Limit this search to....

The Mathematics of Games of Strategy
Contributor(s): Dresher, Melvin (Author)
ISBN: 048664216X     ISBN-13: 9780486642161
Publisher: Dover Publications
OUR PRICE:   $11.66  
Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats
Published: December 1981
Qty:
Temporarily out of stock - Will ship within 2 to 5 weeks
Annotation: A noted research mathematician for the Rand Corporation, Melvin Dresher provides an exceptionally clear presentation of the mathematical theory of games of strategy and its applications to many fields, such as economics, military, business, and operations research. This is a book about decision making where there is little information upon which to base a decision.
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- Games & Activities | Role Playing & Fantasy
- Mathematics | Probability & Statistics - General
- Mathematics | Game Theory
Dewey: 519.2
Series: Dover Books on Mathematics
Physical Information: 0.43" H x 5.42" W x 8.47" (0.48 lbs) 208 pages
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:
Melvin Dresher, noted research mathematician for the Rand Corporation, puts forth an exceptionally clear presentation of the mathematical theory of games of strategy and its applications to many fields including: economics, military, business, and operations research. The mathematical presentation is elementary in the sense that no advanced algebra or non-elementary calculus occurs in most of the mathematical proofs.
The author presents game theory as a branch of applied mathematics. In addition to developing a mathematical theory for solving games, he shows how to formulate a game model associated with a given competitive or conflicting situation. Furthermore, he shows how some decision problems, such as timing of decisions, which do not resemble game situations, can be analyzed as a game, yielding rich insights into the decision problems.
Beginning with an exposition of games of strategy, with examples from parlor games as well as military games, Dr. Dresher proceeds to treat the basic topics in the theory of finite games, i.e., the existence of optimal strategies and their properties. An elementary proof of the minimax theorem is given that provides an efficient method for computing optimal strategies.
Since many games involve an infinite number of strategies, succeeding chapters deal with such games by first developing the necessary mathematics (e.g., probability distribution functions and Stieltjes integrals) for analyzing infinite games. The results of infinite games are then applied to two general classes of games -- timing games and tactical games. A final chapter provides an application of moment space theory to the solution of infinite games.
This is a book about decision making in the absence of perfect information. In particular, it analyzes decision problems in a competitive environment where conflicting interests exist, and uncertainties and risk are involved. For the reader who is interested in the applications of the theory of games of strategy to military, economic, or political problems, or to decision making in business, operations research, or the behavior sciences, it will prove a most rewarding study.