Game Connectivity and Adaptive Dynamics

09/19/2023

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by   Tom Johnston, et al.

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We analyse the typical structure of games in terms of the connectivity properties of their best-response graphs. In particular, we show that almost every 'large' generic game that has a pure Nash equilibrium is connected, meaning that every non-equilibrium action profile can reach every pure Nash equilibrium via best-response paths. This has implications for dynamics in games: many adaptive dynamics, such as the best-response dynamic with inertia, lead to equilibrium in connected games. It follows that there are simple, uncoupled, adaptive dynamics for which period-by-period play converges almost surely to a pure Nash equilibrium in almost every 'large' generic game that has one. We build on recent results in probabilistic combinatorics for our characterisation of game connectivity.