Game theory is the mathematical study of interaction among independent, self-interested agents. The audience for game theory has grown dramatically in recent years, and now spans disciplines as diverse as political science, biology, psychology, economics, linguistics, sociology, and computer science, among others. What has been missing is a relatively short introduction to the field covering the common basis that anyone with a professional interest in game theory is likely to require. Such a text would minimize notation, ruthlessly focus on essentials, and yet not sacrifice rigor. This Synthesis Lecture aims to fill this gap by providing a concise and accessible introduction to the field. It covers the main classes of games, their representations, and the main concepts used to analyze them.

"This introduction is just what a growing multidisciplinary audience needs: it is concise, authoritative, up to date, and clear on the important conceptual issues." --Robert Stalnaker, MIT, Linguistics and Philosophy

"I wish I'd had a comprehensive, clear and rigorous introduction to the essentials of game theory in under one hundred pages when I was starting out." --David Parkes, Harvard University, Computer Science

"Beside being concise and rigorous, Essentials of Game Theory is also quite comprehensive. It includes the formulations used in most applications in engineering and the social sciences and illustrates the concepts with relevant examples." --Robert Wilson, Stanford University Graduate School of Business

"Best short introduction to game theory I have seen! I wish it was available when I started being interested in the field!" --Silvio Micali, MIT, Computer Science

"Although written by computer scientists, this book serves as a sophisticated introduction to the main concepts and results of game theory from which other scientists, including social scientists, can greatly benefit. In eighty pages, Essentials of Game Theory formally defines key concepts, illustrated with apt examples, in both cooperative and noncooperative game theory." --Steven Brams, New York University, Political Science

"This book will appeal to readers who do not necessarily hail from economics, and who want a quick grasp of the fascinating field of game theory. The main categories of games are introduced in a lucid way and the relevant concepts are clearly defined, with the underlying intuitions always provided." --Krzysztof Apt, University of Amsterdam, Institute for Logic, Language and Computation

"To a large extent, modern behavioral ecology and behavioral economics are studied in the framework of game theory. Students and faculty alike will find this concise, rigorous and clear introduction to the main ideas in game theory immensely valuable." --Marcus Feldman, Stanford University, Biology

"This unique book is today the best short technical introduction to game theory. Accessible to a broad audience, it will prove invaluable in artificial intelligence, more generally in computer science, and indeed beyond." --Moshe Tennenholtz, Technion, Industrial Engineering and Management

"Excerpted from a much-anticipated, cross-disciplinary book on multiagent systems, this terse, incisive and transparent book is the ideal introduction to the key concepts and methods of game theory for researchers in several fields, including artificial intelligence, networking, and algorithms." --Vijay Vazirani, Georgia Institute of Technology, Computer Science

"The authors admirably achieve their aim of providing a scientist or engineer with the essentials of game theory in a text that is rigorous, readable, and concise." --Frank Kelly, University of Cambridge, Statistical Laboratory

博弈论是对独立的、自利的代理人之间互动的数学研究。近年来，博弈论的受众急剧增加，现在跨越了政治学、生物学、心理学、经济学、语言学、社会学和计算机科学等不同学科。目前缺少的是一本相对简短的介绍，涵盖了对博弈论有专业兴趣的人可能需要的共同基础。这样的文本将最大限度地减少符号，无情地专注于本质，但又不牺牲严谨性。本综合讲座旨在通过提供该领域的简明易懂的介绍来填补这一空白。它涵盖了游戏的主要类别，它们的代表，以及用于分析它们的主要概念。

"这篇介绍正是不断增长的多学科听众所需要的：它简明、权威、最新，而且对重要的概念问题很清楚。" --Robert Stalnaker，麻省理工学院，语言学和哲学

"我希望在我刚开始的时候，能有一本不到一百页的全面、清晰、严谨的博弈论精华介绍。" --大卫-帕克斯，哈佛大学，计算机科学

"博弈论精要》除了简明严谨外，还相当全面。它包括在工程和社会科学的大多数应用中使用的公式，并以相关的例子来说明这些概念"。--罗伯特-威尔逊，斯坦福大学商业研究生院

"这是我见过的最好的博弈论简短介绍！我希望在我开始学习的时候就有这本书。我希望在我开始对这个领域感兴趣的时候就有这本书！" --西尔维奥-米卡利，麻省理工学院，计算机科学

"虽然这本书是由计算机科学家写的，但它是对博弈论主要概念和结果的精密介绍，其他科学家，包括社会科学家，可以从中大大受益。在八十页中，《博弈论精要》正式定义了合作和非合作博弈论中的关键概念，并以恰当的例子加以说明"。--Steven Brams，纽约大学政治学教授

"本书将吸引那些不一定来自经济学的读者，他们希望快速掌握迷人的博弈论领域。本书以清晰的方式介绍了博弈的主要类别，并对相关概念进行了明确的定义，同时始终提供了基本的直觉"。--阿姆斯特丹大学逻辑、语言和计算研究所的克日什托夫-阿普特

"在很大程度上，现代行为生态学和行为经济学是在博弈论的框架内研究的。学生和教师都会发现这本简明、严谨、清晰的博弈论主要观点介绍具有极大的价值"。--马库斯-费尔德曼，斯坦福大学，生物学

"这本独特的书是当今最好的博弈论短期技术介绍。对广大读者来说，它将被证明在人工智能、更广泛的计算机科学乃至其他领域都是无价之宝。" 

"这本书摘自一本备受期待的关于多代理系统的跨学科书籍，这本书简洁、精辟、透明，是对人工智能、网络和算法等多个领域的研究人员进行博弈论关键概念和方法的理想介绍。" --Vijay Vazirani，乔治亚理工学院计算机科学系

"作者令人钦佩地实现了他们的目标，即以严谨、可读和简明的文字向科学家或工程师提供博弈论的基本知识。" --弗兰克-凯利，剑桥大学，统计实验室

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