Nollasummapeliä

Nollasummapeliä, also known as "Zero Sum Game," is a concept in game theory and economics that describes a situation where one participant's gain is exactly balanced by the losses of the other participants. In a zero-sum game, the total gains and losses of all participants sum to zero. This means that in every transaction or interaction, one party's profit necessarily comes from another party's loss.

The term "zero-sum" originates from the idea that the total amount of resources or value remains constant, and any increase in one participant's outcome must be offset by a corresponding decrease in another's. Classic examples of zero-sum games include poker, where one player's winnings are another player's losses, and certain economic transactions where one party's gain is another party's loss.

Zero-sum games are often contrasted with positive-sum games, where the total gains of all participants exceed the total losses, allowing for mutual benefit. The concept is fundamental in understanding strategic interactions and is widely applied in fields such as economics, politics, and business to analyze and predict outcomes in competitive environments.