Category Archives: Game

Of Crucial Importance

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A Conversation with Len Fisher

Applying game theory to the game Rock, Paper, Scissors, and to other, less important aspects of life.

Chances are you’ve played Rock, Paper, Scissors, but how do you calculate your strategy, if you have one at all?

In Rock, Paper, Scissors: Game Theory in Everyday Life, physicist Len Fisher points out that putting yourself in your opponent’s mindset is a key to success in the game.

It’s all part of game theory, which has to do with everyday strategies and commonplace interactions — and not just those designed for winning at Monopoly or trapping wild elk, as it may sound. Fisher, a visiting research fellow in physics at the University of Bristol and author of several science books for lay audiences, argues that a teaspoon of this sort of thinking can illuminate a range of human behaviors. Not to mention that game theory offers a handy explanation of why all those teaspoons keep disappearing from the communal lunchroom at work. (Individuals think it won’t hurt the collective if they take “just one” spoon, but, voilà, in no time, there are very few, if any, left for the collective to use.)

Would You Like to Play a Game?

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No, not Global Thermonuclear War.

Space Invader + Physics = Physics Invader

Physics Invader is a Flash based game applies physics, including gravity and mass to the demise of the 8-bit aliens. As your laser cannon pierces each invader, its tiny little pixelated body falls to the ground, and their little carcasses pile up at the bottom of the screen. But why write up wordy descriptions of the game when you can play it for yourself?…

Asking for Directions

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15 of the Most Amazing Mazes and Labyrinths

Unlike a labyrinth, which is designed to be contemplative but easy to complete, a maze is intentionally difficult to navigate. Both labyrinths and mazes symbolically reveal two sides of the human spirit: complexity and simplicity; mystery and design; intuition and sensory experience. They are emblematic of the eternal philosophical tension between free will and fate. Here are some of the most complex, beautiful, and creative mazes and labyrinths around the world.

Worst … Idea … Ever

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Worst Idea Ever: Ridley Scott is Directing Monopoly

Ridley Scott is now OFFICIALLY attached to direct a big screen movie based on Hasbro’s popular board game Monopoly. Corpse Bride/Monster House scribe Pamela Pettler has been hired to write the script. Scott had been developing the project with plans to produce since June 2007.

Whaaaa?

I’m having a hard time imagining the scene where the doggie rolls doubles to get out of jail.

Are You Eyeballing Me?

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The eyeballing game

The game works by showing you a series of geometries that need to be adjusted a little bit to make them right. A square highlights the point that needs to be moved or adjusted. Use the mouse to drag the blue square or arrowhead where you feel it is ‘right’. Once you let go of the mouse, the computer evaluates your move, so don’t let up on the mouse button until you are sure. The ‘correct’ geometry is also shown in green. To avoid the need for extra mouse clicks, a mouse button up counts as the move being finished, so be careful.

You will be presented with each challenge three times. The table to the right shows how you did on each challenge each time.