Draw the payoff table for two tea stalls deciding whether to cut prices

Two stall owners each choose to keep or cut their price without knowing what the other will do. The real question is whether each owner's best move, taken alone, leads both of them somewhere neither wanted, and whether either would change their mind once they see the other's choice.

• Who buys tea at this gate, and would they really walk a few steps further for a slightly cheaper cup?
• What does each owner lose by cutting: margin on every cup, or only on the extra cups won?
• Are the two stalls equal, or does one have a better spot, more regulars or a snack counter?
• Which cell would each owner fear most, and why?

A clean two-by-two table with a High, Medium or Low rating for each owner in every cell, one plain sentence of reasoning under each cell, the stable cell circled, and a short note on what each owner would probably do and what could change that.

Copying the textbook prisoner's dilemma onto the stalls without asking whether it fits. If one stall has loyal regulars, the ratings may not be symmetric, and the story changes.

• Ten minutes watching two tea stalls near your college, or one you know well: who buys, how fast, and whether people compare
• A quick word with one or two regular customers about whether price decides where they go
• Your own notes on what else differs between the stalls: location, snacks, credit for regulars

AI must not invent prices, sales numbers or what the owners think. The ratings are yours, built from what you saw and heard; where you are guessing, say so in the reasoning line.

1. 3.1 Understand what a payoff table showsCLAUDE CHAT

   Why this tool: A short explanation in plain words, tied to your stalls, is faster than a textbook chapter.

   Ask Claude to explain the idea using a neutral example first, then ask what you need to decide before filling cells. Do not let it fill your table.

   Prompt to copy · fill in the [brackets]Copy

   Explain what a two-player payoff table is, using a simple example that is not about tea stalls. Then ask me four questions about [describe your two stalls in two lines] that I should answer before I rate each cell. Do not suggest ratings.

2. 3.2 Rate every cell yourselfGOOGLE SHEETS

   Why this tool: A small grid lets you write the rating and the reasoning side by side and edit both easily.

   Make a two-by-two grid: rows for Stall A keep or cut, columns for Stall B keep or cut. In each cell write A's rating, B's rating and one sentence explaining both. Do this before asking AI to look.

3. 3.3 Test your ratings for consistencyCLAUDE CHAT

   Why this tool: Claude is good at spotting where your reasoning in one cell contradicts another cell.

   Paste your grid with the reasoning lines and ask only for contradictions. Change a rating only if you agree the reasoning was wrong.

   Prompt to copy · fill in the [brackets]Copy

   Here is my payoff table for two tea stalls, with my reasoning for each cell:
   [paste your grid]
   Do not change my ratings. Point out any cell where my reasoning contradicts another cell, and ask me which cell each owner would want to move away from, one owner at a time.

4. 3.4 Write the note on what each owner will doCLAUDE CHAT

   Why this tool: Being questioned helps you explain the stable cell in your own words instead of borrowing a definition.

   Find the cell where neither owner gains by switching alone and circle it. Then ask Claude to question you before you write the note.

   Prompt to copy · fill in the [brackets]Copy

   In my tea stall table, the cell I think is stable is [name the cell]. Ask me three questions that test whether each owner really would stay there, and one question about what could make them both choose differently. Wait for my answers.

• For each owner, cover the other owner's choice and check you picked their better option in both rows or columns
• Every rating has a reasoning line that mentions something you saw or heard, not just theory
• If the stalls differ, the ratings show it rather than being a perfect mirror
• Your circled cell really is one where neither owner gains by changing alone
• The recommendation follows from the criteria, not the other way round
• The strongest objection is answered in the memo

AI assumes the classic answer, both cut and both lose, even when your notes suggest regulars do not switch for small price gaps. Trust your observation over the textbook pattern.

• A two-by-two table with ratings for both owners in every cell
• One line of reasoning per cell
• The stable cell circled and explained
• A short note on what each owner would probably do
• One sentence on what could change the outcome

One page: the table in the top half with the stable cell circled, the reasoning lines in small text under each cell, and the note below.

Explain what you saw at the stalls that made your table differ from the textbook version, or why it matched it.