrational) agents. Beyond what we call `games' in common language, such as chess, poker, soccer, etc., it includes the modeling of conflict among nations, political campaigns, competition among firms, and trading behavior in markets such as the NYSE. How could you begin to model keyword auctions, and peer to peer file-sharing networks, without accounting for the incentives of the people using them? The course will provide the basics: representing games and strategies, the extensive form (which computer scientists call game trees), Bayesian games (modeling things like auctions), repeated and stochastic games, and more. We'll include a variety of examples including classic games and a few applications. You can find a full syllabus and description of the course here: http://web.stanford.edu/~jacksonm/GTOC-Syllabus.html There is also an advanced follow-up course to this one, for people already familiar with game theory: https://www.coursera.org/learn/gametheory2/ You can find an introductory video here: http://web.stanford.edu/~jacksonm/Intro_Networks.mp4...

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Beginner Level

Suggested: 5 hours/week

Approx. 20 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: English

Skills you will gain

Game TheoryBayesian GameProblem SolvingBackward Induction

100% online courses

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Beginner Level

Suggested: 5 hours/week

Approx. 20 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: English

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

1

Section

2 hours to complete

Week 1: Introduction and Overview

Introduction, overview, uses of game theory, some applications and examples, and formal definitions of: the normal form, payoffs, strategies, pure strategy Nash equilibrium, dominant strategies...

11 videos (Total 80 min), 2 readings, 2 quizzes

11 videos

Introductory Video8m

1-1 Game Theory Intro - TCP Backoff 11m

1-2 Self-Interested Agents and Utility Theory 3m

1-3 Defining Games 10m

1-4 Examples of Games 5m

1-5 Nash Equilibrium Intro 4m

1-6 Strategic Reasoning 10m

1-7 Best Response and Nash Equilibrium 2m

1-8 Nash Equilibrium of Example Games 6m

1-9 Dominant Strategies 7m

1-10 Pareto Optimality 8m

2 readings

Syllabus10m

A Brief Introduction to the Basics of Game Theory10m

2 practice exercises

Problem Set 118m

In-Video Quizzes Week 114m

2

Section

2 hours to complete

Week 2: Mixed-Strategy Nash Equilibrium

pure and mixed strategy Nash equilibria...

7 videos (Total 76 min), 2 quizzes

7 videos

2-1 Mixed Strategies and Nash Equilibrium (I) 2m

2-2 Mixed Strategies and Nash Equilibrium (II)14m

2-3 Computing Mixed Nash Equilibrium 11m

2-4 Hardness Beyond 2x2 Games - Basic 5m

2-4 Hardness Beyond 2x2 Games - Advanced 20m

2-5 Example: Mixed Strategy Nash 10m

2-6 Data: Professional Sports and Mixed Strategies 10m

2 practice exercises

Problem Set 210m

In-Video Quizzes Week 26m

3

Section

1 hour to complete

Week 3: Alternate Solution Concepts

Iterative removal of strictly dominated strategies, minimax strategies and the minimax theorem for zero-sum game, correlated equilibria...

6 videos (Total 64 min), 2 quizzes

6 videos

3-1 Beyond the Nash Equilibrium 3m

3-2 Strictly Dominated Strategies & Iterative Removal 19m

3-3 Dominated Strategies & Iterative Removal: An Application 9m

3-4 Maxmin Strategies 9m

3-4 Maxmin Strategies - Advanced16m

3-5 Correlated Equilibrium: Intuition 5m

2 practice exercises

Problem Set 310m

In-Video Quizzes Week 34m

4

Section

2 hours to complete

Week 4: Extensive-Form Games

Perfect information games: trees, players assigned to nodes, payoffs, backward Induction, subgame perfect equilibrium, introduction to imperfect-information games, mixed versus behavioral strategies. ...

10 videos (Total 101 min), 2 quizzes

10 videos

4-1 Perfect Information Extensive Form: Taste 3m

4-2 Formalizing Perfect Information Extensive Form Games 6m

4-3 Perfect Information Extensive Form: Strategies, BR, NE 13m

4-4 Subgame Perfection 9m

4-5 Backward Induction 13m

4-6 Subgame Perfect Application: Ultimatum Bargaining17m

4-7 Imperfect Information Extensive Form: Poker 3m

4-8 Imperfect Information Extensive Form: Definition, Strategies 10m

4-9 Mixed and Behavioral Strategies 8m

4-10 Incomplete Information in the Extensive Form: Beyond Subgame Perfection 13m

2 practice exercises

Problem Set 412m

In-Video Quizzes Week 410m

Instructors

Matthew O. Jackson

Professor

Economics

Kevin Leyton-Brown

Professor

Computer Science

Yoav Shoham

Professor

Computer Science

About Stanford University

The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is an American private research university located in Stanford, California on an 8,180-acre (3,310 ha) campus near Palo Alto, California, United States....

About The University of British Columbia

The University of British Columbia is a global centre for research and teaching....

Frequently Asked Questions

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Once you enroll for a Certificate, you’ll have access to all videos, quizzes, and programming assignments (if applicable). Peer review assignments can only be submitted and reviewed once your session has begun. If you choose to explore the course without purchasing, you may not be able to access certain assignments.
What will I get if I purchase the Certificate?
When you purchase a Certificate you get access to all course materials, including graded assignments. Upon completing the course, your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
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More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.

Game Theory

Game Theory

100% online courses

Flexible deadlines

Beginner Level

Suggested: 5 hours/week

English

Skills you will gain

100% online courses

Flexible deadlines

Beginner Level

Suggested: 5 hours/week

English

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

1

Week 1: Introduction and Overview

2

Week 2: Mixed-Strategy Nash Equilibrium

3

Week 3: Alternate Solution Concepts

4

Week 4: Extensive-Form Games

67%

83%

Top Reviews

Instructors

Matthew O. Jackson

Kevin Leyton-Brown

Yoav Shoham

About Stanford University

About The University of British Columbia

Frequently Asked Questions