Figure 1.

An overview of the Block Dilemma

(A) In each round of the Block Dilemma, the players take turns selecting blocks from this set of nine blocks until each player has three blocks. Numbers indicate the monetary value (in cents USD) of each block.

(B) The joint payoff space of a single round. The gray-shaded polygon shows the convex hull of the joint payoff space. Dashed lines indicate the players' maximin values. Each circle represents a possible joint payoff of a single round. The dark blue square (Efficient Cooperation) shows the average joint payoff that results from the players taking turns getting the squares and triangles across consecutive rounds. The outcomes are grouped (by color) and labeled for ease of exposition.

(C) Five typical round outcomes, the associated (average) per-round value (in USD) of the outcomes to the players, and the labels we use to categorize the outcomes.