On Nash-solvability of n-person graphical games under Markov's and a priori realizations

Vladimir Gurvich; Mariya Naumova

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arXiv · 2104.07542

On Nash-solvability of n-person graphical games under Markov's and a priori realizations

Vladimir Gurvich·Mariya Naumova

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Abstract

We consider graphical $n$-person games with perfect information that have no Nash equilibria in pure stationary strategies. Solving these games in mixed strategies, we introduce probabilistic distributions in all non-terminal positions. The corresponding plays can be analyzed under two different basic assumptions: Markov's and a priori realizations. The former one guarantees existence of a uniformly best response of each player in every situation. Nevertheless, Nash equilibrium may fail to exist even in mixed strategies. The classical Nash theorem is not applicable, since Markov's realizations may result in the limit distributions and effective payoff functions that are not continuous. The a priori realization does not share many nice properties of the Markov one (for example, existence of the uniformly best response) but in return, Nash's theorem is applicable. We illustrate both realizations in details by two examples with $2$ and $3$ players and also provide some general results.

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BibTeX RIS

Vladimir Gurvich, Mariya Naumova. 2023-08-18. On Nash-solvability of n-person graphical games under Markov's and a priori realizations. https://arxiv.org/abs/2104.07542

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