Game Theory in Game of Thrones
(Note: some spoilers for season 7 of Game of Thrones) This article discusses how some of the political relationships and decisions in Game of Thrones can be explained by Game Theory. During the meeting between Daenerys and Cersei in King’s Landing discussing the white walkers, both characters’ potential decisions can be described as game theory. They both have the options to either fight the white walkers or to remain at war with each other. The ideal situation would be for them to declare temporary peace with each other and focus on the white walkers, however, Cersei would rather fight Dany and risk the whole kingdom being destroyed and it would be better for Cersei if Dany is fighting the white walkers at the same time. Cersei’s dominant strategy, therefore, is to remain at war with Dany regardless of Daenerys’s decision.
Daenerys’s strategy is not as easy to figure out. While she would prefer to focus on the white walkers, it is not yet clear if she would continue fighting them if Cersei betrays her and continues their war. The article suggests that Dany might have a dominant strategy of continuing to fight the white walkers regardless of Cersei’s decision, however, I believe that there is a strong chance that Dany changes course after Cersei’s betrayal becomes known. Daenerys takes betrayal very personally and she would find it hard to stand idly by while Cersei retakes the Seven Kingdoms. Therefore, while the article suggests that the Nash Equilibrium will be Cersei remaining at war while Daenerys focuses on the white walkers, I believe that it is more likely that the Nash equilibrium will be both of them resuming the conflict between each other.