Prisoner's Dilemma
Help your partner or betray them - in secret
1
Players are randomly paired up.
2
Each half of the pair privately chooses Help or Betray.
3
Outcomes depend on both choices - see the grid below.
If the room has an odd number of players, one sits out and doesn’t play this round.
Prisoner's Dilemma is the oldest question in game theory with a drink attached. The room is split into random pairs, and each half of a pair secretly chooses to Help or Betray. Mutual help is a small win for both. A betrayal against a helper is a big win for the traitor and a painful loss for the victim. Mutual betrayal hurts both, but less than being the only one who trusted. Over a whole night the pairs shuffle, reputations form, and the room starts to remember who did what.
1
Read the grid before you decide. Betraying a helper earns you 10 points and no chaser; helping a betrayer costs you 10 points and two chasers. The gap between those two outcomes is the whole tension.
2
Reputation matters because the game repeats. A player known for betraying gets betrayed back, and mutual betrayal is a loss for both, so a clean record is worth something later in the night.
3
Promises across the table are not binding, and everyone knows it. Treat a loud declaration of loyalty as information about the person, not about their choice.
4
If the room has an odd number of players, one person sits the round out and is immune. Check whether that is you before spending any energy on the decision.
1
Public verdict: each player announces their intention out loud before choosing in secret. Lying is allowed, which is the point.
2
Grudge match: any pair that was matched in a previous round and betrayed each other must be re-paired at the next opportunity.
3
Truce round: the table can agree that a single round is played with helping only, as a reset after a run of betrayals.
The Dilemma is the most interesting game in Quickle to play sober, because the drinks were never the point. The scores swing hardest here, and the stories the room tells about who betrayed whom last longer than any hangover.