An experimental investigation of Colonel Blotto games

B-Tier
Journal: Economic Theory
Year: 2013
Volume: 52
Issue: 3
Pages: 833-861

Score contribution per author:

0.670 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

This article examines behavior in the two-player, constant-sum Colonel Blotto game with asymmetric resources in which players maximize the expected number of battlefields won. The experimental results support the main qualitative predictions of the theory. In the auction treatment, where winning a battlefield is deterministic, disadvantaged players use a “guerilla warfare” strategy that stochastically allocates zero resources to a subset of battlefields. Advantaged players employ a “stochastic complete coverage” strategy, allocating random, but positive, resource levels across the battlefields. In the lottery treatment, where winning a battlefield is probabilistic, both players divide their resources equally across all battlefields. However, we also find interesting behavioral deviations from the theory and discuss their implications. Copyright Springer-Verlag 2013

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:spr:joecth:v:52:y:2013:i:3:p:833-861
Journal Field
Theory
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-25