ChrisBALL

BOOKS for the Course

1. Joel Watson, " Strategy: An Introduction to Game Theory (Third Edition)" I found this to be the best undergrad text to use and used it for years.  I highly recommend it.

2. MIT OpenCourseWare Fall 2025 "Economic Applications of Game Theory" has notes and video lectures. It's more formal and thus possibly of interest to those of you with a little more math fluency and wanting to go deeper.  It looks like a nice "next step" building on my class".

3. Chris Ball (draft) "Modelling With Games: An Introduction to Modelling Human Behavior Using Game Theory"

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MODULE 1: Sequential Games, Simultaneous Games and Uncertainty​​

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• Sequential Move Games Part I

  • Reading Ball Chap 1 "Modeling Basics"

  • Readings Watson Chap 2 "The Extensive Form"​

    • Speed Trap Game and thoughts

      • A Speed Trap Game​

      • Extensions and thoughts on the Speed Trap Game

  • ​Other Readings 

    • Handwritten Notes "Actions vs Strategies, Centipede Games, etc."

    • Handwritten Notes "Credibility and Entry Games"

    • Dixit Nalebuff, 1991, (p. 14 - 17) "Here I Stand" (commitment devices)

    • Dixit Nalebuff, 1992, Chap 6 (p. 142 - 167) "Credible Commitments"

  • Basic Games with numbers to look at: Eviction, Big John-Little John​, Google vs Microsoft, Dr. Strangelove

  • Practice Problems

    • PP Extensive Form Basics

    • PP Extensive Form Word Problems

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• Simultaneous Move Games Part I

  • Strategic Form Games and Pure Nash Equilibria

    • 06.01 Simultaneous Moves Part 1

    • 06.02 Simultaneous Moves Part 2

    • 06.03 Simultaneous Moves Part 3 Some Classic Games

  • Sequential and Simultaneous Games: SPE again

    • 06.04 Simultaneous Games: SPE and Nash

  • Dominance Solvable Games: Location Games

    • 06.07 Dominated Solvability and Rationalizable

  • Bitcoin and Blockchain as Nash

    • Vitalik Buterin's Bitcoin Example

  • Practice Problems  

    • PP Simultaneous Games to Practice

    • PP More Simultaneous Games to Practice​

    • PP Location Games

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• Handling Variables and Randomness

  • Games with variables to look at: Kidnapping and Nuisance suits

  • Reading Bargaining Problems​ and Markets

    • 02.01 Bargaining Games Pt 1

  • Random Outcomes

    • 03.06 Adding Random Actions Pt 1

  • Practice Problems  

    • PP Basic Bargaining Games

    • PP Symmetric Info and Random Outcomes

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• Strategic Uncertainty​

  • ​Mixed Nash

    • 06.05 Simultaneous Games and Mixed Nash

    • 06.06 Calculating Mixed Nash and Looking at Dominated Strategies

  • Practice Problems   

    • PP Mixed Nash 2022​​​​​​​​

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Exam 1 (midterm): October TBA

Paper 1: October TBA

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• Advanced Sequential Move Games

  • 02.02 Bargaining Games Pt 2

  • 03.05 Strategic Voting

  • 04.01 Principal Agent Models 1 Linear Util and Certainty

  • 04.02 Principal Agent Models 2 Linear Util and Uncertainty

  • Extensions of the Principal Agent Model (not covered in class, Fall 2021, but totally doable)

  • 04.03 Principal Agent Models 3 NonLinear Util and Uncertainty

  • 04.05 Principal Agent Models 4 Extensions and Applications

  • 04.06 Princ Agents and Cheap Talk

  • 04.07 Princ Agents and Ultimatum

  • 02.04 Lemons Market 1

  • Practice Problems

    • PP Preferences (SKIP) and Strategic Voting

    • ​PP Principal Agent Games

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• Asymmetric Information: Signaling

  • Types and Adding Randomness early in the game​

  • How Lemons Destroy Markets and What Can Be Done

  • Bayesian Asymmetric Information Games

    • 05.01 Signaling Models 1 Gifts and Beliefs

    • 05.02 Signaling Models 2 Basic Lemons (again)

    • 05.03 Signaling Models 3 Education

    • Education Signaling Game (download)​​

  • Practice Problems

    • PP Information Games

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Exam 2 (Final): TBA

​Paper 2: TBA December