The Desolation of Smaug: Game Theoretic Puzzle

The wood-elf king offers Thorin a deal: "I will let you out of jail, if you promise to bring me back some jewels stolen from me by Smaug."

Thorin turns him down: "I don't trust you."

Huh? The wood-elf king is going to let him go, and trust Thorin to bring back the jewels. What trust does Thorin have to have?



Comments

  1. Gene,

    That's funny! I thought the same thing!

    To be honest, I'm not a big fan of the new movies that Peter Jackson is making. I really enjoyed the original LOTR trilogy, but this new stuff is... 'meh'.

    ReplyDelete
  2. To not imprison him again once he retrieves the jewels.

    Assume Thorin will try to fulfill the bargain because Thorin, not being homo economicus, keeps his word AND that he believes the elf-king will break his promise. Then his choices are 1) languish 2) risk death and then languish.

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