The Games We Play

I use games as a way into computer science. Everyone plays simple games like Sim, Nicky Case's interactive The Evolution of Trust, and Solo Chess, and each game leads to a research question. Cops and robbers asks how many pursuers it takes to corner an evader on a network. Firefighting asks where a few defenders should stand to contain a spreading fire. Solo Chess turns out to be computationally hard even with a single player, and fair division asks how to share items so that nobody envies anyone else. The audience leaves with games to try and a feel for the questions behind them.