GOT Game Theory
Game of Thrones is a very popular TV show set in the fictional seven Kingdoms of Westeros that depicts the battle between many different families for control of the throne. The show includes elements of strategy, planning, and deceit through each story line making it a great candidate for analysis using game theory. There have been many situations throughout the show in which a character is faced with a decision in which the outcome is based not only on their own choice but also on another character’s (usually an enemy) choice. The most recent occurrence of this situation was near the end of Season 7. At this point a war had been ongoing between two main characters, Cersei and Daenerys. However, a new outside force arrives, the White Walkers, who are very powerful and threaten to destroy the entire kingdom and kill many. If Cersei and Daenerys were to continue fighting amongst each other neither one would be able to fight the White Walkers and they would both lose. This poses a situation similar to the Prisoners Dilemma in which each character must choose whether to cooperate or betray.
If both characters choose to betray each other and fight amongst one another, the White Walkers will not face any significant opposing force and they will conquer the kingdom and destroy both Cersei and Daenerys. If, on the other hand, one of them decides to betray the other by agreeing to cooperate and then going back on this, they would likely win the scenario. For example, if Cersei decides to betray, she can most likely defeat Daenerys by taking advantage of her trust, and then proceed to fight the White Walkers using both hers and Daenerys’ forces. This goes both ways and would be a better either of them than the cooperate-cooperate situation. The catch is that, should they both decide to betray each other then they will be reentered into a war with each other in which neither side is strong enough to also fight the White Walkers.
The aspect of this situation that Daenerys most likely has looked over is Cersei’s payoff from betraying. While it would make sense for both sides to cooperate as they most likely need their combined forces to fight off the White Walkers, Cersei’s decision making has not always been logical. In reality, she would rather have both her and Daenerys lose at the hands of the White Walkers than to have Daenerys win in any situation. This adds an interesting element to the situation, because if payoffs are considered it would mean the dominant strategy for Cersei is to always betray.
Overall, this situation was an interesting one in the show, and using game theory adds an interesting layer.