Game theory is the mathematical theory of strategic interactions between self-interested agents. Game theory provides a range of models for representing strategic interactions, and associated with these, a family of solution concepts, which attempt to characterise the rational outcomes of games.
Game theory is important to computer science for several reasons: First, interaction is a fundamental topic in computer science, and if it is assumed that system components are self-interested, then the models and solution concepts of game theory seems to provide an appropriate framework with which to model such systems. Second, the problem of computing with the solution concepts proposed by game theory raises important challenges for computer science, which test the boundaries of current algorithmic techniques.
This course aims to introduce the key concepts of game theory for a computer science audience, emphasising both the applicability of game theoretic concepts in a computational setting, and the role of computation in game theoretic problems.