Postscript: how Game Strategy differs from Game Theory

There are important similarities between game theory and game strategy. They both attempt to explain the behavior of the players and seek to determine optimal strategies in the competition. However, that is where the similarity ends. One will observe that game theory arrives at optimal economic behavior strategies by looking at things from the perspective of either ‘both-try-to-outwit-the-other’ or ‘the-best-for-both’ solutions. Changing the game or any of the rules has nothing to do with game theory but that is the central, core theme of game strategy. This chapter indicates that game theory is far too theoretical and abstract to be of practical use to managers who are trying to develop a success strategy for the marketplace; however, for game strategies, it is the just the reverse.