Game Theory with Spreadsheets: Payoff Matrices, Nash Equilibria & Mixed Strategies
Best responses with MAX, iterated elimination of dominated strategies, pure and mixed Nash equilibria, the repeated prisoner's dilemma with discounting, zero-sum minimax, backward induction for entry deterrence and first- vs second-price auctions, all with two fictional coffee chains in a live spreadsheet that checks every cell. Educational only, not business or investment advice.
The first lesson is free — no account needed.
About this course
A game theory course that plays out the rivalry of two fictional coffee chains in a spreadsheet, for economics and business students, MBA candidates and anyone who wants to see strategy as numbers. You flag best responses in a payoff matrix with IF and MAX, remove dominated strategies one round at a time, find every pure Nash equilibrium with one AND formula and highlight it, discount the profit streams of a repeated prisoner's dilemma to find the discount factor that keeps a grim-trigger agreement alive, solve a 2×2 game with no pure equilibrium for the mixed strategies, find saddle points and the value of a zero-sum game with minimax, solve an entry game by backward induction and compare first-price and second-price auction revenue. Educational only, not business or investment advice. The first lab is free.
Lessons
- Payoff Matrices & Best Responses: MAX per Column and per RowFree
- Dominant & Dominated Strategies: Iterated Elimination Step by Step Pro
- Pure-Strategy Nash Equilibria: Cells Where Both Play a Best Response Pro
- Prisoner's Dilemma & Repeated Games: Discounting and the Grim-Trigger δ Pro
- Mixed-Strategy Equilibrium in a 2×2 Game: The Indifference Equations Pro
- Zero-Sum Games & Minimax: Saddle Points and the Value of a Mixed Game Pro
- Sequential Games: Backward Induction and Entry Deterrence Pro
- Auction Basics: First-Price vs Second-Price Revenue (Revenue Equivalence) Pro