Bayesian Games & Incomplete Information
Strategy when you don't know who you're playing against, types, beliefs, and Bayesian equilibrium.
Definition
Games of incomplete information: players know their own type but only a probability distribution over opponents' types, and strategies map types to actions.
Key equation
Bayesian Nash: each type's strategy maximizes expected payoff given beliefs and others' type-strategies
The intuition
Poker is the canonical case: you know your cards, not theirs, so your bet must be optimal on average over everything they might hold. Auctions, entry deterrence, and negotiations all live here.
Exam tip
Write strategies as functions of type ('bid b(v)'), never as single actions, that's the most-lost mark.
Want this one as a full interactive graph? Votes decide the build order, and an email means we can tell you when it ships.