Finite approximations of the Sion-Wolfe game

Leopold Aspect and Christian Ewerhart

No 417, ECON - Working Papers from Department of Economics - University of Zurich

Abstract: Sion and Wolfe (1957) presented a two-person zero-sum game on the unit square without a value. In the present paper, we analyze finite-grid approximations of the Sion-Wolfe game. We find that, as the number of grid points tends to infinity and the payoff function approaches that of the infinite game, the limiting value of finite approximations may lie within, on the boundary of, or even outside the interval defined by the lower and upper values of the infinite game. Although these observations can be attributed to offsetting effects, our findings underscore the need for great care, even in the case of two-person zero-sum games, when using finite approximations for the analysis of infinite games.

Keywords: Two-person zero-sum games; minimax theorem; finite approximations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C62 C72 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022-08, Revised 2025-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-gth and nep-mic
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zur:econwp:417

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