The Evolution of Trust

The Evolution of Trust is one of my favorite trust games. The game fantastically calculates mathematical models and very clearly, using the theory of games, shows how different models of trust (naive, deceiver, etc.) work in different conditions.

The evolution of trust is a fundamental problem in game theory, according to which players will not always cooperate with each other, even if it is in their interests.

We’ll come up with the rules of the game: Two players put a coin. After that, both receive 2. If one puts a coin and the other does not, then the one who did not put gets 3 coins, and the first loses one.
During the game, several types of behavior are revealed:

• Altruists. They will always put coins, and win.
• Deceivers, who according to this scheme will always win. They either put a coin and get 2, or they don’t put and get 3.
• Offenders are victims of the game of deceivers. More often than not, they repeat the trick of the deceivers of the previous round. From which they become more predictable and manageable.
• Vindictive - they will constantly take revenge if at least something went wrong.
• Imitators of virtue - are not ready to deceive in the details and are waiting for a great opportunity.
• others

Boston game designer Nick Case modeled the relationship of people in society. He came up with this game - "The evolution of trust." By the way - he has several such games.
As a result, we get several factors that influence trust:

• Trust should be beneficial. This is well shown in a zero sum game. This means that if one player gains, the other loses something and vice versa.
• The number of repetitions of interactions between participants. To establish trust, you need a large number of direct interactions. There are about 10 in Case's simulator. In the modern world this is very rare.
• Errors in communication. Even if two people decided to bring each other benefits, but the intentions of one were not conveyed to the other in an understandable way, then he can take it as a fraud and refuse joint benefits. Therefore, the probability of an error should be very low.

But the most important discovery that Nick Case made is as follows:

In the short term, the game almost always determines the behavior of the player, but in the long term, it is the players who determine how the game develops.

Play and try different strategies - this is a very educational game. Better to play from the desktop, rather than a smartphone.