Economics Challenge Series 2024 – Challenge 2: Game Theory (Most or...

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to the Economics Challenge Series for 2024. For July and August, I am running an economics challenge series. The series consists of seven challenges. All the challenges will commence in July and early August. I will publish and announce the results in August.

Six of the seven challenges from last year's Challenge Series return. The Tax Game from 2022 is replacing the business version of the Buying and Selling Game. Below is the list of challenges.

Challenge 1: Ice Cream Game
Challenge 2: Game Theory Game
Challenge 3: Pick-a-Door
Challenge 4: Complement vs. Substitute
Challenge 5: The Buying and Selling Game
Challenge 6: Even-to-Win
Challenge 7: Tax Game

Each challenge could reward winners with as much as 60 Hive Power. The value of the prize will depend on the level of participation. For each new participant, the prize will increase by 5 Hive Power. This will continue until 60 Hive Power is reached (12 participants). The first 12 participants will also receive a 50% upvote from this account.

In addition to the prize money, the top few participants will be given points. These points will be used to determine the overall challenge series winner. This winner may receive as much as 80 Hive Power. The value of the prize will equal the sum of the number of participants across all challenges. This will continue until 80 Hive Power is reached.

For more information on the challenge series and the upcoming challenges, I recommend that you read my post from last year. This year’s Challenge Series is run the same way as last year’s.

Welcome to the Game Theory (Most or Least) Challenge

How to Play?

The Game Theory (Most or Least) challenge requires participants to select 5 out of 11 boxes. Each box has a monetary value; these values will be revealed later in this question. The value represented by each box will be shared equally across all participants who have selected that box. For example, if a box has a value of 80 and 10 participants have selected that box, each participant will be awarded a value of 8 (80/10).

All the information you need to know to play the game is provided in the question.

All entries must be made in the comments section of this post.

Each account is only permitted one entry.

Objectives of the Game

This game has several different win conditions. These win conditions depend on the values obtained by participants.

The participant who obtains the highest value wins the challenge if no other players’ obtain that same value.
If more than one participant shares the highest value, the participant with the lowest value wins if no other players’ obtain that same value.
If more than one participant shares the highest value and if more than one participant shares the lowest value, the first and second participants to enter the challenge will be joint winners of the challenge and will share the prize equally. This will occur regardless of the value they obtain from the boxes.

Below is an example of a game where participants choose 3 of 5 boxes. The Gif demonstrates how the game changes as more participants enter. In this example, Participant 2 is the winner. However, at different points in the game, different participants take the lead. For example, after Participant 3 entered, Participant 3 was winning. Watch the Gif to see how the game changes as more players enter.

Example of the Game Theory Challenge

Participants’ value is calculated as follows (using an example of selecting 5 out of 11 boxes):

Logic of the Objectives

The challenge tests participants’ ability to outmanoeuvre each other. The challenge contains both strategy and tactics. Entering early (first or second) provides the advantage of entering under a potential win condition. Entering later provides the advantage of being able to observe other participants decisions; therefore, potentially creating opportunities to achieve the highest or lowest value. However, if another participant enters, some of this advantage is lost.

Challenge Prizes

The total prize for this challenge could reach as high as 60 Hive Power. The number of participants determines the value of the prize. For every entry, the prize is increased by 5 Hive Power until a value of 60 Hive Power is reached. For this challenge, the total value of the prize goes to the winner. The first 12 entries will be given upvotes. The winner of this challenge will also be given 30 points. These points will be tallied at the end of the challenge series to determine the overall winner.

Let the Challenge Begin!

Participants are required to select 5 out of 11 boxes. Each box has been allocated a value. The values of each of the eleven boxes are as follows:

Box 1: 88, Box 2: 64, Box 3: 112, Box 4: 32, Box 5: 78, Box 6: 86, Box 7: 110, Box 8: 68, Box 9: 44, Box 10: 56, and Box 11: 96

Entry Format

For this challenge, I expect to see entries made in the following format:

Boxes: …, …, …, and …

Example of Entry

Boxes: 1, 4, 6, 8, and 11

The closing date and time for this challenge is 6PM coordinated universal time (UTC) 24/07/2024. Responses after this time will not be accepted. The results of the challenge will be announced in a separate post.

I hope everyone has fun and enjoys this second challenge. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments section. I look forward to your participation in the next challenge. It will be available in a few days.

My New Book, Sapien Loop

I have published an ebook on Amazon; it is titled ‘Sapien Loop: End of an Era’. The book is fiction. I do not normally write fiction. However, I felt it was appropriate considering what is happening in the world today. Freedom is the most important thing we have, but we are gradually losing it. I have covered this in many of my posts.

In the story, most citizens do not understand the concept of freedom because they have never really experienced it. In essence, the story is about an alien world that might represent our not-so-distant future. There are many other elements to the story that are an abstract and exaggerated version of our reality. I believe this book to be an important read, and I believe it has the potential to change the way you think.

Brief Summary of Sapien Lopp

This story is based on the fictional planet Sapia and its sole country, Sapey. Sapey is portrayed as a form of utopia for all its citizens. No poverty. No war. Almost no crime. Opportunities for all.

This was enough for most citizens, but not all. In one of the small regions, some of the citizens had become discontent. They felt something important was missing in their lives. Their discontent did not go unnoticed. Some of the Sapey elite wanted to weaponise this discontent to gain more power. This created more chaos than they anticipated. This led to further widespread social unrest.

On top of the chaos, ambition and greed provoked another enemy. This enemy was on a mission to settle both new and old scores.

If you want to buy a copy of the book, below are links to the relevant Amazon websites for each country it is available in. The book is priced at approximately US$5.08.

I am also running monthly contests where participants are required to answer questions based on the book. The prize is 30 Hive Power plus upvotes for the first twelve entries. You can recover the cost of the book with just one win.

Economics Challenge Series 2024 – Challenge 2: Game Theory (Most or Least)