This past Tuesday, while Melissa was at home writing an English paper, I took Sullivan to Indiana University East’s first volleyball game as an NAIA team. I’m not one who usually frequents sporting events at all, but I made an exception in this case because, as part of External Affairs and Marketing, we’re supposed to make a big deal out of this.

Our team played AWESOME. While I wouldn’t say the girls played as good as professional / Olympic teams, they were pretty well coordinated and talented players. There were quite a number of serves that would just BARELY scrape over the top of the net (that’s a good thing — low serves hit the ground sooner and are harder to return. Especially if they’re fast). They played 3 games altogether, and only two of them did their opponents accrue more than 15 of the 30 necessary points. So, Go Lady Pioneers!

I saw several people from work at the game. Having a baby with you definitely attracts attention! The mayor came down and we spoke for a little bit. It’s kind of weird to be on a first-name basis with the top political individual in the community. Sally’s a nice girl though. Having a baby with you is also a great way to cover up for having an upset stomach! If there are the scents of any flatuses, people immediately assume it’s a baby that needs a-changin, and not a father that needs a-beano.

My co-worker, Zak, and I had been discussing how basketball and other “accumulate as many points as possible in a limited amount of time” games aren’t directly compatible with game theory. Sure, there are moments when game theory becomes an issue (substitutions, for example, or batting order, or specific in-game tactics). But overall, though, games like these aren’t Zero-Sum games.

So we thought up an idea to make Basketball (and any game like it) more fitted to game theory. Whether or not this makes it more exciting is really questionable. Here’s how it goes though:

1. Both teams start with a certain number of points (for Basketball, let’s say “50″ each)
2. Before the whistle is blown for each play, the team  wagers a certain number of points. If they successfully complete the play (”make a basket”) then they receive that number of points and the other team loses that much. Should the other team intercept the ball and make a basket, then THEY receive the points and the waging team loses those points.
3. The object of the game is to acquire all (or at least as many as possible before time runs out) the opponent’s points.

For example: Team A has the ball. They decide to wager 10 points. The ref blows the whistle and the players all spring into action. If they successfully make their basket, they gain 10 points and the score becomes (Team A: 60, Team B: 40). If the other team steals the ball and scores, then the score would be (Team A: 40, Team B: 60). Follow?

This same thing could be applied to any game of this sort. Baseball, Football, Soccer, Hockey, etc. You can actually play this game as a spectator, as a sort of “Fantasy-Sport” thing for gambling. Just sit in the stands (or on your couch) and wager against your friend about whether you think your team will make the next basket or not.

By following this method of scoring, the game now follows game theory. The teams will be required to make strategic choices directly against the opposing team. Strategies change as the clock ticks down — a losing team will be more likely to risk everything for a dramatic comeback. A winning team will wager almost nothing so they give up as little as possible if they should miss a goal.

In practice, this may not be quite as successful. More than likely, the score will fluctuate around the center point for most of the game; especially if the teams are similar in skill level. Perhaps there could be requirements for escalation of wagers, a la “Liar’s Dice“. Some kind of arbitrary rule that prevents perfect strategy at all times — it would make the game more interesting and allow for bigger game swings.

Besides, how cool would it be to see a 50 point swing (25-point wager) on the first play? Talk about crippling!

Tags: game theory, school, sports
Categories: Friends, Family & Pets, Humor