In light of this, I’m going to propose a rule set for strip iterated prisoner’s dilemma.
For those unfamiliar, the Prisoner’s Dilemma is a standard example in game theory. The setup goes thus:
Two prisoners (who acted together) are accused of a crime. Each is given the following deal: Betray the other prisoner, and they can walk free while the other serves 10 years in prison. The catch is that if both betray, both serve 5 years instead of one going free and the other serving 10 years. If they both remain silent (“cooperate” with each other), then they each receive a brief 6-month sentence for the only thing the cops have enough evidence to pin on them.
So to make this a strip game, we just need to change the rules a bit:
- Alice defects, Bob defects: Each player removes two articles of clothing.
- Alice defects, Bob cooperates: Bob removes three articles of clothing.
- Alice cooperates, Bob defects: Alice removes three articles of clothing.
- Alice cooperates, Bob cooperates: Each player removes one article of clothing.
It’s unfortunate that articles of clothing are such coarse score units. I’m thinking a system whereby players accumulate points and every time they pass n points they have to remove an article of clothing might work better, but hey, it’s Strip Iterated Prisoner’s Dilemma. How polished need it be?