<p>My suggestions:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>the best ever written advanced book on game theory is 'Game Theory' by Fudenberg and Tirole: it deals with a lot of material used in research and many applications. When you work on a game theory paper and, for instance, u'r unsure about what kind of equilibrium applies to your case, the book will save your life. It's a bible</p></li>
<li><p>but if you want to get inside the game theory world, learn about what kind of problems game theory is able to deal wth, or even getting some interesting ideas to work on your own, after learning the necessary tools..in these cases I strongly suggests to use <strong>'Game theory evolving' by Herbert Gintis</strong>. He was my professor at the PhD, and I appreciated his ability as educator (other than a researcher)</p></li>
</ul>

<p>I hope you'll find it useful.
Enjoy!</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-21T21:35:50.557Z
I strongly disagree with your first recommendation (and slightly with your second). Maschler, Solan, Zamir, and Myerson have much better textbooks.
Michael Greinecker
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-24T20:37:39.403Z
well I answered the question. That is, I suggested books for a beginner in GT but proficient in math. Of course GT by Maschler et al, as well as Analysis of Conflict are first rated books, but for example, they don't have any treatment of evolutionary game theory, if I am not wrong. More importantly, Fudenberg/Tirole's book is full of economic applications, whereas Gintis offers a set of problems which spans from sociology to theoretical biology
Vincenzo Alberto Cirrito
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-20T17:17:55.130Z
2015-06-20T17:17:55.130Z
Vincenzo Alberto Cirrito
<p>I am really a beginner guy in game theory. </p>

<p>Which kind of books could you suggest me as beginner/intermediate/advanced textbooks in game theory ? 
I have no problem in maths, so any books with full of maths are ok for me. </p>

<p>As I don't really know so much about this tool, I can not evaluate which book fits well to my situation.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-14T13:09:23.927Z
What is it that you're looking for, beginner or advanced? And are you proficient in mathematics or not? There's a huge difference in the class of books here.
FooBar
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-14T13:12:00.937Z
"A Course in Game Theory" by Rubinstein and Osborne. It is considered a very good intro book and you can download it for free. (Legally.)
http://arielrubinstein.tau.ac.il/books.html
Giskard
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-14T14:45:50.627Z
@FooBar I have no problems for understanding maths in economics. By the way, I prefer game theory books with mathematics.
optimal control
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-14T15:51:52.547Z
@optimalcontrol then add it into the question.
FooBar
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-14T23:55:13.400Z
Beginner (Tadelis): http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10001.html Intermediate (Fudenberg & Tirole): https://mitpress.mit.edu/index.php?q=books/game-theory
Konstantinos
<game-theory><reference-request>
Game theory: Textbooks
optimal control
# Game theory: Textbooks

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-06-14)

I am really a beginner guy in game theory.

Which kind of books could you suggest me as beginner/intermediate/advanced textbooks in game theory ?
I have no problem in maths, so any books with full of maths are ok for me.

As I don't really know so much about this tool, I can not evaluate which book fits well to my situation.

**Tags:** game-theory, reference-request

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: What is it that you're looking for, beginner or advanced? And are you proficient in mathematics or not? There's a huge difference in the class of books here.  
> **username_2**: "A Course in Game Theory" by Rubinstein and Osborne. It is considered a very good intro book and you can download it for free. (Legally.) http://arielrubinstein.tau.ac.il/books.html  
> **username_0**: @username_1 I have no problems for understanding maths in economics. By the way, I prefer game theory books with mathematics.  
> **username_1**: @username_0 then add it into the question.  
> **username_3**: Beginner (Tadelis): http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10001.html Intermediate (Fudenberg & Tirole): https://mitpress.mit.edu/index.php?q=books/game-theory  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2015-06-20. Score: 6 | Accepted answer

My suggestions:

* the best ever written advanced book on game theory is 'Game Theory' by Fudenberg and Tirole: it deals with a lot of material used in research and many applications. When you work on a game theory paper and, for instance, u'r unsure about what kind of equilibrium applies to your case, the book will save your life. It's a bible
* but if you want to get inside the game theory world, learn about what kind of problems game theory is able to deal wth, or even getting some interesting ideas to work on your own, after learning the necessary tools..in these cases I strongly suggests to use **'Game theory evolving' by Herbert Gintis**. He was my professor at the PhD, and I appreciated his ability as educator (other than a researcher)

I hope you'll find it useful.
Enjoy!

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: I strongly disagree with your first recommendation (and slightly with your second). Maschler, Solan, Zamir, and Myerson have much better textbooks.  
> **username_4**: well I answered the question. That is, I suggested books for a beginner in GT but proficient in math. Of course GT by Maschler et al, as well as Analysis of Conflict are first rated books, but for example, they don't have any treatment of evolutionary game theory, if I am not wrong. More importantly, Fudenberg/Tirole's book is full of economic applications, whereas Gintis offers a set of problems which spans from sociology to theoretical biology  

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