Comments on: Game theory in Mario Party http://mindyourdecisions.com/blog/2010/01/19/game-theory-in-mario-party/ Articles on game theory and personal finance Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:47:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: John Jr. http://mindyourdecisions.com/blog/2010/01/19/game-theory-in-mario-party/comment-page-1/#comment-7276 John Jr. Sun, 05 Sep 2010 16:10:13 +0000 http://mindyourdecisions.com/blog/?p=1922#comment-7276 1- For more items, the losing positions would be the multiples of (number of items plus 1). 2- same question, or I didn't got it... With more than 2 people it is not as deterministic, but you can be sure to win if, in the end of your turn, there are (number of opponents * 2 + 1) items left for the next player. 1- For more items, the losing positions would be the multiples of (number of items plus 1).

2- same question, or I didn’t got it…

With more than 2 people it is not as deterministic, but you can be sure to win if, in the end of your turn, there are (number of opponents * 2 + 1) items left for the next player.

]]> By: V Paul Smith Jr http://mindyourdecisions.com/blog/2010/01/19/game-theory-in-mario-party/comment-page-1/#comment-6257 V Paul Smith Jr Thu, 21 Jan 2010 07:49:20 +0000 http://mindyourdecisions.com/blog/?p=1922#comment-6257 I remember that Survivor episode very clearly. I was mad that I wasn't on one of those teams. Well, mostly the team that got to go first, but even if not, it's likely that you can quickly pull it around to your favor if your opponent doesn't know what's up and doesn't happen go guess correctly every time by mistake. Out of curiosity, how would one go about solving the best optimal play with more than 2 people? I remember that Survivor episode very clearly. I was mad that I wasn’t on one of those teams. Well, mostly the team that got to go first, but even if not, it’s likely that you can quickly pull it around to your favor if your opponent doesn’t know what’s up and doesn’t happen go guess correctly every time by mistake.

Out of curiosity, how would one go about solving the best optimal play with more than 2 people?

]]> By: RohoMech http://mindyourdecisions.com/blog/2010/01/19/game-theory-in-mario-party/comment-page-1/#comment-6254 RohoMech Tue, 19 Jan 2010 20:09:50 +0000 http://mindyourdecisions.com/blog/?p=1922#comment-6254 Given that the two-player version of this game is pretty simple to solve, I'm surprised the game doesn't also introduce an element of skill or chance into the mix: Either making the dice spin much faster, or making the numbers change randomly. Granted, its also luck that your competitor doesn't know the optimal strategy... Given that the two-player version of this game is pretty simple to solve, I’m surprised the game doesn’t also introduce an element of skill or chance into the mix: Either making the dice spin much faster, or making the numbers change randomly.

Granted, its also luck that your competitor doesn’t know the optimal strategy…

]]> By: William Spaniel http://mindyourdecisions.com/blog/2010/01/19/game-theory-in-mario-party/comment-page-1/#comment-6252 William Spaniel Tue, 19 Jan 2010 10:11:04 +0000 http://mindyourdecisions.com/blog/?p=1922#comment-6252 Nim was a homework problem in the first game theory class I took. I immediately thought back to Mario Party and this game. I now make people I'm teaching game theory to solve both the two player game seen in Honeycomb Havoc and a general game where you can pick up to k items. I won't spoil the answer. One interesting thing to note about the game is that at various points you get to choose who you want to lose. With three players left and two items remaining before the honeycomb, I can grab two and force the next player to lose or I can grab one, which will induce the next player to grab one, which in turn makes the third player lose. This is important for deciding which player goes first in the final round, which determines who ultimately wins the game. Nim was a homework problem in the first game theory class I took. I immediately thought back to Mario Party and this game. I now make people I’m teaching game theory to solve both the two player game seen in Honeycomb Havoc and a general game where you can pick up to k items. I won’t spoil the answer.

One interesting thing to note about the game is that at various points you get to choose who you want to lose. With three players left and two items remaining before the honeycomb, I can grab two and force the next player to lose or I can grab one, which will induce the next player to grab one, which in turn makes the third player lose. This is important for deciding which player goes first in the final round, which determines who ultimately wins the game.

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