>Question: Chess players often use the "touch rule" - you touch
>a piece, you move it. Is there any economic motivation for this rule?
Minimizes the number of "Oh, wait, I didn't want to do that - can I take
that back?" claims, which (A) makes the game go faster, and (B) makes
opponents less concerned about hastily revealing their plans (e.g., if I
move my queen to a certain spot, THEN notice that you're about to take that
queen with one of your pieces, and ask to 'take the move back', it makes you
less likely to follow through on other plans of yours - which makes the game
more frustrating for both of us).
>Question: Any other games use economic insights to make playing
>and spectating more fun?
>
_Diplomacy_ (formerly by Milton Bradley, currently owned by Hasbro) is a
great game for economic analysis. A brief summary, for those who've never
played it:
The board for _Diplomacy_ is a simplified map of Western and Eastern Europe,
and a bit of North Africa. Each region of a country is one space, with some
regions containing valuable 'supply centers.' Each country (made up of
several regions) has a number of armies and fleets.
The interesting part is - each army and fleet is equal in strength to every
other army / fleet. The only way to dislodge a defending army is with
overwhelming force (two armies to their one, for instance). Because of the
way the countries and supply centers are laid out, countries often have to
work together to oust a common enemy.
Each country's moves are resolved at once; moves are written down on slips
of paper, put in a hat, and read simultaneously. Thus, it's possible to
promise aid to someone, and end up not delivering it (or, in fact, turning
against that person).
_Diplomacy_ is one of the most intriguing games I've ever come across (I'm
engaged in a game by e-mail currently). I think some interesting economic
speculations can be derived from it.
-JP
_________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com.
Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at
http://profiles.msn.com.
