A chicken game is a game theory set up that typically decribes two players heading toward each other. If the players continue on the same path, they bump into each other; if one swerves out of the way and other doesn't, the swerve "loses" and is labeled the chicken, while the second, implicitly braver player, wins.
The payoff matrix is as follows:
1 0001
Swerve Continue Straight Swerve 0, 0 -1, +1 Continue Straight +1, -1 -2, -2
(This set up implies two players are merely walking towards each other; if they were, say, driving, the Continue Straight/Continue Straight choice would constitute a much higher negative payoff. While these differences in payoffs matter for calculating mixed strategy Nash equilibrium, only order matters for regular Nash equilibrium)
Analysis[]
The NE in this scenario are Continue Straight/Swerve and Swerve/Continue Straight.
See Also[]
- Hawk-Dove game, a more general case of the chicken game.
- a n-player chicken game (free online classroom game)