Prisoner's Dilemma

Payoff Matrix

	Bot Cooperates	Bot Defects
You Cooperate	3, 3	0, 5
You Defect	5, 0	1, 1

Format: Your score, Bot's score. The bot uses a mystery strategy — can you figure out which one?

Round 1 of 10

You

Bot (?)

Run a full strategy tournament →

All Strategies

Tit-for-Tat

Cooperates first, then copies your last move. Simple, forgiving, retaliatory.

Always Cooperate

Always cooperates regardless of what you do. Naive but maximizes mutual benefit if you cooperate too.

Always Defect

Always defects. The rational choice in a single game, but invites mutual punishment in repeated play.

Random

Cooperates or defects with 50/50 probability. Unpredictable and impossible to exploit consistently.

Grudger

Cooperates until you defect once, then defects forever. Forgives nothing.

Pavlov (Win-Stay, Lose-Shift)

Repeats its last move if it scored well (3 or 5), switches otherwise. Learns from outcomes.

Tit-for-Two-Tats

Only retaliates after you defect twice in a row. More forgiving than tit-for-tat.

Suspicious Tit-for-Tat

Like tit-for-tat but defects on the first round. Tests your intentions immediately.

Generous Tit-for-Tat

Like tit-for-tat but forgives defections 30% of the time. Avoids endless retaliation spirals.

What is the Prisoner's Dilemma?

The prisoner's dilemma is the most famous example in game theory. Two players simultaneously choose to cooperate or defect. If both cooperate, they get a moderate reward (3, 3). If both defect, they both suffer (1, 1). But if one defects while the other cooperates, the defector gets the highest reward (5) and the cooperator gets nothing (0).

In this iterated version (10 rounds), the bot randomly uses one of 9 classic strategies. Your challenge: play the game, observe the bot's behavior, and guess which strategy it's using. Can you identify tit-for-tat from grudger? Pavlov from generous tit-for-tat?

Connection to Tactiko

In Tactiko, every move is a simultaneous decision — pass or shoot? Press forward or hold position? Both players commit at the same time, just like in the prisoner's dilemma. The same game theory principles apply: anticipate your opponent's choice, consider the payoffs, and accept that sometimes the best strategy involves unpredictability.

Play Tactiko