4.7
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1,885 ratings

Michihiro Kandori

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Welcome to Game Theory

The University of Tokyo

About this Course

47,317 recent views

This course provides a brief introduction to game theory. Our main goal is to understand the basic ideas behind the key concepts in game theory, such as equilibrium, rationality, and cooperation. The course uses very little mathematics, and it is ideal for those who are looking for a conceptual introduction to game theory.
Business competition, political campaigns, the struggle for existence by animals and plants, and so on, can all be regarded as a kind of “game,” in which individuals try to do their best against others. Game theory provides a general framework to describe and analyze how individuals behave in such “strategic” situations.

This course focuses on the key concepts in game theory, and attempts to outline the informal basic ideas that are often hidden behind mathematical definitions. Game theory has been applied to a number of disciplines, including economics, political science, psychology, sociology, biology, and computer science. Therefore, a warm welcome is extended to audiences from all fields who are interested in what game theory is all about.

Flexible deadlines

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Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

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Beginner Level

Approx. 21 hours to complete

English

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Skills you will gain

Nash Equilibrium
Game Theory
Strategic Planning

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Beginner Level

Approx. 21 hours to complete

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

Instructor

Instructor rating

4.74/5 (362 Ratings)

Michihiro Kandori

Offered by

The University of Tokyo

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Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating96%(7,571 ratings)

Week

Week 1

5 hours to complete

Why Do We Need Game Theory, and What Does it Tell Us?

Is it possible to analyze a wide variety of social and economic problems using a unified framework? In the first module, we address this question. We will see that the concept of rational decision making is useful, but it is not quite sufficient to provide governing principles. Motivated examples and some history of game theory will be provided. You will also be asked to play a simple card game to see how it feels to make your decisions strategically.

5 hours to complete

12 videos (Total 91 min), 6 readings, 5 quizzes

12 videos

Course Preview1m

1-1 What is Game Theory?8m

1-2 Modelling Social Problems as a "Game"12m

1-3 In Search for the Governing Principle10m

1-4 Concerns About a Mathematical Theory of Human Behavior7m

1-5 Let's Play a Game6m

Card Game Tutorial (No Audio)2m

1-6 John Nash Discovered the Governing Principle6m

1-7 Nash Equilibrium9m

1-8 Traffic Game in Reality7m

1-9 Location Game6m

1-10 Policies of Two Parties10m

6 readings

Course Description10m

Syllabus10m

Card Game Challenge Instruction10m

(Supplementary Reading Material) Convergence to Nash Equilibrium in the Traffic Game10m

About Optional Challenge Problems2m

Supplemental explanation for Question 1, 2 and 310m

5 practice exercises

Practice Quiz 1.130m

Practice Quiz 1.230m

Practice Quiz 1.330m

Graded Quiz 130m

Module 1 Optional Challenge Problems1h

Week

Week 2

5 hours to complete

Understanding Nash equilibrium

5 hours to complete

10 videos (Total 89 min), 1 reading, 5 quizzes

10 videos

2-1 Nash Equilibrium and the Prisoner’s Dilemma10m

2-2 Coordination Game and Self-Fulfilling Prophecy9m

2-3 Market Competition11m

2-4 Why Do People Come to Play Nash Equilibrium? Part I7m

2-5 Why Do People Come to Play Nash Equilibrium? Part II7m

2-6 Why Do People Come to Play Nash Equilibrium? Part III7m

2-7 Stylized Facts and Nash Equilibrium5m

2-8 Make Yourself Unpredictable: Mixed Strategy Equilibrium7m

2-9 Sports Games and Game Theory10m

2-10 Nash Equilibrium Exists in All Games11m

1 reading

About Optional Challenge Problems2m

5 practice exercises

Practice Quiz 2.130m

Practice Quiz 2.230m

Practice Quiz 2.330m

Graded Quiz 230m

Module 2 Optional Challenge Problems1h

Week

Week 3

5 hours to complete

Rationality, Knowledge, and Evolution in Games

In Module 3, we will dig deeper into the relationship between rationality and Nash equilibrium. We will consider the whole spectrum of possible intellectual capacities of players, spanning the range from unlimited ability for sophisticated reasoning to absolute zero intelligence. In the end, you will see that Nash equilibrium can emerge under a fairly wide range of intellectual capacities of players.

5 hours to complete

9 videos (Total 94 min), 3 readings, 5 quizzes

9 videos

3-1 Digression: The Card Game Revisited11m

3-2 Digression: How You Played the Card Game and Addressing the Concerns about Game Theory15m

3-3 “Payoffs” in a Game: What Exactly Are Those Numbers?9m

3-4 What Does it Mean That a Player is Rational?6m

3-5 Domination: Strategies That Are “Obviously Good or Bad”10m

3-6 Common Knowledge of Rationality10m

3-7 Low Rationality: What Happens if Players Are Not Very Smart?7m

3-8 Game Theory Under Zero-Intelligence: Biological Evolution10m

3-9 Fig Wasps Play a Nash Equilibrium11m

3 readings

Aggregated Result of the Card Game Challenge10m

About Optional Challenge Problems2m

Supplemental explanation for Question 2, 3 and 410m

5 practice exercises

Practice Quiz 3.130m

Practice Quiz 3.230m

Practice Quiz 3.330m

Graded Quiz 330m

Module 3 Optional Challenge Problems1h 20m

Week

Week 4

6 hours to complete

Sustaining Cooperation

The final module is devoted to the most important and most general message of game theory: rational behavior quite often leads to a socially undesirable outcome. We will first try to understand the basic reason for this, and then see how this insight of game theory has made fundamental impacts in the natural and social sciences. Finally, we will learn some general methods to overcome this problem.

6 hours to complete

11 videos (Total 123 min), 2 readings, 5 quizzes

11 videos

4-1 Group Rationality and The Rationality of Individuals10m

4-2 Why is Group Rationality Different From Rationality of Individuals?10m

4-3 Group Rationality vs. Rationality of Individuals in Biological Evolution11m

4-4 Group Rationality vs. Rationality of Individuals in Social Thought11m

4-5 How to Enforce Socially Desirable Outcomes13m

4-6 Cooperation of gas Stations in Long-Term Relationship Part I: Need For Cooperation12m

4-7 Cooperation of Gas Stations in Long-Term Relationship Part II: Mechanism of Cooperation11m

4-8 Reputation and Brand Name10m

4-9 Cooperation in Loosely Knit Organization14m

4-10 Summary of the Course13m

Final Message from the Instructor4m

2 readings

(Supplementary Reading Material) Why People Discount Future Payoff?10m

About Optional Challenge Problems2m

5 practice exercises

Practice Quiz 4.130m

Practice Quiz 4.230m

Practice Quiz 4.330m

Graded Quiz 430m

Module 4 Optional Challenge Problems1h 20m

Reviews

4.7

429 reviews

5 stars
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TOP REVIEWS FROM WELCOME TO GAME THEORY

by VVAug 11, 2016

This course is very interesting, it helps to understand basic knowledge in game theory) And it's also easy to understand, because of available explanations of material.

by RRMay 30, 2020

This course is amazing for beginners for no prior knowledge about game theory. I especially love the recommendations given at the end of the courses and the honour problems given in the course.

by QSApr 8, 2021

An excellent introduction to Game Theory! Very engaging and easy to follow. Many thanks to the professor, the univeristy of Tokyo and Coursera for making this available for free!

by LLJan 19, 2016

This is a very good introduction to game theory having never before studied this subject I have found that the Lectures are easy to understand and flow very well from one to the other.

View all reviews

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Welcome to Game Theory

Welcome to Game Theory

About this Course

Skills you will gain