# John Harsanyi **Domain:** Game theory and incomplete information **Doc Type:** Developed Person Node **Maturity:** Developed **Collection:** [[collections/Gamification|Gamification Collection]] ## Definition **John C. Harsanyi** (1920–2000) was an economist and philosopher who created the standard game-theoretic framework for incomplete information. His transformation models unknown player “types” as moves by Nature governed by probability, allowing Bayesian analysis of strategic interaction. ## Significance Harsanyi provides the formal bridge from hidden identity to strategic action. Participants act not only on observed moves but on beliefs about who other players are, what they know, and what payoffs they possess. ## Sources - Nobel Prize, [John C. Harsanyi facts](https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/1994/harsanyi/facts/) - Harsanyi, [Games with Incomplete Information](https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2018/06/harsanyi-lecture.pdf) ## Routes [[wiki/Partially Observable Stochastic Game|Partially Observable Stochastic Game]] · [[wiki/Thomas Schelling|Thomas Schelling]] · [[wiki/Base Rate|Base Rate]]