Word.ws English Dictionary

centipede game

centipede game noun: an extensive form game in which two players take turns choosing either to take a slightly larger share of an increasing pot, or to pass the pot to the other player. The payoffs are arranged so that if one passes the pot to one's opponent and the opponent takes the pot on the next round, one receives slightly less than if one had taken the pot on this round, but after an additional switch the potential payoff will be higher. Therefore, although at each round a player has an incentive to take the pot, it would be better for them to wait.

Noun

centipede game (plural centipede games)

  1. An extensive form game in which two players take turns choosing either to take a slightly larger share of an increasing pot, or to pass the pot to the other player. The payoffs are arranged so that if one passes the pot to one's opponent and the opponent takes the pot on the next round, one receives slightly less than if one had taken the pot on this round, but after an additional switch the potential payoff will be higher. Therefore, although at each round a player has an incentive to take the pot, it would be better for them to wait.

Forms of centipede game

pluralcentipede games

Questions about centipede game

What does centipede game mean?
Centipede game means an extensive form game in which two players take turns choosing either to take a slightly larger share of an increasing pot, or to pass the pot to the other player. The payoffs are arranged so that if one passes the pot to one's opponent and the opponent takes the pot on the next round, one receives slightly less than if one had taken the pot on this round, but after an additional switch the potential payoff will be higher. Therefore, although at each round a player has an incentive to take the pot, it would be better for them to wait.
What part of speech is centipede game?
Centipede game is a noun.
What is the plural of centipede game?
The plural of centipede game is centipede games.

Words near centipede game in the dictionary

  1. centipawn
  2. centipawns
  3. centiped
  4. centipedal
  5. centipede
  6. centipede game
  7. centipede games
  8. centipede grass
  9. centipede grasses
  10. centipede's dilemma
  11. centipede-eater

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: centipede game (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “centipede game.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/centipede_game. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.