GameTactic uses game theory to find optimal strategies in normal-form games with two players. In these types of games, the first player (the row player) chooses a row in a matrix while the second player (the column player) simultaneously chooses a column in that matrix.

Both players make their choice without knowing the choice of the other player. The outcome of the game is a pair of payoffs listed in the selected cell of the matrix. The first payoff of the pair is for the row player and the second for the column player. Both players know their own and the other player’s payoff for all combinations of choices before they play the game.

Given these payoffs and assuming that both players are rational and aim to maximize their own payoff, the question is what choices the row and column players should make. GameTactic identifies optimal choices (strategies) of the game by determining best responses, dominant strategies and Nash equilibria.

Best responses are optimal strategies for a player given the chosen strategies of the other players, while dominant strategies are always optimal, regardless of the chosen strategies of the other players. Nash equilibria are stable choices where no player can improve their payoff by changing their strategy, given the chosen strategies of the other players. It occurs when each player's strategy is a best response to the chosen strategies of the other players.

GameTactic has a set of pre-defined two-player normal-form game types from which you can select: prisoners dilemma, pure coordination game, battle of the sexes, rock-paper-scissors and game of chicken.

Once you have selected a game type, GameTactic will determine the best responses, dominant strategies and the Nash equilibria of the game. You can then also alter the payoffs and assess the impact. Both the payoffs that are best responses and the choices that are dominant strategies are accentuated in the game matrix.

Besides selecting pre-defined game types, GameTactic allows you to define your own customisable game where you can set the number of row and column strategies and the payoffs.

In the settings tab you can select the different search options. In the current version we have enabled the search for strictly dominant strategies and pure Nash equilibria. In a future version we will also enable the search for weakly dominant strategies and for mixed Nash equilibria.