An experiment in game theory
The Trust Table.
Not chess. A game of choices.
Two students share a project. Each round, both secretly choose to cooperate (contribute) or defect (take advantage). Your piece follows the strategy you choose. Both moves are decided before either is revealed.
Both cooperate3 / 3
You defect, they cooperate5 / 0
You cooperate, they defect0 / 5
Both defect1 / 1
Scores are you / opponent. This simplified model is the repeated Prisoner’s Dilemma. Pieces are personalities, not chess moves. No strategy always wins.
01 / Choose your natureFive pieces. Five ways to play.
Start with trust. Then return what you receive.
02 / At the tableRound 00 / 12
Your piece
Tit for Tat
Ready0points
The exchange
A stranger takes the other seat.
What happens when your rules meet theirs?
Across the table
Unknown
Ready0points
The record
Cooperate DefectTop: you · Bottom: opponent
Your move — chosen before you see theirs
03 / Beneath the outcome
Replay the same opponent with a different rule.
Same opponent and random sequence. A reactive opponent responds to your new choices.