Breaking “Golden Balls”

Breaking “Golden Balls”

The link

Golden Balls: Split or Steal

What it is

“Golden Balls” is a British game show. In the final round, the two remaining contestants each have to decide whether they will “Split” or “Steal” the total money won:

• If both players “Split”, they indeed split the money
• If one player “Steals” while the other “Splits”, the “Stealing” player gets all the money
• If both players “Steal”, no-one gets any money

This is a classic prisoner’s dilemma set-up, which unfortunately rewards stealing. But what happens if you were to decide not to play by the rules?

 

What it means to me

As always, I’m going to assume that you’ve seen the video, so the following will contain spoilers. There are two things I love about this segment. 

The first is the out of the box thought of “I’m going to use the setup of the game to force you to do what I want, and then settle afterwards”. Nick, the contestant on the right has firmly decided to play his own game, ignoring both the (“in game”) argument of his co-contestant and the attempted process intervention of the game show official. This works, because he has identified beforehand that the actual rules of the game support his actions: if Nick Steals, then Abraham choosing Steal as well will only destroy value. Nick ultimately settles “in game” by secretly choosing Split.

The second is smaller, but just as important: it’s the absolute commitment with which Nick executes his swindle (let’s be honest: this is a swindle). From the first second he states his intention, accepts that that casts him as the bad guy, and follows through. You can see his commitment and ultimate confidence, even if he does look occasionally nervous about what’s happening. When picking his ball, he looks at both, picks one, and holds it, even while Abraham is still deciding. This confidence underlines the point he makes (“I have chosen”), even if he has chosen something completely differently than he says he has.

The gambit rests two things: an immutable decision, and the idea that an out-of-game claim on half the money is still worth much more than an in-game claim on no money. 

Ultimately, this is an inspiration to always look outside the box (or the game) for answers – and to secretly choose Split when you do so.